We can no longer ignore the child protection crisis in Australia

Melbourne, 14 October, 2026 – New research from the University of Sydney paints a deeply alarming picture of the safety and wellbeing of children in Australia.

The findings reveal a sharp increase in violence against children across Australia, with rates of both sexual violence and family violence-related assaults rising over the past decade. The study found sexual assault rates increased by 32 per cent for girls aged 0-9, 51 per cent for girls aged 10-17, and 60 per cent for boys aged 10-17. Police-recorded family violence-related assaults against boys under ten rose by 57 per cent over the same period.

Urgent action is needed. Australia must place children’s safety, rights and wellbeing at the centre of its response to family and domestic violence and child abuse in all its forms.

Janise Mitchell, CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation, said this new data should be a wake-up call to governments and communities.

“These numbers are deeply confronting because behind every statistic is a child whose sense of safety, trust and belonging has been destroyed. When a child experiences violence, it changes every aspect of their development, health, learning and relationships. If this data tells us anything, it is that violence against children cannot remain a secondary public policy issue. Protecting children must become a national priority now.”

Ms. Mitchell added: “The rise in reported violence against children demands a response that matches the scale of the crisis. We need increased and sustained investment in prevention, early intervention and specialist services that recognise and respond to children as victim-survivors in their own right. We look to boys and young men as the place to start to prevent future violence. This must begin to healing the harm they have experienced as a result of abuse and violence. If children are the social capital of the future health of our communities children and young people who have experienced harm need timely access to specialist services to aid their recovery and address the developmental impacts of these experiences. This investment will address a range of issues we seek to remediate including rates of family violence, youth offending, out of home care levels, disengagement from education and homelessness . We continue to ignore these realities at our own peril”

Conor, Youth Engagement Lead at the Australian Childhood Foundation, said the findings challenged assumptions about who is affected by violence and who is entitled to support.

“When I was 16, I asked for help with the family violence I was experiencing and was turned away because I didn’t have a parent’s consent. I was old enough to experience the violence, but apparently not old enough to ask for protection. We spend a lot of time worrying about the men boys might become. We spend far less time talking about the violence being done to them while they are children. I wonder how many of the children represented in these figures are still finding themselves in that same position today.

With the Albanese Government currently developing its Second Action Plan under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, the Foundation is calling for a stronger focus on children and young people experiencing family violence, including guaranteed access to specialist support services designed specifically for children and young people.

“We cannot keep counting the children being hurt and call that a response,” Conor said. “And we cannot keep promising children a future free from violence while leaving them to survive it alone today.”

Media enquiries:

Gina Dafalia
PR and Communications
Phone: 0447558195
Email: gdafalia@childhood.org.au