Victoria's acting Child Commissioner says it is "frustrating" to see a shift away from evidence-based approaches to community safety, warning "irresponsible media reporting" is used to influence government decisions.
The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) released its 2024-25 annual report on Wednesday. In her introduction, Acting Commissioner Meena Singh noted that while there has been "pressure for systemic changes" to uphold children's rights, "progress is hard-won and rarely linear".
"It is frustrating to see a continued drift away from what we know works to keep communities safe, often fanned by irresponsible media reporting calculated to provoke knee-jerk political responses," Ms Singh said.
Ms Singh, who also serves as Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, pointed to the Victorian government's decision to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 - rather than to 14 as previously promised - saying Australia remains an international outlier.
The CCYP has launched an inquiry into the experiences of children under 14 in the criminal justice system, following ongoing evidence of service failures leading to early criminalisation.
"The systems impacting our most vulnerable children require the most robust oversight. Our monitoring work with these systems enables the Commission to identify specific areas of inquiry spanning broad systems, but also focusing on the lives of individual children," Ms Singh said.
The Herald Sun has spearheaded a media campaign against youth crime in Victoria, citing rising rates among a small group of repeat offenders. The publication has run opinion pieces calling for tougher youth bail laws, even after the state government tightened them earlier this year.
"Ever-stricter youth bail laws are touted to give an illusion of community protection, at the expense of addressing what actually lies at the heart of the problem - ensuring every child is safe at home, engaged at school and feels included in the broader Victorian community," Ms Singh said.
"For Aboriginal children and young people, who are already over-represented in the criminal legal system, the impact of tighter bail laws capturing a broader cohort of young people is particularly alarming."
The Commission urged the government to ensure that children are held in custody only as a last resort, warning that without reform, "we risk entrenching the very inequalities that Closing the Gap seeks to address".
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The report revealed that Aboriginal children and young people accounted for more than one-third of the Commission's incident inquiries related to out-of-home care (OOHC). It also found that nine per cent of alleged victims in reportable allegations were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, despite representing just two per cent of Victoria's youth population.
Of the 38 child death notifications received in 2024-25, eight involved Aboriginal children.
While the CCYP observed the "incredible creativity, strength, talent and vibrance of Aboriginal children and young people", it also highlighted "the continued legacy of colonisation and its devastating impact on too many" children and families.
"Current data shows that across all age groups, the rate of Aboriginal children receiving child protection services remains unacceptably higher than that of non-Aboriginal children," the report said.
Through its Experiences of Racism Project, the Commission consulted Aboriginal children, young people and communities about racism in schools. Students from Elisabeth Murdoch College shared their experiences and described projects they created to make their school more culturally safe.
The report also heard from Indigenous families who said they were not given adequate support to care for their children at home.
It found that "the intergenerational trauma caused by the forcible removal of Aboriginal children" continues to contribute to the over-representation of Indigenous children in OOHC, where they "face an increased risk of abuse in organisations".
"The Commission advocates for earlier and more effective community-based services designed in partnership with Aboriginal communities that support families to keep their children and young people at home."
Ms Singh said the state's child and family system remains "under significant stress where children and young people are too often exposed to harm".
"We need dedicated action to reduce this risk and stem the number of children and young people entering the care and justice systems. It is not enough to name the challenges - governments must commit to acting on them," she said.
