Today, Children’s Rights Queensland was represented at an important and insightful event hosted by the Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner, the Queensland Family and Child Commission, and 54 reasons. The event brought together leaders, practitioners, advocates and young people to explore what it truly takes to make children’s rights real, in practice, in culture, and in law.
The keynote speaker, Juliet Harris, Director of Together – Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights, offered a compelling account of Scotland’s decades-long movement to embed the UNCRC across policy, legislation, and everyday decision-making. Her message was clear: transformation is possible, but only when children are at the centre, and when every part of society commits to acting together.
One of her most powerful reminders cut through the entire room:
“Children’s rights are not an ideology. They are good governance, better decision-making and stronger accountability for everyone.”
— Juliet Harris
Juliet described Scotland’s early challenges with children’s rights existing as “clouds in the sky,” distant and intangible for the 1 million young people who needed them most. Despite broad aspirations, rights were not embedded in decision-making, and children had few avenues to challenge decisions affecting their lives.
Momentum began when children and young people themselves became central to the movement. Their experiences like busy roads built next to schools, decisions made without their input, and systems working against them became the foundation for a powerful, cross-sector push for change.
Civil society mobilised. Young people campaigned. Academics contributed evidence. Ministers listened. Eventually, Scotland committed to fully incorporating the UNCRC into law, making rights binding, not symbolic.
Today, government departments, local councils, and commissioned service providers must act compatibly with children’s rights. Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs) are required across all policy areas, from housing to transport to environmental regulation. Young people are presenting pressing issues affecting their lives directly to the First Minister.
It is a whole-of-system approach grounded in participation, accountability and culture change. And it is already producing results: fewer children entering the justice system, rising ages of criminal responsibility, improved poverty responses, and stronger public alignment behind children’s rights.
Panel discussions following Juliet’s presentation, including reflections from Commissioner Natalie Lewis, Vicki Mau (54 reasons) and youth participant Rhea Waia, connected Scotland’s experience to the Queensland context.
Commissioner Lewis reflected on the challenge of framing children’s rights within public and political narratives. Too often, rights are seen as competing with other interests rather than strengthening families, communities, and systems. She emphasised that children’s rights should be understood as fundamental to wellbeing, not an added layer of complexity.
Rhea spoke candidly about growing up without knowing her own rights, and how many young people still feel distanced from decisions about their lives. Her reflections echoed Scotland’s early stages... rights discussed by adults, but not with children.
Vicki Mau highlighted the need for accountability not just in government, but within organisations themselves:
Together, their insights underscored a shared message: Queensland’s path forward requires partnership, truth-telling, and a rights-based approach that is lived and not just written.
One of the strongest parallels between Scotland and Queensland is the need to broaden public understanding. Juliet explained that Scotland’s success came when rights were framed not as legal jargon, but as a practical, everyday standard:
rights make government decisions stronger
rights strengthen families and communities
rights promote fairness across all systems
rights help everyone and not only children
This framing helped Scotland build a coalition that extended far beyond the children’s sector, a lesson deeply relevant for Queensland’s current reform conversations.
Commissioner Lewis highlighted the fundamental role of education in embedding a rights respecting culture. She emphasised that awareness, accessible resources and practical tools are essential if Queensland is to move from commitment to meaningful action. Her message reinforced the importance of equipping adults, organisations and communities with the knowledge and confidence needed to uphold children’s rights in everyday practice.
This aligns strongly with the mission of Children’s Rights Queensland. CRQ continues to lead children’s rights education in Queensland through resources, training, children’s voices projects and statewide initiatives that support families, educators and organisations to understand and champion children’s rights.
The event concluded with both optimism and urgency. If Queensland hopes to build a system where every child can thrive, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are disproportionately impacted by current systems, then children’s rights must become a shared responsibility across government, services and communities.
Scotland’s story is not a template, but an inspiration. It shows what is possible when young people lead, when communities mobilise, and when governments embrace rights not as rhetoric, but as responsibility.
As Juliet concluded, Scotland’s progress was not the result of a single moment. It was the product of thousands of small, connected actions including coalitions, evidence, children’s voices, political courage and community pressure, all moving in the same direction.
Queensland can do the same.