Info for Adults
Our Core Business
Complaints
Deal with and manage enquiries and complaints about services provided to vulnerable children
Monitoring
Monitor and recommend continuous improvements to the conditions children are living in whilst in detention or other places where children live involuntarily
Listen
Talk to children to hear about the issues affecting them, and hear their ideas about solutions
Investigations
Monitor and promote continuous improvement in the development and implementation of legislative reforms, policies and services to support vulnerable children’s safety and wellbeing.
Promote youth voices
Promote the inclusions of children’s voices in decisions affecting them
Community awareness
Raise community awareness of children’s rights interests and wellbeing of vulnerable children
Core Functions
The position of Northern Territory Children's Commissioner is established by the Children's Commissioner Act 2013 (the Act).
Under the Act, the Commissioner has responsibility for six core functions:
Dealing with complaints about services provided
Dealing with complaints about services provided to vulnerable children and monitoring service providers’ response to any reports by the Commissioner.
The Commissioner also has an ‘own initiative’ investigative capacity.
Undertaking inquiries related to care and protection
Undertaking inquiries related to the care and protection of vulnerable children.
Monitoring implementation of government deciisions
Monitoring the implementation of any government decisions arising from an inquiry conducted by the Commissioner or any other inquiry relating to the care and protection of vulnerable children.
Monitoring responses of territory families
Monitoring the response of Territory Families to allegations of the abuse of children while they are in out-of-home care.
Promoting an understanding and informed public discussion
Promoting an understanding of and informed public discussion about the rights, interests and wellbeing of vulnerable children.
Monitoring the administration of the CAPA
Monitoring the administration of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 (CAPCA) insofar as it relates to vulnerable children. This monitoring is outlined in the OCC annual reports which can be found here. The Commissioner must review the Care and Protection of Children Act at least once every three years.
Role of the children's commissioner
The Commissioner is also called upon to respond from a Northern Territory perspective to a range of national policy issues, either independently or in collaboration with the Children’s Commissioners and Guardians from other Australian jurisdictions.
The Commissioner publishes an annual report each year to outline the work of the OCC and what children across the Territory have told the OCC about their lives.