Child wellbeing is crime prevention – ARACY presents at the 18th Reintegration Puzzle Conference to Champion Child-Centred Justice Reform

Adam Valvasori, ARACY Advocacy Lead, and Thivya (Thiv) Supramaniam, ARACY Policy and Projects Officer, are proud to present an evidence-based, public health approach to Child and Youth Justice Reform at the 18th Reintegration Puzzle Conference, held in Mparntwe/Alice Springs from 25–26 June 2025.

Now in its 18th year, the Reintegration Puzzle Conference, hosted by the Justice Reform Initiative, continues to serve as a vital national gathering for those working alongside people impacted by incarceration. With a strong focus on the transition from prison back into the community, the conference brings together people with lived experience of the justice system, community leaders, First Nations voices, researchers, and advocates. This unique forum fosters collaboration and practical solutions to address the deep-seated systemic issues associated with imprisonment and reintegration.

ARACY is presenting for the first time at this year’s conference with a clear message: children’s wellbeing must be a national priority, and youth justice reform must start with prevention, not punishment. When we support children to be safe, healthy, connected, and equipped for life, we prevent the conditions that lead to harmful behaviour and contact with the justice system.

We don’t have a “knowing” problem — we have a “doing” problem.

We’re calling for whole-of-society strategies to:

  • Shift the public narrative from punishment to prevention and early intervention
  • Embed children’s wellbeing as a standing priority for National Cabinet
  • Redirect resources upstream into supports that prevent contact with the justice system
  • Invest in more First Nations-led solutions to address the root causes of overrepresentation

Harmful behaviour doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It reflects complex, overlapping challenges in a child’s life.

Harmful behaviour doesn’t occur in isolation — it often reflects a child’s experience of overlapping challenges including poverty, trauma, systemic racism, and poor mental health. A punitive approach does not rehabilitate; it retraumatises. We need a whole-child, whole-system response grounded in wellbeing, community, and connection.

ARACY’s wellbeing framework, The Nest, offers a shared map to help us get this right.

A thriving child is a child kept out of the justice system—because true reform begins with putting child wellbeing first.

This week’s conference also features a powerful collective statement from the First Nations Caucus of Children’s Commissioners, Guardians and Advocates, urging governments to stop failing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and uphold their legal obligations under international human rights agreements.

ARACY strongly supports Caucus members who are united in calling for the urgent implementation of key recommendations from Help Way Earlier, including:

  • Establishing a Minister for Children
  • Incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law through a National Children’s Act and a Federal Human Rights Act
  • Creating a Ministerial Council for Child Wellbeing

As part of the conference, there will be a dedicated youth justice roundtable to listen directly to community representatives on the unacceptable overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the justice system.

We echo the call to back evidence-informed, community-led solutions that keep children connected to family, culture, and country.

There is no justice without child wellbeing. And there can be no more delay. Let’s move from knowing to doing. Together.

Read the Australia and New Zealand Children’s Commissioners and Guardians media release Here

Read the Justice Reform Initiative media release here