Labor Moves to Make National Indigenous Children’s Commission Permanent

The federal government has introduced legislation to formally establish a National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, a permanent statutory body with broad inquiry powers.

On Feb. 5, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek introduced the bill into the House of Representatives, saying it would strengthen accountability for decisions affecting Indigenous children.

The government has committed $33.5 million (US$23.4 million) over four years from 2025–26 to establish the Commission, alongside ongoing operational funding of $8.4 million per year for staff.

She also announced Sue-Anne Hunter as the permanent national commissioner. Hunter began her five-year term in late 2025.

Plibersek quoted Hunter’s remarks on taking up the role.

“The work is urgent and the statistics are grim, but our children are not statistics. They are our future, and they will be at the centre of everything we do,” she said.

Powers to Investigate and Provide Support

Under the bill, the national commissioner will be able to:

• Run inquiries and research to identify barriers facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people
• Speak directly with children and young people, and support them to assert their rights and interests
• Deliver education programs to help children understand their rights
• Improve coordination across federal agencies and advise government on policies affecting Indigenous children
• Produce reports for the minister to inform evidence-based decision-making, with reports required to be tabled in Parliament within 15 sitting days of submission.
• Have information gathering capabilities, including requiring documents and written responses from individuals and organisations

The minister also noted that experts and advocates have been calling for reforms like the new bill since the 1980s, saying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to face discrimination and disadvantage that is “widespread, systemic and intergenerational.”

“[Indigenous children] have a right to a safe home, a right to health, a right to an education that allows them to find their purpose, to find meaning and to find a job,” she said.

“Too often, though government policy has damaged and disrupted their young lives.”

Debate on the bill was adjourned to a later time.