Page title

The campaign, run by Meerilinga, serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to protect and advocate for the rights of children, ensuring they experience a childhood safe from harm and abuse.

This year’s theme ‘Children have the right to relax, play and take part in activities they enjoy’ is particularly relevant for our department, as we provide a range of benefits and services for children and young people across various sectors.

Last year approximately 462,000 children and young people in WA participated in organised sports. To support this, we provided more than 24,600 vouchers to children in need through our highly successful KidSport program. We recently doubled this voucher program from $150 to $300 per financial year.

In 2022-23 our 5 recreation camps hosted over 64,000 overnights stays and provided 150,000 activity participations for children.

Culture and the arts is another focus area for the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC). We run the Creative Learning Program and also provide organisational funding for programs tailored to children and young people. Awesome Arts Festival worked with 60 WA schools, benefitting nearly 4000 children last year and we provided more than $350,000 this year to continue the program.

The DLGSC supports a range of cultural statutory authorities and other entities such as the Art Gallery WA, WA Museum and State Library WA, which are also dedicated to nurturing the growth and development of children and young people in WA.

From December 2022 to August 2023 the Art Gallery WA welcomed over 53,000 individuals through its doors with more than half being children and students. WA Museum sold 164,826 junior tickets and had 46,404 students visit their 6 sites across WA.

The State Library WA hosted various programs in the same financial year, attracting 7794 children and 4846 students to sessions, workshops, tours and exhibitions.

The Office of Multicultural Interests also supports 53 community language schools, teaching 34 different languages to 7361 students through the Community Languages Program.

We are committed to child safety. As part of our commitment, we established the Child Safeguarding Implementation Unit in 2022 to support DLGSC and our sector portfolios to implement child safeguarding work.

This was in recognition of the extensive work required to implement the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) recommendations, and the increasing number of child safeguarding reforms being introduced in WA.

The Royal Commission highlighted the importance of upholding the rights of children and keeping them safe in the organisations they engage with. It also emphasised the need to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

The DLGSC Director General is also the co-chair of the Supporting Communities Forum Child Safe Organisations Working Group which is taking a leading role in promoting and supporting the implementation of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

If you would like to stay updated on news and gain access to practical examples and resources for implementing the National Principles, please visit: