Now lawFirst Nations Introduced in the House of Representatives, 05 Feb 2026

Indigenous children now have a national commissioner

The National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People now has its own law. Its head, the Commissioner, can look into problems, demand facts and speak out. The Commissioner does not take orders from the government.

Official name: National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people under 25: They get a national champion whose job is to listen to them and push governments to do better for them.
• Government departments and officials: They can be told to hand over facts. If they do not, they are named in the Commission's yearly report.
• Other people and groups: They can be fined if they ignore a written order to give the Commissioner facts or answer questions.
• Governments, charities and businesses: They can pay the Commission for advice on programs that affect First Nations kids. First Nations means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

19,000 Indigenous children in care

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are far more likely to end up in child protection or youth justice. Child protection is the state service that steps in when a child is not safe. Youth justice is the system of courts and detention for young people who break the law. The government's notes on the bill give the numbers. More than 19,000 of these children were living away from their parents in state care in 2023-24. That number has gone up every year since 2019-20.

In 2022-23, some First Nations young people were being watched over by youth justice services. About three in four of them had dealt with child protection in the 10 years before.

Community groups have asked for a national commissioner for these children since at least the 1980s. SNAICC is the main national group for First Nations children and families. In 2019 it put out a paper calling for one. Over 70 groups backed it.

On 13 February 2024 the Prime Minister made a promise. He said there would be a commissioner set up in law, who would be independent and have real powers.

The National Commission started on 13 January 2025. At first it was set up by an order of the Governor-General, who stands in for the King. The government could change or close it without a vote of Parliament.

The first National Commissioner, Sue-Anne Hunter, started on 1 September 2025. This law means the Commission now exists because Parliament passed a law for it. A partner law, called the Transitional Provisions Act, handles the move from the old setup to the new one.

What the law is for

Part 1 sets out the goals. One is to push for the rights, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. Another is to find the big problems that hold them back.

Another goal is to help young people speak up for themselves. A further goal is to make governments answer for how their programs affect these children.

Children and young people here means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under 25. The law says these goals must be read through the culture of each young person's own community.

The law is called a special measure. That is a legal term for a law that helps one group close a gap with everyone else. It works alongside state and territory laws. It does not replace them.

What the Commissioner does

Part 2 sets out the National Commissioner's jobs. The Commissioner works on problems built into whole systems. Examples are poor teamwork between services, or high levels of poverty.

The Commissioner can give advice to the federal government and do research. They can teach young people about their rights and speak out in public. The Commissioner must reach young people across the country. That includes those in remote areas and those with disability.

The Commissioner does not handle single complaints. If someone raises one, the Commissioner can pass it on to the right body, such as a state children's commissioner. If someone reports child abuse, it would be sent to the right authority.

In all this work, the Commissioner must put the best interests of these children first. They must also protect each child's culture and links to family and community.

They must follow the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That is a world statement of the rights of First Nations peoples. They must also follow other human rights agreements between countries that Australia has signed.

Independence and reports

No one can tell the Commissioner what to do, including the Minister. The Commissioner sets their own work plan, hires their own staff and runs their own budget.

The Commissioner can speak in public about anything to do with the job. They can put out reports when they choose. If they give a report to the Minister, the Minister must put it before Parliament within 15 days that Parliament sits.

Inquiries and referrals

The Commissioner can look into problems and make written suggestions. They can ask a person or body to reply to a suggestion before acting on it.

The Minister can ask the Commissioner to look into something. The Commissioner can say no, for example if it does not fit the work plan. Every request and every no, with reasons, goes in the yearly report.

Other children's commissioners can pass matters to the Commissioner. So can coroners, who look into deaths, and government bodies. The Commissioner can also pass matters to them.

Say a state children's commissioner finds the same problem keeps happening in several states. They could pass it to the National Commissioner. The National Commissioner could look at the pattern across the country.

The Commissioner can add to other probes, such as a state probe into youth jails. The Commission can also give paid advice on programs. The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs. It says this paid advice role is new for a federal body like this.

Who can be Commissioner

The Minister picks the Commissioner to work full-time for up to 5 years. They can be picked again, but not for more than 7 years in total.

The Commissioner must be an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander. They must see themselves as one, and their community must accept them as one. They must also have lots of experience in community life.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must help plan how the person is chosen. The job must be advertised in public. The choice must be based on who is best for the job.

The Minister can sack the Commissioner only for set reasons. These include bad behaviour and being too ill to do the job. They also include going broke, or doing other paid work without approval.

The Commission and staff

Part 3 keeps the Commission going as a body set up in law. It is made up of the Commissioner and staff who work as public servants. Its job is to help the Commissioner. The Commissioner is in charge of running it and of how it spends public money.

Power to demand information

Part 4 lets the Commissioner send a written order to a person. The order can tell them to hand over facts or papers. It can also tell them to come and answer questions. The Commissioner must have good reason to think the person has facts that matter. The person gets at least 14 days.

Someone who ignores the order can be fined by a court. The fine is 30 fine units, which the Parliamentary Library says was $9,900 at the time. This kind of fine does not give a criminal record.

Government departments and officials cannot be fined. If they do not do what they are told, the Commissioner must name them in the yearly report.

People cannot refuse to answer because the answer might show they broke the law. What they say cannot then be used against them in a criminal case. The one exception is a case about lying to the Commissioner.

Keeping information safe

Staff and helpers who leak protected facts without permission commit a crime. The top punishment is 1 year in jail, a fine of 50 fine units ($16,500 at the time), or both.

Protected facts include anything that could put someone in danger or give away a secret source. The Commission can share facts in set cases. Examples are to stop a threat to someone's life or safety, to help police, or when the person agrees.

The Commission must also follow the Privacy Act, the freedom of information law and the rules on keeping public records.

Enforcement and other rules

Part 5 says the fines in Part 4 are handled through the usual federal law on fines, the Regulatory Powers Act.

Part 6 says the Commissioner and staff cannot be sued for things done honestly while doing their jobs. The Commissioner can hand some powers to senior staff.

The yearly report must list orders sent to government bodies that were ignored. It must also list the Minister's requests and any paid advice given.

An independent review must start soon after the law has run for 3 years. The public must be asked for their views. It must be done within 9 months. The report goes to Parliament within 15 sitting days. If it makes suggestions, the government must give Parliament its answer within 6 months.

Start date

The law was set to start on 1 July 2026 if it was signed into law before then. It was, so it started on 1 July 2026.

The House of Representatives passed it on 11 February 2026. The Liberal and National parties (the Coalition) voted against it. So did One Nation, a small party. Labor, the Greens and 10 independents voted for it. So did Centre Alliance, a small party from South Australia.

The Senate, Parliament's second house, passed it on 25 March 2026. The Governor-General signed it into law the next day, 26 March 2026. It is Act No. 14 of 2026.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

Open the full interactive page