Executive summary This project explored children’s experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and their mental health and wellbeing. Surveys were undertaken with children, and parents/guardians and grandparents in early 2022. The findings from the COVID-19 and kids’ wellbeing surveys provide insight into how to best support children’s mental health and wellbeing in Australia. While the findings will guide the implementation of the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan (Response Plan), the survey findings also demonstrate that systems reform at a national level is needed to effectively support the mental health and wellbeing of children. An important starting point for this is the resourcing and implementation of the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Recommendations This report includes eight recommendations based on findings from the surveys, individual interviews and two roundtables with key stakeholders: 1. Australian governments work together to fully fund and implement the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy (Priority Areas 1, 2, 3 and 6 in the Response Plan) (See sections 8.3(a) and 9.3(b)) 2. The Australian Government seeks the views and experiences of children, young people and their families to inform the ongoing implementation and monitoring of the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan, including by direct engagement through interviews, forums and surveys (Priority Area 6 in the Response Plan) (See section 9.3(d)) 12 | 3. The Australian Government regularly collects national data on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people that can be used to inform policy and service delivery, and to monitor long-term trends in children’s mental health during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic (Priority Area 10 in the Response Plan) 4. Australian governments conduct child rights impact assessments as part of all policy and law decision-making processes that affect children’s wellbeing, including in emergency responses (Priority Areas 6 and 10 in the Response Plan) (See section 9.3(d)) 5. Australian governments fund evidencebased education programs in schools and community settings to improve the mental health and wellbeing literacy of children and caregivers, and increase understanding and awareness of mental health issues in the community (Priority Area 7 in the Response Plan) (See sections 5, 8.3(a) and 9.3(a)) 6. Australian governments pilot models of schooling that provide integrated and holistic mental health and wellbeing support, including by: a. co-locating health and family support services with schools where possible, or facilitating access to communitybased services b. ensuring teachers receive training and support to address children’s wellbeing needs and collaborate with mental health experts where necessary c. ensuring trained mental health professionals are available and accessible to all in the school community, including students and their families. (Priority Areas 1, 2, 3 and 6 in the Response Plan) (See sections 7.3, 8.7 and 9.3(c)) 7. Australian governments make available free or affordable, place-based, holistic mental health services for children and their families, including in regional and remote areas (Priority Areas 1, 2, 3 and 6 in the Response Plan) (See sections 8.3(a) and 9.3(b)) Children and young people as a group have been subject to multiple restrictions as a result of the pandemic—their ability to move around their communities, spend time with friends and extended family members, and their ability to attend school have all been constrained at different times since early 2020. 8. Mental health services for children and families offer a range of delivery options to encourage greater uptake, including face-to-face, child-friendly telehealth consultations, digital interventions, and phone helplines, where they are evaluated as providing positive outcomes (Priority Areas 1, 2, 3 and 6 in the Response Plan) (See section 8.5) In addition, children experienced the broader impacts of the pandemic on their families— fear of either themselves or relatives getting ill, periods of isolation, lack of information and misinformation, as well as economic impacts such as loss of employment of family members. This project explores how these factors and others have affected the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people based on their self-reported experiences, and those of their caregivers. What our research is about and why it is important? In June 2021, the National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) funded ten projects investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different communities in Australia. This project was selected as part of that process to investigate how the pandemic affected the mental health and wellbeing of children. This project builds on research conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic, analysing the mental health and support needs of children contacting the Kids Helpline.1 The report of that research included recommendations for protecting the mental health and wellbeing of children as the pandemic unfolded. Prior to the pandemic the mental health and wellbeing of children in Australia was an ongoing concern for policy makers, practitioners and children and their families, with research suggesting a decline in the mental health and wellbeing for children in Australia and overseas. What did we want to find out? In 2021, the NMHC asked the National Children’s Commissioner (NCC) to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of children. It specifically asked the NCC to examine: • the impacts of the pandemic on children in different circumstances and locations • the mental health and related support and interventions required to support them, their families and communities • the main and unique challenges and barriers experienced by children during the pandemic • actions that can be taken to address the priority action areas of the Response Plan, and other priority issues identified by children. ‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing • 2022 | 13