Page 885 - Week 03 - Thursday, 7 April 2022
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broad spectrum of issues that impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the ACT and provide independent advice on issues of culture and equity.
When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their families and communities have equitable access to culturally safe restorative justice practices, prevention and diversion programs, they can thrive. In the ACT’s National Agreement on Closing the Gap implementation plan, there are bold targets to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the criminal justice system. Under the commitment we are also advocating for the importance of the rights of children and young people. We recognise that children who come into contact with the youth justice system often have complex lives.
While young people need to be accountable for the impact of their actions on others, it is better for everyone if they are supported to address their challenges and diverted from the justice system. That is why this government, in partnership with the community sector, is working towards raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from the current 10 years of age. To ensure the reform is successful, we are committed to improving accessible services and support for all children, young people and their families in the ACT. These services will help children and young people access timely and holistic support before, during and after a crisis.
The disability justice strategy has established a community of practice to support people with disability, their carers and supporters to navigate the justice system. One aspect of the work of the community of practice is to support people to understand their rights, access information and better understand the justice system. This has included working with Child and Youth Protection Services to create plain language information sheets for parents and kinship carers about therapeutic assessments and declared care teams.
We have also made significant progress in protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ children and young people to live their lives free from stigma and discrimination. We recognise that for children and young people to thrive, they should be able to express identity, feel a sense of belonging and participate fully in society. The Capital of Equality strategy is designed to deliver equitable outcomes for LGBTIQ+ Canberrans.
Our progress includes legislative changes such as passing the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Act 2020—which provides independent pathways for intersex, transgender and gender diverse young people under the age of 18 to apply to change their name and registered sex in the ACT register of births to better reflect their gender identity—and the Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Act 2020, which came into effect on 4 March 2021 and protects Canberrans from harmful sexuality and gender identity conversion practices.
We want to support mainstream services to be LGBTIQ+ safe, inclusive and appropriate, particularly in health and education settings. Under the Capital of Equality strategy, we are working to improve the health and wellbeing of intersex people with legislation to protect their human rights in medical settings, to be
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