Monash Business School professor calls for national action to protect young people at prestigious National Press Club

7 November 2025

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, from Monash Corporate Education, has called on the Federal Government to commit to developing a dedicated National Action Plan for children and young people who experience violence and abuse during a National Press Club address.

Prof Fitz-Gibbon’s work with Monash Corporate Education includes informing and empowering organisations with knowledge and tools they need to support domestic and family violence victim-survivors.

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon addressed the National Press Club.

The National Press Club, located in Canberra, invites only the highest calibre of leading Australian and international experts, influencers and decision-makers to speak at the prestigious forum.

In her 6 November address, alongside collaborator and Monash alum Matt Tyler from Jesuit Social Services, Prof Fitz-Gibbon called on the Federal Government to develop and deliver a five-year National Action Plan for children and young people who experience violence and abuse.

The Action Plan should embed a children’s rights framework, including recognition of the best interests’ principle and that children have a right to participate in all matters that impact them.

“Why as a nation do we forget child victims, not only in our memories but also in our actions, in our allocations of funding and consequently in our system responses?” Prof Fitz-Gibbon said in her address.

“Supported by the adults in their lives, adolescents of all genders in Australia should feel that they are safe, belong, be socially connected and be hopeful for their future,” she said.

“What will it take for the Commonwealth government, states and territories to respond to the everyday pervasive experiences of violence and abuse among Australian children and young people?

“We have wondered whether inaction in part stems from the lack of a dedicated focus on children in the Federal Government.”

Professor Fitz-Gibbon was a member of the expert advisory group on the Adolescent Man Box study. The report, launched on 6 November, presents findings from the Jesuit Social Services survey of 1,400 Australian teenagers.

The report makes a range of recommendations, including updates to the Respectful Relationships Education (RRE) curriculum and the introduction of a Federal Minister for Children to ensure the needs and perspectives of children and young people are prioritised in policy and decision-making.