CREATE’s monthly Advocacy Wrap Ups provide regular updates on our latest advocacy for improving the lives of children and young people with an out-of-home care experience.
Our Wrap Ups include:
- CREATE’s latest submissions on issues including youth justice, residential care, housing and more.
- Media releases and statements about current issues affecting children and young people in care.
- Relevant news and research in the sector so you can catch up on what has happened over the last month.
- A monthly advocacy focus. This month it’s National Child Protection Week.
- Consultation opportunities for children and young people to ensure that their lived experiences and voices are heard in decision-making about the out-of-home care system in Australia.
Please share our Wrap Ups far and wide! If you have any feedback, email marketing@create.org.au
August advocacy focus
National Child Protection Week
CREATE Young Consultant, Timothy joined NAPCAN’s first webinar for National Child Protection Week 2025, sharing his story and urging change.
Speaking to 700 registrants, Timothy said, “Don’t give up on us, at the end of the day we are all human.”
He spoke about the power of sharing his lived experience saying, “We’ve gone through hard times and I think it’s really important to listen to our stories because they have meaning… they have the missing piece to the puzzle.”
Advocating on a national stage was a big moment for Timothy who said, “It will pretty much change how people think of the care system… when everyone comes together and shares their ideas, passions and what they do for the community and children in care, it will drive change and spark more passion in people. Maybe today from listening to me, they will get up off their seat and sign up to be a Case Worker or even a foster carer.
I enjoyed it, I hope they can takeaway from this that it is definitely a much bigger problem with what’s going on in the world.”
News
CREATE attended the Improving Outcomes & Experiences for At-Risk Children conference with our ACT and NSW Young Consultants, Tayla and Lachlan. They spoke on a panel about why the simple act of listening to more children and young people will create better systems. Watch a snippet from their panel discussion below.
National Panel of Care Leavers to review federal care leaver payments. The Commission for Children and Young People has invited CREATE Young Consultants to be a part of their National Panel of Care Leavers focused on payments for young people transitioning from out-of-home care. See our recent submission for how your voices and experiences have shaped advocacy on payments so far.
Media Releases
Changes to NDIS could increase barriers to support for young people with a care experience, CREATE warns. Read our Media Release.
Opportunities
Australia’s Charter for Young Parents in Care. CREATE’s National Experience to Action Board (Youth) is working with international and national experts to develop a Charter for Young Parents in Care. If you or your partner experienced pregnancy, or have welcomed your own precious baby into the world while you were living in out-of-home care, NEABY would love to hear from you. Email advocacy@create.org.au, with the subject ‘Young parents charter’ and let us know if you are a mum, dad or partner so we can ensure the Charter reflects your lived experience and hopes for other young parents.
Family violence prevention and reform update. CREATE is continuing work with Melbourne University to establish child-centered design of responses to children in care. If you want to get involved, please talk to your state team or email advocacy@create.org.au.
Disability supports for children and young people in care. We want to make sure that the lived experiences and aspirations of young people in care living with a disability are considered as the federal government re-designs the disability service responses for children and young people. If you want to get involved, please talk to your state team or email advocacy@create.org.au.
Fill out our survey to help make CREATE better and you could win a $200 voucher: https://forms.office.com/r/tRyaFBYGp5
CREATE updates
Child and Family Focus SA and CREATE Foundation delivered a joint forum focusing on the intersection of the disability and child protection and family support systems and what this means for young people and families. CREATE Young Consultants, Lizzie and Jassie presented on a panel bringing their insights and lived experiences to decision-makers in the room. The Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, the Hon. Katrine Hildyard, Minister for Child Protection, and Deputy Chief Executive, of the Department of Child Protection, Jackie Bray were some of those in attendance.
Opportunities
CREATE updates
CREATE Foundation’s NSW Budget Response is now available highlighting key considerations and areas to enhance support for children and young people with an out-of-home care experience in NSW. Read CREATE’s response.
