On this page
Our power to conduct inquiries
We can conduct inquiries into services provided to children and young people by:
- child protection services
- youth justice services
- community services
- health services
- human services
- schools.
This power is detailed in section 39 of the Commission for Children and Young People Act 2012.
Why we conduct inquiries
We conduct these inquiries when we identify a persistent or recurring systemic issue in service provision, and we believe that a review will help improve these services.
We may form these views as a result of reports from our independent visitors, a series of incident reports, or data from our child death inquiries.
How we conduct these inquiries
When we conduct a systemic inquiry we:
- formally establish the inquiry, identify the terms of reference, and notify the Minister for Children, and any other relevant Minister
- request information, documents and records from relevant services
- may conduct interviews with the relevant service providers or government departments
- prepare a report, highlighting the key findings, and making recommendations that will improve the provision of services
- provide a copy of the inquiry report to the Minister for Children, the Secretary of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, and any other relevant Minister
- may table the report in Parliament.
Reporting
Once our reports are tabled in the Victorian Parliament, they are public documents and are usually accompanied by a media release.