Dr. Anne-Marie Brooks:

I can come back to the Senator with separate data for the development of the LGBTQI strategy and the youth strategy. I will concentrate on the strategy for babies, young children and their families.

The process of developing the strategy commenced some time ago. An expert advisory group was established with representatives from children's services and academia. It reported on recommendations made for the earlier strategy, Right from the Start, which was published in 2013. It was one of the key inputs into the development of the strategy. A separate consultation process was undertaken with children aged from three to five years. That report also fed into the development of the strategy. Separately, we had two open policy debates to inform the strategy. They involved a range of academics, service providers and organisations with an interest in various aspects of children's lives, including health, education and welfare. The debates took place this year and December 2016.

Separately, an interdepartmental group was established comprising officials from the Departments with a key interest or role in delivering actions under the strategy. The group sat this year. We have also engaged in bilateral discussions with Departments and agencies on finalising the strategy, with the actions and content informed by evidence. The development of the strategy was led by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, with significant contributions from other Departments. There were some consultations with children.

On the capacity of the Department to deliver, it is a whole-of-government strategy. Therefore, we will have actions to deliver under it. It is a ten-year strategy. We will have an oversight role in implementation, but other Departments have signed up and will sign up to deliver actions over the period of time of the strategy.