Children’s Day 2025 & first National Commissioner appointment – SNAICC in the News

This week, communities across Australia celebrated National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day 2025, with the Australian Government announcing the appointment of Australia’s first National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.

Every year on August 4 and throughout the month, hundreds of early childhood services, education centres, sporting clubs, organisations and communities across the country hold Children’s Day events to recognise the strength, resilience and potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It is a day when children take centre stage, with communities across the country celebrating their voices, cultural identity and connection to Country.

Arrernte and Luritja woman, Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, said Children’s Day is an opportunity to recognise, uplift and amplify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s voices. She said that it is a day for the next generation of leaders to share their culture and celebrate how special they are, how deeply they belong and how important their voices are now and in the future. Catherine said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children carry the world’s oldest living culture, something all Australians should take pride in, and that celebrating them is how we protect and grow that legacy.

The theme for Children’s Day 2025, Little Footsteps, Big Future, celebrates the journeys that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children take as they grow, with each step guided by culture, community and country. Catherine told ABC New South Wales Radio that the theme is all about saying, ‘we know you’re small, but you will be our future leaders.’ She said that it is the responsibility of all Australians to ensure that children get there, to provide them with everything they need to understand what it means to be an Aboriginal person in Australia today, how incredible that gift is, and what it may mean for shaping a different future.

When asked about the day’s history and significance, Catherine said it is ‘a bit dark’. Children’s Day has been observed since 1988, when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people marched to remind the country of the harm done by colonisation. Catherine said that most of the most horrific policies ever introduced into Australia have been directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, including assimilation policies. She said that leaders at the time aimed to find a new way to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children; to alter the dialogue and narrative, and to discuss how we celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

The date 4 August was chosen as the day to celebrate, as it has historically been used to communally celebrate the birthdays of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were taken from their families at a young age without knowing their birthday. The decision was made not only to celebrate children, but also to remind them that, as Catherine put it, ‘never again will you be told to be ashamed of who you are, of your culture, or of your family’. Catherine said the decision to reclaim August 4 as a day to honour the incredible legacy of Australia’s oldest living culture, as well as the significance Aboriginal culture has in the Australian landscape.

Children’s Day 2025 celebration on Gumbaynggirr Country

This year, SNAICC joined in on the community celebrations taking place on Gumbaynggirr Country for the official national Children’s Day celebration at Kulai Preschool Aboriginal Corporation in Coffs Harbour, where over 200 children, families, and community members attended, as did students and educators from the Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School and Grafton’s Gummyaney Aboriginal Preschool.

On the morning of the Children’s Day event, Kulai Preschool Director, Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung woman Aunty Julie Carey, and 2025 Children’s Day Ambassador, Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung man Otis Hope Carey, appeared on ABC News Breakfast to discuss what the day means to Gumbaynggirr people.

Aunty Julie said that the day would be spent having fun with children and families, and celebrating the children in attendance. She expressed her excitement for the children, families and community members who would attend, as well as her desire to celebrate alongside them. Sharing the preschool’s history, she explained that Kulai was founded in 1962 by the Save the Children Fund, which later assisted the community in transferring independent ownership of the preschool to the local Aboriginal community. Aunty Julie explained that Kulai’s beautiful, nurturing environment for children and families is the result of strong relationships spanning generations.

When asked what it meant to be the Children’s Day 2025 ambassador, Otis said he felt honoured and proud to take on the role. He described it as a nostalgic feeling to be celebrating the day at Kulai, where he had attended as a child and where some of the same teachers continue to teach children, including his own children. With his seven-year-old son by his side, Otis reflected on fatherhood, sharing that becoming a father at the age of 21 taught him to mature quickly, to be strong, and to embrace the role of a young father at a rapid pace. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to grow old alongside his children and share his experiences with them. Asked how he planned to celebrate the day, Otis said that he was looking forward to talking to everyone, seeing the kids, and simply hanging out, describing it as a great day to be part of. He also spoke about the importance of art in connecting children to culture, saying that art is a powerful way for children to express identity and culture because there is no right or wrong way to paint. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, it can be a meaningful way to show who they are.

Catherine Liddle said what is on display at Kulai demonstrates the importance of growing up in a culturally rich environment. She said that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services do more than just educate; they empower children to be proud of their cultural identity, which is essential as they enter primary and high school and beyond. She said that when children grow up to be confident in themselves, their futures are also strengthened. Catherine told ABC New South Wales that the event was ‘wonderful’, an ‘incredible celebration, with children dancing their songs, children speaking their language, children surrounded by aunties, uncles, nanas and grandpas’. She said the event was the epitome of what we expect to see and what we promote as National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day.

