A new era for child protection in South Australia; hope is not lost.

With today's release of Commissioner Margaret Nyland's recommendations for the reform of the South Australian child protection system alongside the Premier's impassioned apology for the systematic failures of the government to protect the state's most vulnerable young people, it is easy to greet the new era of child protection with both fervour and optimism.

Such optimism is not misplaced; indeed the past two years has been marked by a sense of trepidation and anticipation for those working in child protection policy and practice, and an earnest hunger for change based on the Commissioner's findings.

What has become clear today is that the government will be unable to effect such change alone. 260 recommendations cannot simply be parcelled out to government portfolios with the expectation that they will be carried through with the intent originally attached to them.

Legislative change constitutes a significant proportion of the recommendations, and rightfully so; the statutory care and protection of vulnerable children will be unable to proceed without modern legal instruments that are attuned to the complexities of working with families who are ill-equipped for the task of parenting. The concomitant call for a South Australian Commissioner for Children whilst retaining the role and remit of the Office of the Guardian is a poignant reminder that the rights and needs of children and young people are at the very heart of any legislative reform agenda.

What will likely be challenging for government is the need to separate the business of child protection from the complex work of caring for children once they are removed from their biological families; an emphasis on engaging deeply with the non-government sector to better service the needs of families before children are taken in to the care of the state is a key feature of Nyland's recommendations. It is a call that the sector has welcomed.

Commissioner Nyland has done an outstanding job in considering the developmental needs of children and young people as she was crafting her recommendations. It is clear that this Royal Commission is not about legislative reform and structural change alone; it is genuinely about addressing the social and emotional needs of the children that the system has been designed to protect. Emphasising the ongoing need to consult with and document the expressed views of children engaged in the child protection system resonates throughout her report, and demonstrates a deeply attuned grasp of the importance of providing space for children to have a voice.

I am excited and hopeful that today is the beginning of a new era for the care and protection of vulnerable children in South Australia. An era that is marked by genuine and productive relationships between government and non-government bodies charged with the care of children, and one that is guided by modern statutes that have the voice of the child at front and centre.