Our Young People

SA-BEST will always advocate on behalf of our state’s young people and has made significant progress across a range of portfolios. The introduction of amendments – developed following extensive consultation with the SDA Union – into parliament to close a loophole in our workplace protection laws led to changes to the Bail Act 1985.

The initiative ensures that individuals charged with a child sex offence are restricted from working alongside children without explicit permission from a bail authority, whilst expanding the scope of what is considered child-related work to ensure convicted paedophiles are barred from those workplaces.

This achievement represents a major victory for SA-BEST and a crucial step forward in safeguarding young South Australians in the workplace.

SA-BEST had introduced a bill into parliament to double the government Sports Voucher program to $200 per student per year and was pleased to see the 2024-25 State Budget include this reform. No child should be financially prevented from enriching their life, health and wellbeing through co-curricular activity, and whilst SA-BEST will continue to agitate for the extension of the program’s age cut-off, the newly doubled vouchers will provide relief to hardworking parents. 
 

SA-BEST is strongly advocating for increased recognition and support for foster and kinship carers, who make immense sacrifices to care for vulnerable children and young people. Current priorities include implementation of a superannuation-type payment for carers to acknowledge their sacrifice and the implications it will have on their retirement savings.

 SA-BEST is committed to improving the experiences of foster and kinship carers through meaningful reforms and supported an independent inquiry into foster and kinship care to address recurring issues such as poor communication, lack of support services, and procedural unfairness. Carers are heroes, and more of them in our state means better outcomes for South Australia’s most vulnerable children and young people.

SA-BEST is eagerly awaiting proposed amendments to the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 following the release of the five-year review in February 2023 and will continue to advocate for the inclusion of the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration for all decision-making under the Act. We will continue our extensive consultation with Australian First Nations groups and Elders to ensure improvements are made to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principles, with self-determination at the heart of the agenda.

SA-BEST has a track record of introducing and supporting legislative reforms to protest the safety and well-being of children and young people. This includes initiatives such as ‘Carly’s Law” to address online safety, banning the use of spit hoods in juvenile detention, and mandating drug rehabilitation for young offenders. So too has Connie successfully moved amendments to ban child-like sex dolls with significant penalties for offenders, whilst this year introduced a nation-leading bill to amend the Summary Offences Act 1953, covering the creation, distribution and threat to distribute artificially generated invasive images (‘deepfakes’).

Materially addressing period poverty in schools – the inability to afford access to menstrual products, education and hygiene facilities – has long been a priority for SA-BEST. Connie has worked extensively with organisations such as KickStart for Kids to make this happen and continues to push for free access to period products, particularly in a school setting.