Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the National Strategy

Child sexual abuse is a challenging issue. Reading this document may bring up strong feelings for some people. Please take care of yourself as you read the National Strategy Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and ask for help if you need it. You might want to talk to your family and friends, or your counsellor, doctor, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services. If you need assistance or support, you can find a list of dedicated services on the Get support page.

Crisis and suicide prevention

If you are, or someone else is, in immediate danger, call Triple Zero: 000

Lifeline: 13 11 14 or www.LifeLine.org.au

13YARN: 13 92 76 or www.13yarn.org.au

Mental health and support advice

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or www.KidsHelpline.com.au

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or www.BeyondBlue.org.au

MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78 or www.MensLine.org.au

QLife: 1800 184 527 or www.QLife.org.au

Family and domestic violence support

1800Respect: 1800 737 732 or www.1800Respect.org.au 

Child sexual abuse support and advice

ASKIZZY (for people with disabilities, carers and their families to connect with services across Australia): www.askizzy.org.au/disability-advocacy-finder

Australian Sexual Assault Services Directory: www.nasasv.org.au/support-directory

Blue Knot Foundation: 1300 657 380 or www.BlueKnot.org.au

Bravehearts: 1800 272 831 or www.BraveHearts.org.au

Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) Inc: 1800 008 774 or www.Clan.org.au

National Redress Scheme: 1800 737 377 or www.NationalRedress.gov.au

PartnerSPEAK (peer support for non-offending partners): (03) 9018 7872

Survivors & Mates Support Network (SAMSN): 1800 472 676 or www.Samsn.org.au

Stop It Now!: 1800 01 1800 or www.stopitnow.org.au

For local sexual assault services, go to HealthDirect.

Help is available if you have experienced, are experiencing, or are at risk of child sexual abuse. If you are worried that you, your child, or a child or young person you know is at risk, it is important to act on it and report it.

If you are, or someone else is, in immediate danger, call Triple Zero on 000. 

To report a crime, contact your local police on 131 444. 

If you want to report a crime anonymously, you can visit Crime Stoppers at www.CrimeStoppers.com.au or call their toll-free number on 1800 333 000.

You can report online child sexual abuse, including online grooming, to the Australian Federal Police’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation at www.accce.gov.au/Report. 

If you want to report illegal content and illegal online content for removal, including online child sexual exploitation and abuse material, you can contact the eSafety Commissioner at www.eSafety.gov.au/Report. 

If you suspect a child or young person is at risk, contact your relevant state or territory child protection organisation. This includes children and young people at risk of:

• harm
• sexual abuse
• physical or emotional abuse
• family violence
• neglect.

You can find links to these organisations and further information about reporting on the Make a report page.

The evidence of lived experience was of incredible importance in shaping the National Strategy Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Framework). This evidence was obtained through extensive consultations and co-design workshops, including with priority groups under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030 (National Strategy) (see section on Co-design process). This consultation aimed to ensure that the Framework reflects the reality of those who best understand not only the impacts of child sexual abuse, but also the gaps in current approaches to preventing and responding to child sexual abuse. 

The National Office for Child Safety (National Office) gratefully acknowledges the time, effort and insights provided by the individuals and organisations who have shared their experience and expertise to inform the development of this Framework. 

This includes:

• members of the Co-Design Working Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers, who co-authored large parts of this Framework
• members and representatives of the National Strategy priority groups, including: 
  • victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and their advocates
  • children and young people and their advocates
  • First Nations peoples
  • people with disability
  • culturally and linguistically diverse communities
  • people who identify as LGBTQIA+
  • regional and remote communities.
• members of the National Strategy Advisory Group for their invaluable guidance and advice throughout the drafting process• members of the Research, Evaluation and Data Working Group, National Clinical Reference Group, Strategic Management Group and National Strategy Policy Working Group for their contributions. 

We could not have created this Framework without their wisdom and knowledge.

