For the National Framework to deliver better outcomes for Australia's most vulnerable children, everyone needs to continue with the important work they have been doing and make a start on the new initiatives they have committed to.
To make this as easy as possible, we have developed a partnership arrangement. This arrangement balances the need to touch base on the progress of actions with recognising the importance of getting on with the work that has to be done. It also allows for extensive engagement with stakeholders to inform the future direction of the National Framework.
Our partnership arrangement
Within our partnership arrangement, different groups serve different purposes. Some perform a high-level oversight role in tracking the progress of the National Framework and will have the capacity to change its direction if necessary; others will be directly involved in the day-to-day management of certain actions; and still others will focus on engaging with external groups. On top of this, we will keep key stakeholders involved through ongoing consultation.
In turn, these different groups will also support the different groupings of actions in the National Framework outlined in
section 2.
The groups involved in the National Framework's implementation and delivery are described below.
- COAG, which endorsed the National Framework on 30 April 2009, will perform an oversight role, and keep watch over its progress through annual reports (for the life of the first action plan) submitted by CDSMC. Given its high-level role, COAG will have an equal interest in all types of actions outlined in the first three-year action plan.
- The CDSMC consists of Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers responsible for portfolios such as family, community, disability, youth, children, ageing and social welfare. CDSMC meets at least once a year and will be responsible for tracking and making decisions about the overall direction of the National Framework. It will monitor all National Framework actions, but will only be responsible for the day-to-day management of national priorities. The Community and Disability Services Ministers' Advisory Council (CDSMAC) supports CDSMC, and consists of senior officials from relevant departments. CDSMAC meets bi-annually.
- Ministerial Councils could include forums such as the Australian Health Ministers' Conference, Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, the Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Ministers' Conference on the Status of Women and the Ministerial Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. These bodies have been included in the National Framework partnership because they could be responsible for the day-to-day management of major reforms under the first three-year action plan. Members of CDSMC will engage with colleagues on these councils to build links and ensure approaches are child centred.
- The Ministerial Forum, hosted by CDSMC, will involve a meeting of Ministers from a range of jurisdictions and portfolios (including those from relevant Ministerial Councils, as discussed above), non-government organisations and the broader Australian community, including children and young people. This mechanism is particularly useful for engaging with relevant Ministerial Councils on major reform actions under the first three-year action plan, exploring social issues that have an impact on children and families, and influencing future broad social reform agendas to be child centred.
- The National Framework Advisory Committee is an opportunity for CDSMAC officials, non-government organisations (including members of the Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia's Children) and children and young people, to review progress and consider priorities and advice on key issues related to the National Framework. National priorities are likely to be the focus of this group, although other actions in the first three-year action plan, and actions to be included in future action plans, could be addressed. CDSMC will convene this group as an interactive process to engage on the National Framework's operation and to better inform decision-making processes.
- The National Framework Implementation Working Group will meet quarterly and has a hands-on role in the implementation and delivery of the National Framework. The Commonwealth Government, all States and Territories, and community representatives (including members of the Coalition) will be represented on this group. The Working Group will consult with external stakeholders such as State and Territory Children's Commissioners, local governments and professional bodies about the practical aspects of implementing and delivering the National Framework.
- Two working groups will sit under the National Framework Implementation Working Group:
- The Performance and Data Working Group will work on enhancing the evidence base, which is one of the national priorities outlined in section 2. It will also be involved in the development of key performance indicators and the simplified reporting system, as addressed in section 3. The work of this group is important in developing the infrastructure to set the direction of future action plans and the National Framework as a whole. It includes Commonwealth, State and Territory government and non-government sector representatives.
- The Information Sharing Working Group was set up in 2008 to work on the national priority 'Sharing information'. It includes Commonwealth and State and Territory government representatives, and meets as required.
- To ensure flexibility and respond to the evolving nature of the first three-year action plan of the National Framework, these working groups may change and new working groups may be established over time.
- Throughout the life of the National Framework there will be many opportunities to jointly explore complex issues, including through consultation processes and by directly seeking input from stakeholders. This will provide an avenue for a broad range of stakeholders to engage in the development, refinement and implementation of actions. Targeted consultations may include grandparents, service providers, peak bodies, welfare groups, professional associations, children and young people and their representatives, advocates, researchers, policy officers and legal and statutory officers. An example of this type of work already under way is through the national priority 'Seeing early warning signs and taking early action'. Funding has been provided to the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth to convene a high-level taskforce, with government and non-government representatives working together to inform the development of a common assessment and referral tool. The National Framework Implementation Working Group will be responsible for organising such broad engagements.
- States and Territories will have their own governance arrangements for the work they do on ongoing initiatives for children and families, as they are responsible for managing these on a day-to-day basis.
- Non-government organisations will also have their own way of managing the day-to-day actions of community initiatives.
- Ways to effectively consult and engage with children and young people themselves, as opposed to just those who represent them, will be explored as part of implementing the actions under the National Framework. This consultation is essential to getting the implementation and delivery of the National Framework right, because it is children and young people who will be most affected by it. To inform our approach, we will engage with the non-government sector and State and Territory Children's Commissioners, as necessary, and look at previous work done in this area, including the Queensland Biennial Surveys and the NSW Commission for Children and Young People's 'Taking Participation Seriously' kit.
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The Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia's Children (the Coalition) represents non-government organisations who work with vulnerable families and children across Australia. It was set up in November 2007 to work with governments to develop the National Framework. The Coalition will continue to work in partnership with governments on the implementation and delivery of the National Framework.
The Coalition is responsible for coordinating a nomination process for the participation of non-government organisations and community stakeholders in the groups involved in the National Framework's implementation and delivery, as described in this section. This process calls for nominations from organisations both within and outside the Coalition.
Figure 3 outlines the links between groups in the National Framework partnership arrangement.
Figure 3: Partnership arrangement 
Expectations - who do we need to report to on progress?
As outlined in section 3, the National Framework is a long-term initiative and it is unlikely we will see changes in its high-level target for many years to come. However, some groups in the National Framework partnership arrangement have reporting responsibilities. These will allow us to see short-term achievements of individual actions which, in time, will all contribute to the success of the high-level target.
- COAG will receive annual report cards from CDSMC. These reports will contain high-level information about each action under the National Framework. COAG will release this information to the public so that everyone in the Australian community can view a snapshot of the National Framework's progress on a yearly basis. This is one way in which we will be accountable to the broader Australian community, and organisations and individuals can track the progress of actions they are particularly interested in.
- CDSMC and CDSMAC will receive reports from the National Framework Implementation Working Group twice a year. These reports will have a particular focus on the national priorities that CDSMC is responsible for managing but will also contain high-level information about all actions under the National Framework, reflecting CDSMC's overall management and monitoring role.
- In addition to the reports that COAG will release annually, the broader Australian community can track the progress of actions they are particularly interested in independently of National Framework reporting mechanisms through the website links provided in Appendix A.