Children in custody must receive "rehabilitative, not retraumatising," treatment in custody, an inquiry into youth justice has heard.

The Senate Inquiry is looking at Australia's youth justice and incarceration system, with a number of advocacy groups appearing to push for national standards and a reduction in the punitive approaches by different jurisdictions across the country.

SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle said the country seemed to be calling for a "greater level of accountability" from children than was being asked of adults.

Asked about how some jurisdictions, like Queensland, had signed the Closing the Gap agreement - including committing to reducing the number of Indigenous children in custody - only to introduce laws which have been acknowledged to do the opposite, she said: "I think this is why we are giving evidence today, we do believe the Commonwealth has a role to play in that accountability."

Ms Liddle said the nightly news often ran stories which only emphasised Indigenous children as criminals, often using inflammatory language.

The media has a big story, she said, but it "doesn't necessarily tell the right story".

Using an example, she said the child placement principle had been attacked unfairly, with stories in the media stating the principle had led to the death of children - "which is ridiculous".

The Principle ensures protection for Indigenous children in care. This includes placing them with other family or kin and close to Country.

Asked by Coalition Senator Kerrynne Liddle about what the definition of a "responsible parent," actually is, Ms Liddle said it was someone who would ensure a child gets to bed at night but expressed the need for nuance depending on circumstance.

The way the child protection system works, she said, "you cannot get support until you are in trouble…which is ridiculous".

Senator Liddle, who has been active in her criticism of the Labor government in their removal of the Cashless Debit Card in remote communities, highlighted anecdotal evidence of bus services in remote communities picking up children as late as 4am.

There is no chance of a child going to school, "if they are running around until four in the morning," Senator Liddle said.

"How on earth do we get these children into school when, in these remote communities…less than three per cent of children go to school?"

Senator Liddle said decisions like the removal of income management - including the CDC - was an example of the Commonwealth making decisions which "had a detrimental effect".

Acknowledging the concerns of Senator Liddle, Ms Liddle said on the other hand, "At the time it [CDC] was brought in, young men went missing and then never applied for Commonwealth funding again…they went hungry."

Earlier, Save the Children Australia's chief executive Mat Tinkler and Shine for Kids' chief executive, Julie Hourigan, appeared in front of the committee, arguing standards across the country need to be established, with the need to protect the rights of children being paramount.

"The fact that State and Territory governments persistently and systematically breach human rights in youth justice shows it is well past time for the Federal Government to step up," he said.

"We acknowledge the very real concerns around community safety, everyone has a right to feel safe in their homes and in their communities, however all the available evidence suggests the current approach to the youth justice system is not working."

Save the Children Australia said they were calling on the Commonwealth to create a national taskforce, as well as develop a 10-year strategy, for national youth justice reform.

Asked by Senator Shoebridge what it said about the country that 12-year-old girls to be placed in an adult prison cell in Queensland, Ms Hourigan said: "It says we are fundamentally misunderstanding that these are children."

Referencing a submission by the Attorney General's department, which said the Commonwealth had "limited responsibility" for youth justice, Ms Hourigan said they could "lead by example" and hold states to account.

The committee is due to report to Parliament by July 1 this year.