Our values and identity
We are committed to protecting and promoting the rights, interests, and wellbeing of Queensland’s most vulnerable people — including children, young people, and adults with impaired decision-making ability.
Through our work, we uphold key commitments and embrace values that guide everything we do, ensuring we deliver high-quality services and foster trust, inclusion, and respect.
Our values
Our work is guided by five core organisational values:
Integrity
We act with integrity in promoting and protecting the human rights of the people we support.
Respect
We treat everyone with respect, always putting people first in our actions and decisions.
Inclusion
We strive for inclusion in how we work together and engage with those we support.
Courage
We exercise courage when advocating for positive outcomes for individuals and communities.
Trust
We create an environment of trust, collaborating to deliver the highest quality services for those we support and the broader community.
Our commitments
Uplifting First Nations children
In 2023, the Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians adopted 11 priorities developed by First Nations colleagues to improve outcomes for First Nations children. These priorities guide policies and programs that benefit First Nations children and, by extension, all Australian children. Queensland’s Public Guardian proudly endorsed these priorities.
Read the Key Priorities for Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians
Youth Justice detention statement
We recognise the systemic issues in Australia’s youth detention centres and their potential impact on detainees. In 2017, Queensland’s Public Guardian joined other Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians in signing a statement calling for youth detention to be rehabilitative, trauma-responsive, and based on best practices.
The statement includes 13 position statements to guide improvements across jurisdictions and promote consistent, humane treatment.
Read the Statement on Conditions and Treatment in Youth Justice Detention
Supporting the Uluru Statement of the Heart
Queensland’s Public Guardian supports the full implementation of the Uluru Statement of the Heart, in partnership with Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians.
Our office is committed to advocating for marginalised children and young people, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are overly represented in out-of-home care and youth detention.
Read the Uluru Statement of the Heart
Keeping children and adults safe
We are committed to creating a safe environment for everyone we support. As a service provider to children, we are recognised as a Child Safe Entity under the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024. This means we follow the 10 legislated Child Safe Standards and the Universal Principle in all areas of our work. We also apply these same standards to the adults who use our services. This ensures that the rights, interests, and wellbeing of every child and adult we support are safeguarded to the highest possible standard.
Read our Keeping children and adults safe - Statement of commitment.
Supporting staff experiencing domestic and family violence
We are committed to supporting staff who experience domestic and family violence. This includes:
- Providing training to managers to help them recognise, respond to, and refer affected staff.
- Offering special leave and other support measures to ensure employees feel safe and supported.
Our history
The Office of the Public Guardian was established on 1 July 2014 by the Public Guardian Act 2014.
This followed recommendations from the 2013 Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection in Queensland, led by Commissioner Tim Carmody. The report, Taking Responsibility: A Roadmap for Queensland Child Protection, called for the creation of a new Public Guardian role that combined the functions of the Child Guardian and Adult Guardian, with a focus on individual advocacy for children and young people in care.
Our visual identity
Hi, I'm Eddie, and I work for the reporting team at the Office of the Public Guardian, or OPG.
OPG protects and supports the rights and well-being of children and young people in care, and also adults who can't currently make their own decisions.
It's important for us to communicate the journey of safety, stability, and hopefulness for our clients, and so we invited Indigenous artist Jordana Angus to create a unique piece.
Birrang, created in 2016 using acrylic paint on canvas, is a vibrant Indigenous artwork that captures the challenges our clients face, and strengths they draw upon to move forward.
I'm Jordana Angus, a Wiradjuri woman and contemporary artist. I created Birrang, which means "journey" in Wiradjuri language. It features Aboriginal symbols that show the support OPG provides for clients. It uses the colours of the Torres Strait Islander flag. It also represents the Indigenous community's connection to Country.
Birrang features a central journey with campsites at either end, symbolising stability when things are changing. Arrows beyond each campsite celebrate triumph over difficult times. Something we're proud to say our clients do every day.
In my artworks, I use symbols to tell cultural stories. The white dots through the central journey in Birrang represent the significant people in the individual's life. These are the person's family and supporters, who connect with OPG to create a safe community.
To the left and the right of the central journey are three more important symbols: ceremonial grounds, people meeting, and waterholes. The three symbols are very significant.
Ceremonial grounds represent the wisdom and protection of OPG, as they guide clients through milestones. People meeting is symbolic of how OPG connects with the community in a friendly and respectful way. And the waterhole represents the calm and stability of OPG during uncertain times.
The original artwork is on display in our office, and the images from this piece appear on communication materials like report covers, folders, and fact sheets.
We're very proud of the artwork Jordana created for us, and the story tells of how our clients are helped along their journey by OPG.
Our visual identity is inspired by the artwork Birrang (Journey), an acrylic canvas painting created by Wiradjuri artist Jordana Angus in 2016.
The painting features vibrant lines, swirls, circles, and dots in azure blue, grass green, sun yellow, and stark white. It symbolises the journey to safety undertaken by our clients, guided and supported by the Office of the Public Guardian.
The story behind ‘Birrang’
The journey lineRepresents the individual journey each person takes, supported by significant people, symbolised by the dots. |
|
 Ceremonial groundsRepresent our wisdom and protective function, guiding clients through milestones. |
 People meetingSymbolises our interactions with the community, fostering trust and cultural understanding. |
 WaterholesRepresent rest and stability, highlighting the calm and support we provide during uncertain times. |
The campsitesAbout the artist
Jordana Angus is a contemporary Wiradjuri artist with a Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art.
Though her traditional land is Narrandera, New South Wales, Jordana was raised in Redcliffe, Queensland, where “the land meets the sea.” This dual connection is reflected in her use of vivid greens and blues in Birrang.
In addition to painting, Jordana creates jewellery and sculptures, often using recycled or repurposed materials.
The Office of the Public Guardian is proud to honour the journey and resilience of our clients through Birrang and to incorporate its powerful message into our visual identity and daily work.