Since 2007, Aboriginal children and young people have participated in a range of the Commissioner’s consultation projects on topics such as wellbeing, mental health and alcohol-related harm.
Additionally, the Commissioner has consulted with Aboriginal children and young people, their families and communities, during many visits to regional and remote communities from Kununurra to Albany and Kalgoorlie, and many towns and cities in between.
To build on this work, the Commissioner decided in 2014 to hold consultations especially for WA Aboriginal children and young people.
The aim of the consultations was to give Aboriginal children and young people the opportunity to be heard at all levels of the community about the matters they see as important.
The consultations asked Aboriginal children and young people about their views on what was good in their lives, where they needed help, their views on culture and their hopes and dreams for the future.
More than 1,200 Aboriginal children and young people took part and two reports have been produced based on what they had to say, their views, ideas and concerns.
The report, “Listen To Us” – Using the views of WA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people to improve policy and service delivery, was tabled in the WA Parliament in August 2015.
This report, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Speak Out, was prepared for the WA community, particularly the children and young people who took part and the people and organisations who supported the consultations.
