National Strategy Second Action Plan

The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030 Second Action Plan

The Australian Government is committed to strong action on child sexual abuse, and all forms of family, domestic and sexual violence. We recognise the importance of hearing from communities across the nation to stop the cycle of abuse and help victims and survivors to heal.

Throughout 2026, all Australians will have the opportunity to tell governments what needs to happen next to keep children safe from abuse and best support victims and survivors.

Community survey now open

The Australian Government is seeking community input to help shape the Second Action Plan under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030 (National Strategy).

The survey is available on the Attorney-General's Department consultation hub and is open until 11:59pm on 17 July 2026.

All Australians are invited to share what needs to happen next to:

• keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse
• better support victims and survivors.

Your feedback will help shape future government actions.

If you have difficulty completing the online survey or have questions, please visit our Contact us page and complete the online form.

Progress made under the First Action Plans

Significant progress has been achieved since 2021.

• Conversations about child sexual abuse have been brought out of the shadows and critical services have been funded and delivered to stop offending before it occurs and provide supports for victims and survivors.
• We have worked with organisations to build child safe cultures, supported specialist workforces to respond to children who display harmful sexual behaviours and delivered international capacity building.
• Essential data is now available about the prevalence of child sexual abuse, and we have the capability to monitor the impact of government action.

Learn more about work completed under the First Action Plans on our Annual reporting page.

Preventing and responding to child sexual abuse is a national priority. While important progress has been made, we know more must be done.

Development of the Second Action Plan

The development of a Second Action Plan is an opportunity to address known and emerging challenges, and community concerns and priorities.

The Australian Government has already engaged a variety of groups to hear about priority areas for the Second Action Plan. We have heard that governments should:

• empower victims and survivors and their support networks
• improve responses to children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviours
• build skilled and safe workforces
• address online child sexual abuse and online harms
• prevent offending before it occurs and strengthen offender detection and response.

We want to make sure the Second Action Plan improves outcomes for everyone, and that all voices can be heard.

Stay up to date on consultation opportunities by visiting our Get involved page and subscribing to the consultation mailing list.

A shared national approach to preventing violence and supporting safety

All Australian governments want an effective and nationally coordinated approach to ending family, domestic and sexual violence, and keeping children safe. Although Australia has made progress, rates of family, domestic and sexual violence, and child sexual abuse remain unacceptably high. The rates of First Nations children going into out-of-home care has also continued to increase.

Governments need to work together and with the wider community, to understand and respond to how these problems are evolving and act with urgency and care.  This is a whole-of-society challenge that governments cannot fix alone.

One connected system, not isolated plans

In 2026, the Australian Government will consult on five new action plans that sit under four national frameworks. Together, these action plans will help turn long-term goals into action. This includes the Second Action Plan for the National Strategy as well as:

• the Second Action Plan for the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032
• the Second Action Plan for Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021–2031 (Safe and Supported)
• the Second Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan under Safe and Supported
• the First Action Plan for Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026–2036.

We are designing these action plans to work together, recognising that people affected by violence often navigate multiple overlapping services, such as health, justice, housing and community services, and may experience multiple forms of abuse or ongoing impacts from past abuse.

This work depends on hearing from a wide range of people, so we will be consulting across communities, including people with lived experience, children and young people, frontline workers, academics and other experts.

Consultations will take a "tell us once" approach so that people don't have to tell their story or give feedback multiple times.

If you are interested in participating in consultations related to family, domestic and sexual violence, please visit engage.dss.gov.au.