The Australian Legislative Ethics Commission, also referred to as ALECOMM, is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

established in 1998. Its primary objective is to promote ethical conduct within

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's Family Law system through investigations and public transparency campaigns. The organization assists families who have experienced child removal by child protection agencies when caseworkers have not followed

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

protocols, guidelines, and policy. ALECOMM recently registered as an Australian Charity to support its mission.

Work with Indigenous organisations

In recent years, the commission has been involved in collaborative work with various indigenous organisations in order to address grievances surrounding the increasing number of indigenous children being removed from families and placed in out-of-home care. This renewed awareness of Indigenous concerns comes after former Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

(2007-2010, June 2013-September 2013) publicly apologised for the former so-called

stolen generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

, and has announced government intentions to actively participate in programs designed to improve the

Family Law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

System and Children's Safety. The recently assembled federal Senate Inquiry into Children in Out of Home Care brought forward with the assistance of MP

David Shoebridge David Martin Shoebridge (born 17 September 1971) is an Australian politician and former barrister. He is a member of the Australian Greens and was elected to the Senate as the party's lead candidate in New South Wales at the 2022 federal elect ...

and other members of parliament has provided the Australian public a new opportunity for awareness as it pertains to inner workings and flaws of the state-run

child protection Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

protection services and has increased transparency around such issues. In particular, Senator Rachel Siewert has chaired the Inquiry's committee, which was due to report on out-of-home care in May 2015.

NGO activism with the Australian government

In the past five years, the commission has investigated dozens of matters whereby child protection agents seek to intimidate and censor by forcing a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against parents complaining against their unlawful actions. Such actions generally leave the parents without

legal defence In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a s ...

and/or contact with their children until they abandon public voicing of their grievances. ALECOMM, Australia's Legislative Ethics Commission, is now pushing to introduce anti-SLAPP (

Strategic lawsuit against public participation Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with ...

) at the national level in order to ensure that agents of the State involved in care and protection matters are not denied justice because of the departments unlimited war-chest and magistrates inabilities to ensure that policy and procedure are followed at all times, preventing such unlawful actions against our sentient beings. The

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

has multiple interests in

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and actively promotes the

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, and

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

through development of two systems linked direct to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. People can report human rights violations direct to the UN, and also report

enforced disappearances An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

. Over the past decade, the commission has participated in many national rallies and attempts to bring to the forefront the high suicide rate of mothers who have had their children removed without lawful justification. Grandmothers who are then having to bury their own children are forced to fight the system that has taken their grandchildren in order to secure the type of burial they wish for their kin, as the department often claim they are the dead mothers next of kin and so choose how the deceased will be buried.

References

{{reflist Children's charities based in Australia