Between August and September 2026, the Australian Government consulted on the development of the Second National Action Plan and Second Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan under Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031. The consultation sought feedback on the proposed priorities, validating what has been heard, and identifying any remaining evidence gaps.
Health Justice Australia (HJA) welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the consultation through a written submission which draws on evidence from health justice partnership (HJP) practice and experience working across the legal, health and social services sectors, with a particular focus on the conditions needed to support effective cross-sector collaboration and integrated service delivery for children and families.
HJA’s submission supports building on existing investments and integrated approaches already operating across the child and family service system. It highlights the value of recognising legal assistance as part of integrated child and family support and the need to invest in the infrastructure, capability and implementation supports that enable services to work together effectively. The submission also emphasises that achieving the proposed priorities requires not only shared goals, but practical support for implementation.
In our submission, we highlight:
- the role of health justice partnership approaches in supporting coordinated responses to the legal, health and social needs of children and families
- the importance of recognising legal assistance as a core component of integrated child and family support
- the need for national infrastructure, implementation support and workforce capability to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and integrated service delivery
