How we undertake our work

The Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian is an independent statutory authority responsible for promoting and protecting the rights, interests and wellbeing of Queensland children and young people, particularly those most vulnerable.

The Commission is independent, and its decisions are not influenced by any government department or other agency.

The focus of the Commission’s mandate is to promote and protect the rights, interests and wellbeing of all Queenslander children.

Listens to and advocates for children

We advocate for all Queensland children, particularly those most vulnerable by providing evidence based advice to inform policy development and improve service delivery. Our work is informed by our knowledge of the circumstances of children, which includes direct engagement with children as well as rigorous research and other administrative data collected from service providers through formal monitoring arrangements covering our range of functions.

Reports on the safety and wellbeing of children

We collect evidence about what is working and not working for children and in particular, how children in the child safety and youth justice systems are faring. We use this information to prepare evidence based reports. The reports usually include the perspectives of children and are used to influence changes to laws, policies and practices to improve outcomes for children.

Oversights the child safety and youth justice systems

Queensland’s oversight of children in the child safety and youth justice systems is recognised as unique across jurisdictions as it provides direct and independent scrutiny of the actual circumstances of these children. Our oversight involves proactive monitoring and investigation of service delivery issues; brokering service improvements for individual young people; visiting and surveying children in out-of-home care and detention; resolving complaints; advocating for child focused laws, policies and practices and analysing trend data associated with these activities.

We work collaboratively with service providers to address systemic issues identified through our audit processes and provide public reports on trends and issues. Our oversight activities provide Queensland with a robust, evidence based, independent mechanism to verify the safety and wellbeing of children in the child safety and youth justice systems at an individual and systemic level.

Administers the blue card system

The blue card system strengthens safeguards for children receiving essential and developmentally-focused services* through three key components – assessment of a person’s known police and disciplinary information to determine their eligibility to work with children, daily monitoring of blue card applicants’ and holders’ police information and requiring organisations to have child focused risk management strategies in place.

The Commission regularly engages with stakeholders to assist in the creation of safe and supportive service environments and clarify blue card requirements.

Conducts child death reviews

We maintain and analyse Queensland’s statutory Child Death Register to assist government and community to focus on reducing or removing risk factors associated with preventable deaths. We also provide secretariat support to the committee which the, Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child Guardian chairs. The independent Child Death Case Review Committee (CDCRC) is responsible for considering the adequacy of the department's involvement with all children that were known to them at the time of, or within three years prior to their deaths. Findings and recommendations from the child death reviews are publicly reported on annually to parliament.

In promoting and protecting the rights, interests and wellbeing of Queensland children and young people, the work of the Commission is focussed on achieving the following strategic objectives:

• effective child safety and juvenile justice systems and support services which protect vulnerable children and young people and promote their wellbeing
• Queensland uphold childrens' and young peoples' rights and our most vulnerable have access to integrated prevention and early intervention services
• a safe and supportive environment for children and young people where risks are identified and managed, including appropriate employment screening.

In order to meet those objectives, we:

• provide employment screening of certain types of child-related employment and educate the community to comply with the Commission’s Act
• administer state-wide Individual Advocacy and Resolution for children and young people in alternative care – including foster care
• receive and investigate complaints about services to children and young people in the child safety and juvenile justice systems
• maintain the Child Death Register and conduct research into child deaths
• conduct research into issues impacting on the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
• monitor, review and promote laws, policies and practices that impact on the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people at risk.

Why you might contact us:

• to report information to the Commission about a child who may be in need of protection or who is, or may be, the victim of a criminal offence
• to make a complaint on behalf of a child in the child safety or youth justice systems about service delivery (or lack of)
• to obtain advice about the blue card system
• to obtain independent information on the quality of life of children in the child safety and youth justice systems
• to obtain up to date information on issues and trends affecting the development of all children in Queensland.

More information about the Commission’s services can also be found in our publication scheme under about us.

Last Updated: May 17, 2013

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