The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets out the rights that all children are entitled to, and the responsibilities of States to respect, protect and fulfil those rights.
States that ratify the CRC — and its Optional Protocols, which cover children in armed conflict; the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and an international complaints procedure — commit to being periodically reviewed on their implementation.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors how States implement the Convention and its Optional Protocols. It reviews progress, identifies areas of concern, and provides guidance to States on how to strengthen children’s rights.
The Reporting Process
The reporting process operates as an ongoing cycle. The Committee meets periodically in Geneva to review reports submitted by States on their implementation of the CRC.
The CRC is unique in explicitly recognising the role of civil society in monitoring implementation (under Article 45(a)). The Committee draws on input from non-government organisations (NGOs) through ‘alternative reports’, as well as from UN agencies such as UNICEF. Children and young people can also participate throughout the reporting process.
Based on this information — including contributions from governments, civil society, and children and young people — the Committee issues recommendations known as Concluding Observations. These outline how States, including Australia, can strengthen implementation of the CRC, better uphold children’s rights, and address areas where children are most at risk.
While governments are expected to consider these recommendations and strengthen laws, policies and processes accordingly, they are not legally binding.
australia’s Reporting
Australia ratified the CRC in December 1990 and is responsible for ensuring that all children in Australia enjoy their rights. Australia has not adopted legislation that would fully incorporate the CRC into domestic law, resulting in an inconsistent framework of laws and policies that reflect the CRC to varying degrees.
While Australia still has a duty to implement the CRC through its ratification, full incorporation would strengthen accountability by enabling children’s rights to be more directly applied in courts and more consistently embedded across laws and policies.
The Australian Child Rights Taskforce plays a key role in coordinating civil society engagement in Australia’s reporting cycle. This helps ensure that the experiences of children and young people are heard by the Committee and inform its review of Australia’s progress.
Seventh Periodic Reporting Cycle
Under the Simplified Reporting Cycle, the process begins when the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child sends the Australian Government a List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR) — a set of priority issues and questions on its implementation of children’s rights. The Australian Government’s replies to the LOIPR then constitute its State report.
In December 2025, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce provided an initial submission to inform the development of the LOIPR for Australia’s seventh periodic review under the CRC. Following a postponement in the adoption of the LOIPR, the Taskforce has been invited to submit an updated contribution by 1 August 2026.
Read the Australian Child Rights Taskforce’s Initial Submission to the LOIPR
Children’s Report 2019
The 2019 Children’s Report was the Australian Child Rights Taskforce’s alternative report to inform the UN Committee’s review of Australia under its combined fifth and sixth reporting cycle.
In this integrated report, the views of children and young people across Australia sit in close association with the contributions of 93 non-government organisations (NGOs) and subject matter experts committed to improving the protection, promotion and fulfilment of the rights of all children and young people in Australia.
The Committee’s Concluding Observations were adopted in September 2019 and published in November 2019.
The Simplified Reporting Cycle Timeline
Step 1
The UN Committee’s List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR)
The reporting cycle begins when the Committee sends the State party the LOIPR — a list of priority issues and questions relating its implementation of child rights. The Committee adopts the LOIPR based on a document review, including submissions and reports prepared by UNICEF and UN agencies, NGOs, children, National Human Rights Institutions, Ombudspersons and other stakeholders.
Step 2
Submission of the State Report
The replies by the State party to the LOIPR constitute the State report (i.e. the report from the Australian Government). The State report is usually due 12 months after the Committee sends the State Party the LOIPR. Usually, the preparation of Australia’s State report to the UN Committee from is co-ordinated by the Attorney General’s Department.
The State’s report is published on the Committee’s website. NGOs can also provide a brief written response to the LOIPR. NGOs are advised to wait until they have seen the State’s written report before sending any additional information, unless there is an important delay.
Step 3
Preparation and submission of the NGO Alternative Report
To make a comprehensive and independent assessment of the child rights situation in a State, the Committee welcomes specific, reliable and objective information from non-State actors, including Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and children. The is known as the ‘alternative report’.
This is where the Australian Child Rights Taskforce comes in. We coordinate the alternative reporting alongside advocates, service providers and experts who work directly with children — bringing an independent view of how government initiatives are impacting children’s rights in Australia, and what could be improved.
Step 4
The Pre-Session Meeting
The Committee holds a pre-session as soon as the State report is received
and usually three months before the session with the State. The Committee will invite selected stakeholders, including
UNICEF, other UN agencies, NHRIs, Ombudspersons, and children’s rights defenders, including children to discuss the situation of children’s rights.
It is an opportunity for civil society to share information and concerns before the Committee’s country session with the State representatives of the country concerned.
Step 5
The Plenary Session
A country session is a public meeting between the Committee and the State representatives of the country up for review, during which they have an interactive dialogue about the situation of children’s rights in the country. It usually takes place in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Committee bases the discussion on many things, including: the State report, the alternative reports, information shared during the pre-session, and other relevant documentation received or consulted by the Committee. Anyone, including the media and children’s rights defenders, can attend the meeting as an observer.
Step 6
Concluding Observations
The Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are the main outcome of a country session. These Concluding Observations point out the positive achievements and challenges faced in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child or the Optional Protocols by each State, as well as a list of recommendations about how the State can improve its compliance with the CRC and Optional Protocols.
Step 7
Follow up to Concluding Observations
The Committee does not have a formal follow-up procedure by which the implementation of certain Concluding Observations is periodically assessed. However, at each periodic review, the Committee takes into account previous Concluding Observations and compares these with progress detailed in the State party’s report and in submissions received from non-State actors.