This paper provides the technical specifications for the 31 key national indicators under the 2012-15 action plan of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020 (the 'National Framework') (COAG 2009a).
These specifications will guide the reporting of these indicators in the National Framework annual report to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) from the 2012-13 edition onwards.
This paper draws together the National Framework indicators developed under two related pieces of work:
- 29 indicators (high-level and supporting outcomes 2-6) were developed by the National Framework Implementation Working Group (NFIWG) in 2012. The Standing Council on Community and Disability Services Advisory Council (SCCDSAC) and the Community and Disability Services Ministers endorsed these indicators in August 2012 (FaHCSIA 2012).
- 2 indicators (supporting outcome 1) were developed through a SCCDSAC-funded AIHW scoping project in 2011-2012. The SCCDSAC endorsed these indicators in March 2013.
The specifications include the best currently available data sources, and comments on data gaps and limitations, as identified by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). To enhance consistency across national reporting mechanisms, the data specifications have been drawn from existing national child indicator frameworks where possible.