By world standards, human rights, including the rights of children, are relatively well respected and protected in Australia. But, on human rights generally and concerning children in particular, there are significant gaps and areas where we need to do better. This emerges clearly from a review of the state of Australia's children such as that presented in this special journal issue. It is also clear that we need to develop structures to perform just this kind of national stocktake on a national basis, and to have the results translated into effective action.