Released 20/10/2025
Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Michael Pettersson, will today join families and community members to celebrate Children’s Week 2025, reaffirming the ACT Government’s commitment to the rights, safety and wellbeing of children and young people across the Territory.
This year’s theme, “Everyone Should Know About Children’s Rights”, highlights the importance of building a community where children are respected, supported and empowered to thrive.
“Children’s Week is a time to celebrate the joy, potential and resilience of children and young people,” Minister Pettersson said. “It’s also a time to reflect on our shared responsibility to uphold their rights and ensure they grow up safe, healthy and connected.”
The ACT Government proudly funds ACT Children’s Week through the Community Development Program, supporting initiatives that raise awareness, foster connection and celebrate children’s rights and achievements. In 2025, the ACT Children’s Week Grants Program is supporting 139 events and activities across the Territory, with a strong focus on rights education, community wellbeing, intergenerational engagement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural understanding, STEM learning, and access to child-focused resources.
“These activities help build a more inclusive and informed community, one where children and young people feel seen, supported and valued,” Minister Pettersson said.
Minister Pettersson also highlighted the ACT Government’s landmark decision to raise the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) to 14, a major step forward in protecting children’s health, safety and development.
“This reform reflects the evidence: children under 14 lack the developmental maturity to be held criminally responsible. Early contact with the justice system can cause long-term harm,” he said.
Instead of criminalisation, children will be supported through therapeutic and coordinated services such as the Therapeutic Support Panel for Children and Young People and the Safer Youth Response Service. These services provide tailored interventions, crisis support and wraparound care, helping children move from crisis toward safety, stability and meaningful connection.
The ACT Government continues to invest in programs that support children from birth through adolescence, including:
- Best Start for Canberra’s Children: First 1000 Days Strategy, with Phase Two consultations commencing this week.
- Set up for Success - Three-Year-Old Preschool.
- ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement - conducting three-year-old checks in early childhood education and care settings and Koori preschools
- Kindergarten Health Checks, reaching around 85% of eligible children.
- Child Development Service, offering early intervention including speech therapy, autism assessments, playgroups and parent workshops.
- Child and Family Centres in Tuggeranong, West Belconnen and Gungahlin, with a fourth centre planned for Molonglo.
- Children’s Services Program, providing free, short-term early childhood education and care placements for children experiencing vulnerability.
- Children, Youth and Families Services Program, funding playgroups, parenting programs, therapeutic services and workforce development initiatives.
The ACT Government’s commitment to children’s rights is also demonstrated through the establishment of both the ACT Children and Young People Commissioner in 2005 and the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children & Young People Commissioner in 2023. These are independent roles that promote and protect the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT. This includes talking with children and young people to get their views and perspectives on what will make Canberra better for them, encouraging other organisations to do the same, and providing advice to government and community agencies about how to improve services for children and young people.
“We are building a system that puts children first, responds early, supports families, and strengthens community-led solutions,” Minister Pettersson said.
To mark Children’s Week, Minister Pettersson will join families at a Learn, Giggle and Grow playgroup in Gungahlin, celebrating the joy and potential of Canberra’s youngest citizens.
“Children’s Week is a celebration of what makes childhood special and a reminder of our responsibility to protect and nurture it,” he said.
For more information on Children’s Week events and ACT Government programs supporting children and families, visit ACT Children's Week.
- Statement ends -
Michael Pettersson, MLA | Media Releases