For full coverage, find our media release below.

National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children

The Australian Government has, this week, appointed Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman Adjunct Professor Sue-Anne Hunter as Australia’s first National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.

The announcement was made on National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, with Adjunct Professor Sue-Anne Hunter succeeding Ngemba woman Lil Gordon, who has been Acting Commissioner since January. Ms Hunter has over 20 years of experience in the family services sector, including senior roles at SNAICC, the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

Accepting the appointment, Ms Hunter said the role would place the voices of children at the centre of change. She said she was honoured to take on the role and recognised the urgency of the work, warning that another generation was at risk of being lost to systems that fail them through removal, out-of-home care and detention. She said that while the statistics are grim, children are not statistics, they are our future, and that the role would elevate their voices and concerns, placing them at the heart of all her work.

Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek said the appointment was an important step towards creating a future where every child, regardless of culture, grows up with equal opportunity. Ms Plibersek said the worsening over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care was unacceptable, and that the Government created the Commissioner role to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are not just heard but amplified. She described Sue-Anne Hunter as an inspiring, highly qualified and respected leader, dedicated to creating better futures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and said the appointment marked a significant step towards an Australia where every child grows up safe and supported.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy welcomed the appointment, calling Ms Hunter a fierce advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. She said the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care and youth detention was deeply distressing and would require collective effort to address. She commended SNAICC for its long-standing advocacy for the creation of the Commissioner position and thanked Lil Gordon for her work as Acting Commissioner.

The Government said the National Commissioner will focus on listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people while addressing urgent challenges, including the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care and youth detention. The Government said the Commissioner will play a central role in delivering Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021–2031, working with states, territories, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders to dismantle systemic barriers and ensure every child has the best start in life.

SNAICC response to the National Commissioner appointment

SNAICC has welcomed Adjunct Professor Sue-Anne Hunter’s appointment as Australia’s first National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, calling it a landmark step towards protecting the rights and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Catherine Liddle said Ms Hunter brings unmatched experience in the child and family sector, along with a strong record of fearless advocacy. She said that the announcement’s timing on National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day highlights the importance of prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, particularly those of children, especially if we are to close the gap.

Catherine said that the role was the result of decades of sustained advocacy, made possible through the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which provided the levers to secure a long-held aspiration. She said the Commissioner is a ‘real system change’ and that Commissioner Hunter must now be supported by strong legislation to reverse the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children entering out-of-home care and youth justice. Catherine said that an empowered National Commissioner can also lift the aspirations of states and territories to strengthen and resource their own Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioners. She said it is time we all get serious about protecting, not punishing, some of the most vulnerable children in the country.

Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Boon Wurrung Elder Muriel Bamblett, Chairperson of SNAICC, said the appointment was especially gratifying given Ms Hunter’s long history of advocating for the position. Aunty Muriel said that Ms Hunter has previously held leadership positions at SNAICC, where she advocated for the establishment of a National Commissioner, and that seeing her appointed to a role she worked so hard to achieve is deeply rewarding. Aunty Muriel also identified Ms Hunter’s recent experience as Yoorrook Justice Commissioner as giving her insight into the historical impact of child removal and the scale of the challenge ahead. Aunty Muriel stated that the SNAICC Board and Council congratulate the Commissioner and look forward to working closely with Ms Hunter to advance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s rights.

Speaking to the media, Catherine Liddle described the National Commissioner as a ‘tool of its kind we have never seen before in this country – fully independent, and with the potential to be fully empowered and legislated.’ She said that the role would have a unique mandate to investigate systemic failures, shine light on ‘the dark corners’ of child protection systems, and recommend reforms that prioritise early intervention, prevention and family support.

Catherine said, while celebrating Children’s Day on Gumbaynggirr Country, that closing the gap starts with our children, pointing to services such as Kulai Preschool as examples of community-led, culturally strong early learning that delivers exceptional outcomes. She said that the first five years are critical as they ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are strong in identity and culture before they start school, and they respond to the whole child and the whole family.

Catherine noted that the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care is increasing, with many having never received quality early education and care. She advocated for a significant increase in investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services, as well as immediate reforms to prevent ‘the tidal wave of notifications’ and unnecessary removals. She said that no matter how good the services are, the problem will not be solved unless the enabling environment changes and families are no longer drawn into a system designed to remove children. Catherine said that the Commissioner’s position provides the best opportunity yet to drive that change.

SNAICC continues to urge all Australians to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, not just on Children’s Day, but every day. Catherine said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are strong, visionary, and full of potential, and that when we walk alongside them, guided by culture and community, their futures are limitless.

For full coverage, find our media release below.