CREATE was invited to participate in an Appreciative Inquiry Workshop to develop a model around best practice of supported pathways in higher education. University of Technology Sydney is launching their UniReady enabling program at the end of the year and were eager to partner with CREATE to provide meaningful support for care leavers. The workshop was a great opportunity to reflect on existing supports available across NSW as well as new ideas that could best facilitate access and opportunity into tertiary education for young people. Read more.
News
NSW Government launches new Office for Youth. Read more.
NSW Government establishing independent commissioner to advocate for victim survivors of crime. Read more.
Indigenous kids make up 60 per cent of youth detention population in NSW, agency says. Read the article.
Opportunities
Nominate an outstanding organisation, leader, frontline worker or lived experience advocate for the NCOSS EVA Awards. Make a nomination here.
If you are aged 15-17 years and currently in out-of-home care or aged 18-30 years and have previously been in out-of-home care, you may be able to access free training to study a Certificate I through to a Certificate IV level qualification. Find out more on the TAFE NSW website.
Survey: What helps students in care to be at school? Complete the survey and you could win a $50 Kmart voucher.
CREATE Updates
Watch our video aimed at empowering more young people to share their experiences with Queensland’s Child Safety Inquiry. This is a guide-only and was made by CREATE Foundation, not in affiliation with the Inquiry.
Opportunities
Have your say in Queensland’s Child Safety Inquiry. We want to elevate as many young voices as possible as the Inquiry progresses. If you haven’t yet registered your interest to be part of CREATE’s campaign to put lived experience at the centre of the Inquiry, please sign up here.
News
21-year-old Schyler spoke to the ABC about her vital work supporting victim-survivors at the Darwin Centre Against Sexual Violence. We’re so proud of Schyler for bravely speaking out and highlighting how it is everyone’s responsibility to protect children and prevent child abuse. Read the article.
Opportunities
Petition to stop locking up children in the Northern Territory and protect their human rights. Sign the petition.
CREATE updates
CREATE Foundation held a Ministerial Roundtable in Perth with four regional young people, the Hon. Minister Stojkovski, Mike Rowe (Head of DoC), Amber Fabry (Chief Practitioner CP) and Sharla Abdullah (Advocate CIC). Young Consultants shared the findings and recommendations from CREATE’s recent consultations across the state which focused on gathering experiences of advocacy while in care and strategies to improve advocating for yourself and others in the system. Recommendations from our young people looked at relationship-based service navigation, ways to strengthen accountability with workers and embedding lived experience across the whole system in different ways.
Attendees were very receptive to everything shared at the Roundtable and we give thanks to all the young people across WA for participating in this work. Watch the video recap from Minister Stojkovski.
News
Innovative multicultural care program expanded State-wide. Read the Media Statement.
CREATE updates
The CREATE team contributed to meaningful dialogue at the Roundtable for fostering school attendance for students in out-of-home care with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner’s Office, the Australian Childhood Foundation, Barnardos, the Education Directorate, Our Booris Our Way, Community Services Directorate, and others.
We discussed how we can best support children and young people in feeling heard about their education journey and experience and one of our young people‘s contributions to the Educator Resource was recognised as an integral part of improving practice and knowledge of teachers and school staff. CREATE looks forward to further collaboration.
News
New ACT Program to Support Wellbeing and Community for LGBTIQA+ People with Disability. Read more.
News
The Victorian Government published a Rapid Child Safety Review in response to a troubling crisis involving abuse in daycare settings. The review recommended 22 comprehensive reforms to restructure the early childhood education and care (ECEC) system. These include the creation of an independent regulator, enhancements to Working with Children Checks (WWCC), the introduction of surprise inspections, the requirement for child safety training, and more open and honest operations.
Opportunities
CREATE in VIC is in conversation with the eSafety’s Children, Youth and Families team ahead of the Social Media Minimum Age legislation. Contact vic@create.org.au if this is an area of interest for you and you would like to be involved in upcoming opportunities.
Petition for lifelong post-care support. Sign the petition.
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