The use of CRIAs began in Europe in the late 1980s and 1990s. In 2003, they were endorsed by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (the CRC Committee) in General Comment 5 on general measures of implementation of the CRC.5 General Comment 5 calls for CRIA processes to be built into government decision-making at all levels and as early as possible. The CRC Committee also advocates for the use of Child Rights Impact Evaluations (CRIE) to guarantee that the provisions of the CRC are respected in the implementation of policy and legislation. CRIEs can play an important role in evaluating the effectiveness of a policy or law in promoting children’s rights and wellbeing, and can be used to remove or amend actions, or inform the development of another similar law or policy. Australia ratified the CRC on 17 December 1990. However, in 2023, Australia is yet to commit to the use of CRIAs and CRIEs across all jurisdictions and does not have a national tool whereby policy and legislation are systematically assessed for their impacts on children. There are some existing mechanisms for the consideration of children’s rights in law and policy-making in Australia. Three Australian jurisdictions have Human Rights Acts—the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, and Queensland.6 This legislation requires the respective governments to produce statements of compatibility with human rights on proposed legislation introduced into Parliament. At the Commonwealth level, while there is no Human Rights Act, all government and nongovernment bills or legislative instruments must be accompanied by a statement of compatibility with human rights that includes human rights as set out in the CRC. However, these mechanisms are not sufficiently comprehensive of children’s rights and focus on legislation only. In the ACT, Queensland, and Western Australia (WA), Children’s Commissioners have developed CRIAs.7 These tools have been useful in assessing impacts of certain policies and projects but are not widely used in government decision-making.8 Different forms of CRIAs have been developed and applied overseas, influenced by local priorities.9 For example, the Welsh Government used a CRIA in the context of a proposed legislative amendment (the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020), to remove a defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ in relation to corporal punishment of a child in Wales. New Zealand also piloted the use of local CRIAs in Auckland City and Manukau City Council areas to improve council processes of working with children. Although the councils did not fully complete the assessment, the individuals who took part in local consultation processes to inform the CRIA reported that it changed how they thought about and worked with children. They also reported identifying fresh ideas and providing useful input for councils to better consider children’s issues and respond effectively.10 Other countries such as Finland, Sweden, Canada, Ireland and Scotland have used or implemented national CRIA tools that allow them to better consider the impacts of policies on children.11 The aim of a CRIA is to embed child rights and interests in decision-making.12 A CRIA is used to systematically assess the impact on children of laws, policies, budgetary allocations, or administrative decisions as measured against the CRC and domestic human rights/child wellbeing frameworks. Safeguarding Children: Using a child rights impact assessment to improve our laws and policies | 11