New national commissioner appointed amid worsening outcomes for Indigenous children
Adjunct Professor Sue-Anne Hunter, a Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman, will start in the role later this year. She replaces Lil Gordon, who has served in an acting capacity since January.
The appointment follows recent data from the Productivity Commission that shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children remain more than ten times more likely to be in out-of-home care and 27 times more likely to be in youth detention than non-Indigenous children.
Target 12 of the national Closing the Gap agreement, which aims to reduce over-representation in out-of-home care, is also not on track and is worsening.
Nationally, just four out of the 19 targets are on track to be met by the deadline of 2031.
Ms Hunter brings more than two decades of experience in child and family services, including frontline work and senior roles at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and SNAICC — National Voice for Our Children.
She also served as deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
After a career working in criminal justice and with young people, she described the new role as a lifetime's work, rather than a job.
"I am honoured to accept this appointment as Australia's Inaugural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People's Commissioner with the responsibility to ensure our systems are working to protect the wellbeing, rights and interests of children and young people," she said.
"I recognise that we are at risk of losing another generation to systems that fail them, to removal, out-of-home care detention and a bleak future."
The new role will involve the commissioner hearing directly from Indigenous young people and advocating for their rights.
She said those children face a lot of risks.
"The work is urgent and the statistics are grim. But our children are not statistics, they are our future," she said.
"This role will elevate their voices and their concerns. They will be at the centre of everything I do."
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the appointment reflects the government's recognition that more needs to be done in ensuring Indigenous children have the same opportunities as every other child.
"We created this commissioner role to ensure the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are not just heard, but are amplified," she said.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said she looked forward to working with the incoming commissioner.
"The number of First Nations children in out-of-home care and youth detention is deeply distressing and will take a collective effort to turn the figures around," Senator McCarthy said.
The commissioner role helps support the implementation of Safe and Supported, the national framework for protecting children, which has been developed in partnership with states, territories and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.
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