Australia’s children There are approximately 5.5 million children living in Australia. Of all children in Australia: • • • • • • over 6% are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (2016) approximately 9% were born overseas (2016) 76.5% of children aged under 15 live with couple parents, 13.5% in single parent families, 4.2% in multiple-family households (2017) 70.7% live in major cities, 27% in regional areas and 2.3% in remote areas (2016) 47,915 children are living in out-of-home care (2017) around 26,000 children are homeless (2016). A nationwide children’s rights framework The CRC asks that countries put in place comprehensive laws, policies, systems and plans to realise the promises made to children in the CRC. By and large, in Australia, there are few laws and policies at the national level that protect human rights, and specifically children’s rights. There is no national platform from which to advance children’s rights across the domains of the CRC, apart from the activities of the National Children’s Commissioner. For example: • The legal protections of children’s rights in Australia are not comprehensive and do not provide an effective remedy for violations. 6