Submissions – your input matters
If you want to know everything about submissions, from how to make them to how they are used in Commissions of Inquiry, then you’ve come to the right place!
What is a submission?
If you’ve read our blog on public hearings, you’ll know that public hearings are a powerful investigative tool for Commissions of Inquiry to uncover information that may not be readily visible.
But public hearings are not the only fact-finding tool the Commission uses to receive information. Submissions are another great way to provide the Commission with information about experiences and suggestions for system reform.
The Commission invites individuals, organisations and agencies with knowledge or experience in the child safety system, to share material and their experiences and most valuably, any suggestions for improvement, relevant to the Inquiry’s terms of reference.
This information is helpful to inform the Commission’s work and ultimately shape its recommendations. Sometimes, calls for submissions can relate to a particular focus topic for example, on the Director of Child Protection Litigation and litigation model or youth justice and corporate parenting.
What are the terms of reference?
The terms of reference are the backbone of any Commissions of Inquiry that define its objectives, boundaries, and the scope in which it may exercise powers under Queensland law.
The Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety’s terms of reference are broad and are about:
- reforming the residential care system
- fixing a broken system
- safer children
- safer communities
- reviewing Queensland legislation about the protection of children
- any other matter relevant to the inquiry.
This means the Commission will look at issues about:
- how the child safety system works for everyone involved, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and communities
- how children, families and carers in the system are treated
- early intervention programs
- models of care – including residential care, foster care, and kinship care
- the roles of the agencies in the child safety system
- how you can complain about problems with the system
- the laws about child safety and child protection, including the Child Protection Act 1999 and the Adoption Act 2009
- anything else about child safety.
How can I make a submission?
Submissions can be made in various forms to the Commission other than writing. While our online form is the easiest way to provide a submission, the Commission also accepts phone recordings. We also welcome emails, video or audio recordings or a picture or artwork to learn about your story. Anyone can make a submission on any matter relevant to the terms of reference.
What do I include and not include in my submission?
Try our online form first. It has lots of helpful guiding questions so it’s the best place to start when making your submission. This will ensure all essential details the Commission needs to consider, when reviewing your submission, are covered off.
Check that your submission relates to one or more of the topics in the terms of reference then consider the following when making your submission:
- your relevant experience with the child safety system
- positive stories about what’s working well with the child safety system
- offering solutions or recommendations as to how the child safety system can be improved.
A useful tip: The Commission understands there are submitters who have had a long connection with the child protection system. If that’s you and you are considering putting a submission to the Commission, ensure your submission focuses on the biggest concerns. By communicating your key concerns, this will assist us to understand what systemic issues exist with greater ease.
Make sure you include more than just your contact details in your submission. Please include what you want to say to the Commission. It will assist Commission staff greatly when reviewing your submission.
Will the Commission investigate my individual case?
This is a question we often get asked. The focus of the Commission’s role is to look at problems on a systemic level. This means we are unable to intervene in individual matters. Nevertheless, individual cases help the Commission to understand and highlight systemic issues collectively to improve the child safety system for all Queensland families in the future.
What happens after I make my submission?
Every submission made to the Commission is valued and will be reviewed. So far, we have received more than 960 submissions.
Each submission needs to be considered to assess its relevance against the terms of reference, and whether it helps inform the Commission’s examination of systemic issues and opportunities for reform.
We will only contact you if we need further information or more detail about your submission.
You may also be requested, with your consent through the Commission, to give evidence at a public hearing. While we won’t compel or force you to give evidence publicly if you don’t want to, there is an option to give evidence at a private hearing instead of publicly.
How will the Commission use my submission in the Inquiry?
The Commission will use your submission in a variety of ways.
For instance, your evidence will be used collectively to highlight some of the systemic issues impacting the child safety system and may also be quoted in reports.
From time to time the Commission receives relevant submissions on the same topic. This is useful because it means we can use these submissions to develop a theme on a particular topic, as part of our investigations.
We may also seek your permission to attribute a quote directly to you in our reports. We’ll maintain your anonymity if you request it.
Your submission, with your permission, may also be published on the Commission’s website.
We thank everyone who has made a submission to the Commission. Community input is critical to achieving systemic change.