Weaving play into the national fabric: What can we learn from international leaders in children’s right to play?
Biography: Robyn Monro Miller AM is CEO of Play Australia, Australia’s national peak body for children’s play, and President of the International Play Association (IPA World). A 2024 Winston Churchill Fellow, Robyn travelled to eight countries to examine international approaches to children’s right to play. She is a recognised leader in play advocacy, child rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and community development. Robyn was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2024 for her service to children and children’s services.
Background: Children’s right to play is enshrined in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), yet in Australia this right remains significantly under-realised. Internationally, a small number of jurisdictions have embedded play sufficiency into legislation, policy, and funding frameworks in ways that produce measurable improvements in children’s lives. As a Churchill Fellow, the presenter undertook study to examine these approaches and consider their application to the Australian context.
Aim: This presentation shares the findings of the Churchill Fellowship report Weaving Play into the National Fabric, which examined international policy and practice models that centre children’s voices, protect time and space for play, and translate the right to play from aspiration into lived reality.
Method: Robyn engaged in direct observation, practitioner interviews, site visits, and policy analysis across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, and Canada. Sites visited included outdoor adventure playgrounds, forest schools, local government play planning offices, national play organisations, and community-led play spaces. Key informants included play workers, planners, researchers, child rights advocates, and government officials.
Results/findings: Eleven consistent themes emerged across high-performing jurisdictions. These include legislative play sufficiency duties that require local governments to assess and address children’s access to play, investment of philanthropy and government, the role of grass roots organisations in driving innovation, children’s voices at the centre of provision; and strong national advocacy bodies that connect research, practice, and policy. In each context, children’s voices were actively sought and used to shape the spaces and services available to them.
Conclusion: Australia has the foundations, the research evidence, and the advocacy networks to become a global leader in realising children’s right to play. What is missing is the political will to weave play into a national policy architecture. Drawing on international comparators and the UNCRC framework, this presentation makes the case for a coordinated national approach that legislates for play sufficiency, invests in the play workforce, and places children’s voices at the heart of planning and decision-making.
Implications for children and families: You have a right to play, and this research shows what is possible when governments take that right seriously. The lessons from countries around the world can help make sure that you have safe, exciting, and freely available places to play in your community, and that your voice is heard when those places are planned and built.
Implications for practitioners: This research affirms the vital role you play in realising children’s right to play. It points to the power of trained play workers, child-centred planning processes, and advocacy grounded in the UNCRC, and offers practical models from international jurisdictions that you can draw on to strengthen your own practice and systems-level advocacy.
Keywords: play, children’s voices, policy, child rights, well-being, international communities, community services, government, interdisciplinary, innovation
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: