All parents put every dollar they can towards the care, comfort, education, health and opportunities for their children – setting them up for the brightest future possible. Does the Tasmanian government’s budget demonstrate this level of commitment for children and young people in its care?
For children and young people removed from their families through no fault of their own, the government plays the vital role of carer and parent through the child protection and out-of-home care system and across all areas of a child’s life – education, health, mental health, housing, employment and community services.
Children and young people with a care experience tell CREATE Foundation about their hopes to be safe, connected and thriving – in every area of life, from where they live, the schools and universities they attend, and sporting and artistic pursuits. First Nations children and young people in care want to be connected to family, culture and community. Young people’s experiences of the ‘parental care’ of government and of when care stops at 21-years-old, tell a different story. Most commonly, government has failed to ‘parent’ these children, and the simple and ordinary aspirations for childhood are not fulfilled. Far too many Victorian young people exit to housing instability, poverty, unemployment and disconnection from culture and community, with continued basic health, mental health and disability supports not in place.
Each state budget is an opportunity to reset the level and quality of care, to respond to the aspirations of children and young people, and to invest in childhoods now to ensure that the lifelong impacts are positive.
The Tasmanian government has taken some forward steps, however has diluted it’s commitments and the opportunity for transformative improvements and change.
While this budget provides for Truth Telling, the failure to include the pathway to TREATY is devastating.
In Tasmania the government continues to remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families at an alarming rate. The Child Sexual Abuse Commission of Inquiry identified widespread structural challenges to keeping children safe in institutions and services throughout the state.
CREATE Foundation welcomes the Tasmanian government’s continued funding to respond to the Child Sexual Abuse Commission of Inquiry, but is concerned about the delays in providing a full and timely response.
CREATE is deeply concerned at the move away from a Treaty Process for Tasmania. The establishment of Truth Telling Commissioners provides a pathway and the start to this healing in Tasmania. CREATE is concerned that the budget does not respond, and much more needs to be done, through the new Aboriginal Children and Families Commissioner, the Truth Telling Commissioners and across the service system. More investment and capacity in ACCOs and Aboriginal Health and Legal Services to reduce the over-representation of First Nations children and young people in out-of-home care, on youth justice orders and in prisons throughout Tasmania is vital.
The budget commits to continuing establishment of the Commission for Children and Young People in Tasmania, and vitally commits funding to establish Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People. CREATE urges prompt action to establish fulsome resources and introduce robust powers to ensure the Commission for Children and Young People and it’s Commissioners are effective and responsive to the needs of Tasmanian children and young people.
Keeping child voice and lived experience at the heart of reform
There is an opportunity for the government to deeply listen to the broad and comprehensive feedback provided by hundreds of Tasmanian children on the legislative framework, through the “Letting them have a say” report, which many of you contributed to through the Interim Commissioners processes. CREATE will continue to support the voices of children and young people in care to be heard and have influence for change in Tasmania.
Home Stretch transitions funding, limited to 120 young people
CREATE acknowledges the advocacy and work of young people in care to support the investment building better supports for Tasmanian children transitioning to independence from care – building on achievements through Home Stretch in Tasmania. We congratulate every Young Consultant involved over many years, in Tasmania and nation-wide, for sharing your stories and lived experiences as part of raising awareness, and making a change for others. The recent Home Stretch conference acknowledged how the lived experiences and voices of children in care have changed the game around the nation – and Tasmania moving to step up on Transitions is a credit to the courage and advocacy of children.
Earlier supports and a stronger framework for trauma-informed practices
CREATE welcomes additional funding that aims to provide the department and sector with more resources to deliver higher quality and safer care to children in Tasmania who are removed from their families through child protection. It provides some additional supports and case management for children and young people who are in out-of-home care in Tasmania where youth justice has also intervened in their childhoods.
Tasmanian young people in care have told CREATE the importance of improving the safety, responsiveness and support in out-of-home care: “We’ve already got trauma. Any little things can become more traumatic and I think young people need to be listened to a little bit more and [have their concerns] acted upon”.
CREATE welcomes the opportunity for enhanced Intensive Family Engagement Services, and the priority of family reunification and helping families when they are struggling the most. Ensuring that every child is seen, heard and taken seriously within these programs is vital. There must be ongoing improvement to child protection systems in Tasmania and much more support much earlier. The budget provides for some expansion of evidence-informed programs and early intervention which supports keeping children connected to their schools, communities, culture and recreational pursuits — central to their health, wellbeing and development.
The investment in education is welcome, and as part of this, children in care need dedicated focus that supports them to thrive. Young Tasmanian’s have told us about different treatment by teachers, and the lack of responsiveness to bullying… “I wasn’t very protected … I was about six or seven… those formative years where I needed to be most protected from the bullies.”
With its 2025 budget, the Tasmanian government risks failing to bring together a comprehensive safety and support approach, that prioritised children at its core. Children and young people should not be re-traumatised by the system that is supposed to protect them and provide a full and thriving childhood.
The voices and insights directly from children about these measures must be included and continue to be front and centre of system change and improvement in Tasmania.
In what is a challenging economic environment in Tasmania, stable and growing investment in child protection and family services is vital, and if appropriately resourced the Implementation Monitor will hopefully keep government accountable to what is and isn’t happening for the children of Tasmania.
The substantial resourcing and structural issues of the child protection and child safety system over years requires comprehensive responses, and will start to be remedied implementation of the Commission of Inquiry.
The Tasmanian government plays the role of parent and carer of every single child and young person who is removed from their families through the child protection system. Children and young people have told CREATE that within this system, “We want adults to recognise our potential and dream big for us, so we can”.
CREATE will continue to partner with Tasmania to ensure that the voices of children and young people in care continue to influence policy, program and investment decisions across all portfolios that shape their lives.
