The Commissioner for Children and Young People is Leanne McLean. She upholds, protects and promotes the rights and wellbeing of children and young people under the age of 18 in Tasmania.
The Commissioner is supported by a small team of staff. The Commissioner’s workplace is based on collaboration, mutual respect and recognition of the unique skills and expertise that each team member brings to the work of the Commissioner.
Leanne McLean was appointed as Tasmania’s Commissioner for Children and Young People in November 2018 and was reappointed in 2023 for a further five years.
A respected strategist, social policy influencer and advocate, Leanne fiercely promotes and protects the rights and wellbeing of children and young people in Tasmania. Central to this work is her passion for ensuring children and young people are listened to, and that adults consider and promote their rights when making decisions that may affect them.
Leanne has a wealth of experience, including working at the coal face with young people to shape significant reform including:
- Spearheading the Tasmanian Government’s strategy to improve the wellbeing of Tasmanian children and young people
- Ending the routine practice of strip-searching children in custody in Tasmanian custodial facilities
- Embedding and operating a new monitoring program for the Tasmanian out-of-home care system
- Instigating ‘own motion’ investigations into Tasmania’s child safety system, and
- Introducing an expanded, rights-based approach to advocacy for children in detention in Tasmania.
Leanne is proud to have also played a central role in successfully advocating for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Tasmania and is a Patron of the national Justice Reform Initiative.
Leanne is a deeply proud Tasmanian who values the role every child and young person can have in shaping the future of Tasmania. Unsurprisingly, she is most ‘at home’ chatting with young Tasmanians, listening to them about how life’s going and what’s most important in their lives.