The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030 (National Strategy) was launched in September 2021, driven by the extent and impact of child sexual abuse revealed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission). The Royal Commission emphasised the need for accountability when responding to child sexual abuse. The Framework will support providing transparency and accountability for the activities of governments, organisations and communities under the National Strategy.

Australian, state and territory governments know that child sexual abuse is preventable. Since the launch of the National Strategy, we have learned the extent of child sexual abuse in Australia goes beyond what the Royal Commission revealed. The Australian Child Maltreatment Study, published in April 2023, revealed that around 1 in 4 Australians aged 16 years and over have experienced child sexual abuse. 

The design and implementation of the National Strategy’s activities to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse have highlighted gaps in our understanding. It has revealed extensive data gaps about the incidence, prevalence and responses to child sexual abuse across all levels of society, including law responses, service delivery and education.

Achieving the objective of the National Strategy – to reduce the risk, extent and impact of child sexual abuse and related harms in Australia – is an enormous task. Achieving this objective requires achieving a wide range of outcomes for children and young people, communities, families, services and organisations. This Framework provides a roadmap for these outcomes, which can be achieved through nationally coordinated action in all jurisdictions and sectors and effective leadership at all levels. 

The Framework was developed through a co-design process, and in this spirit, the Australian, 
state and territory governments will collaborate closely with priority cohorts, organisations, service delivery partners, and researchers throughout the lifetime of the Framework. While this task is significant, the Framework will provide valuable information on what works and how we can continue to improve our prevention and response to child sexual abuse. 

The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
Commonwealth Attorney-General 

The National Strategy Advisory Group (Advisory Group) provides regular, frank advice and input into shaping the delivery of the National Strategy. Members include passionate representatives from the National Strategy’s priority groups, as well as non-government organisations, academics, community members and individuals. The mix of membership captures and ensures the inclusion of diverse views in the design, implementation and evaluation of the National Strategy’s measures, including views from those with lived experience of child sexual abuse.

The Advisory Group has directly shaped the development of the Framework – most notably through 11 members being part of the Framework’s Co-design Working Group. While consultation is often rebranded as co-design, this was not the case with the development of this Framework. The co-design process included 5 hybrid workshops and a number of out-of-session engagements where we designed the Framework’s principles for monitoring and evaluation and the Framework’s 25 outcomes and 24 indicators. 

The culmination of this genuine co-design process identified a shared vision of what needs to happen to protect Australian children from child sexual abuse and to better respond when it does happen. It also highlights the shared responsibilities of the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments, non-government organisations and the community to achieve this. 

This Framework will assess implementation progress towards the National Strategy’s objective and outcomes in a publicly accessible and transparent way, ensuring all governments are held accountable.

“Accountability and transparency are really important for survivors.”

We acknowledge the limitations and gaps in the available data used to determine progress against the Framework’s outcomes. We will continue to engage with the Commonwealth Government on data development activities to ensure the voices of all priority groups are visible in reporting. Through the life of the National Strategy, the strengths and weakness of data sources should remain visible, the terminology used should be revisited and revised to ensure it remains appropriate and respectful of those represented. The voices of children must be prioritised in the implementation of this Framework. 

“There is still so much more to do but this Framework is an important part of the way forward.”

There is still much work to be done to ensure that children are protected from child sexual abuse. This Framework is an important starting point for this much needed work. The Advisory Group looks forward to continuing to provide grass roots advice on top priorities and key issues throughout the life of the Framework, and working with the Commonwealth Government to ensure that victims and survivors have a say in the policies and programs that affect them. 

National Strategy Advisory Group
On behalf of the Co-design Working Group, 2022–2023

We have carefully considered the terms we use in the Framework. They are based on the opinions of many victims and survivors, and people with professional expertise in these areas. In some instances, the terms we use differ from the National Strategy document released in September 2021. This reflects our improved understanding of the policy issue and people’s lived experience. 

For a full glossary of the key terms we use across the National Office for Child Safety website, visit the Glossary of terms page.