Hope in Colour Advocacy

Advocacy founded by a Mother, fuelled by justice.

Sign the Petition- The Harm Was The System

About Hope in Colour

A woman and a young child walking hand in hand on a dirt path in a wooded area.

Hope in Colour is a national child safety advocacy organisation founded by a Mother and fuelled by justice.

We stand for every child’s right to safety, dignity and protection across schools, sport, care and community.

Born from lived experience and driven by truth, our work brings attention to the hidden and systemic harms children face, especially those with disabilities or additional needs. From school-based abuse to failures in child safety and beyond, we fight for accountability, reform and real cultural change.

Through grassroots campaigns, survivor-led storytelling, legal collaboration and strategic advocacy, Hope in Colour is building a safer future, one where no child is silenced, side lined or failed by systems meant to protect them.

Read Our Story
Long school hallway with windows on the left side, lockers underneath the windows, and brick walls with bulletin boards on the right side. An industrial duct runs along the ceiling, leading to a door at the end of the hall.

The Harm Was The System

The abuse of children in Australian schools and education settings isn’t rare. It’s Systemic

We’re calling for a National Inquiry to hold institutions accountable.

Sign the Petition. Share your story. Demand Justice.

Learn More
A collage with a blue background and white text reading, 'Mum's rage at NDIS change goes viral: 'You've betrayed every autistic child.'' On the left, part of an Adidas logo is visible, and on the right, a woman wearing sunglasses and a boy and girl smiling.

OPEN LETTER: Minister Butler — Autism Is Not Mild, Temporary or Negotiable. Yesterday, you betrayed our children.

Dear Minister Butler,

Yesterday at the National Press Club, you told the nation that too many autistic children are on the NDIS. You called their supports “overservicing.” You spoke about “mild to moderate autism.” And you suggested autism is “not a permanent disability.”

These words were not just wrong they were discriminatory, harmful, and a betrayal of every autistic child and family.

Autism is lifelong. There is no such thing as “mild autism.” These labels are political inventions, designed to justify stripping children from the NDIS. Children do not stop needing therapy because the government needs to save money. To suggest otherwise is not policy, it is cruelty.

You announced Thriving Kids as the alternative, backed by $2 billion and built on behaviour programs like Inklings programs already rejected by the autistic community as unsafe, compliance-based, and damaging. Families are being told to trust an untested scheme, with no detail, no transparency, and no guarantee that their children will have access to therapies, trusted providers, or meaningful supports.

Let’s be clear: this has been done without input from autistic people, parents, or disability-led organisations. Once again, decisions are being made about our lives, without us. That is not co-design, it is exclusion.

Minister, Australia has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This commits you to:

• Closely consult with and actively involve disabled people in policy decisions (Article 4.3).

• Ensure disabled children enjoy all human rights equally (Article 7).

• Protect children from medical or scientific experimentation without free consent (Article 15).

• Guarantee respect for physical and mental integrity (Article 17).

• Ensure health interventions are based on free and informed consent (Article 25).

You have ignored these obligations. Thriving Kids is being built behind closed doors, without consent, without transparency, and without autistic leadership. That is a direct breach of international law and a direct assault on the rights of children.

Here is what your cuts mean in reality:

• Children will lose speech therapy, OT, and psychology.

• Families will lose choice and control, forced back into broken state systems that already fail.

• Mothers will be driven from the workforce into poverty, forced to homeschool and care without support.

• Autistic children will regress, mask, burn out, and suffer long-term harm all to balance a budget.

Minister Butler, you are dismantling the NDIS. You are punishing children and parents for your government’s failure to properly fund mainstream services. And you are doing it with language that demeans and dismisses us.

Autism is not temporary. Autism is not mild. Our children are not “overserviced.” They are human beings with dignity, rights, and futures worth investing in.

Hope in Colour Advocacy will not stay silent while you trample those rights. We will fight, we will organise, and we will hold you accountable.

History will not remember you for $46 billion in “savings.” It will remember that under your watch, autistic children were abandoned, silenced, and stripped of the supports they were promised for life.

We call on these leaders and organisations to stand with us and demand answers:

Sincerely,

Shanntelle Marks

Founder | Hope in Colour Advocacy

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A smiling young boy standing outside on a grassy area near a parking lot, wearing a black hoodie, black beanie, black athletic shoes, orange and black compression socks, with his hands clasped in front of him.

Justice for Harrison — and Every Child Failed by Junior Sport

The support we received after sharing Harrison’s story has been incredible. Hundreds of you have read, shared, commented, and reached out and it’s reminded me that we’re not alone.

So many of your stories echo what happened to my son, bullying ignored, coaches protected, child safety policies bypassed, and families pushed out when we speak up. I’ve heard from so many of you… and it broke my heart

That’s why I’ve created this petition. This isn’t just about Harrison.

It’s about every child who’s been failed by a system that protects adults over kids.

Please sign and share: https://chng.it/zSCcLLBMrF

We’re calling for:

• Real inclusion for neurodivergent kids

• Mandatory training for clubs

• WWCC reform and enforcement

• Immediate removal of abusive coaches

• Independent audits so clubs can’t cover up harm

Let’s show them we will not be silent. Not this time.

For Harrison. For your children. For every child who deserves to feel safe in sport.

  • "I found Hope in Colour when a friend shared a post. What stood out was the raw honesty, the compassion, and the determination to fix a broken system. This isn’t just an organisation, it’s a community that refuses to give up on our kids."

    — Sarah T., Community Advocate

  • "Hope in Colour gave me the language, confidence, and support I needed to advocate for my child. I no longer felt alone in the fight for safe and inclusive education. It was created by someone who truly understands what we go through, and that changes everything."

    — Emily R., Parent of a neurodivergent child

  • "Hope in Colour brings a powerful blend of lived experience and professional insight. Their work bridges the gap between families and systems, and their advocacy is already driving important conversations across the sector."

    — Dr. Mark L., Child Psychologist

  • "As a teacher, I’ve seen the gaps in the system firsthand. Hope in Colour doesn’t just highlight the problems they offer real, practical support for educators who want to do better. I’m proud to be part of this movement."

    — Jacob M., Primary School Teacher