Child Protection Reform Amendment Bill 2016

Introduced: 16/2/2016By: Hon S Fentiman MPStatus: PASSED

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Plain English Summary

Overview

This bill reforms Queensland's child protection court system by implementing ten recommendations from the 2013 Carmody Inquiry. It strengthens the voice of children and families in Childrens Court proceedings, clarifies which agency applies for which kind of order, and introduces a new duty of disclosure.

Who it affects

Children in the child protection system, their parents, grandparents, foster carers and other significant people in their lives, along with the new litigation director, child safety staff and QCAT.

Key changes

Parents can ask the department to review a long-term guardianship case plan (once every 12 months)
Attending a family group meeting or agreeing to a case plan cannot be used as an admission against a parent in court
Children get clearer legal representation: a direct lawyer acting on their instructions and/or a separate representative acting in their best interests
Grandparents, foster carers and other significant people can apply to take part in proceedings and be legally represented
The litigation director must disclose all relevant documents to other parties, with a new offence (up to 2 years imprisonment) for misusing disclosed material
QCAT must pause contact-decision reviews when a related Childrens Court proceeding is on foot, reducing duplication and delay

How this affects you

Children & Families

•Children get clearer legal representation in court, with both a direct lawyer following their instructions and a separate representative acting in their best interestsClauses 21, 24New section 110 sets out minimum duties for separate representatives: meet with the child, explain their role, help the child take part, and present their views and wishes.
•Grandparents, foster carers and other significant people in a child's life can ask the court to take part in proceedings and be legally representedClause 25New section 113 allows the court to let non-parties participate to the extent it considers appropriate, with a right to legal representation.
•Parents of a child under long-term guardianship (to someone other than the department) can request a case plan review once every 12 monthsClause 5Amended section 51VA lets a parent ask the chief executive to review the plan, with refusals reviewable by QCAT.
•Attending a family group meeting or agreeing to a case plan cannot be used against a parent as an admission in courtClauses 7, 8New subsections in sections 51YA and 51YB protect participation while still allowing what a person actually says or does at the meeting to be admitted as evidence.

Justice & Rights

•The litigation director must now get the court's permission and give reasons before withdrawing a child protection order applicationClause 10New section 57A requires leave of the court to withdraw an application, with reasons why the order is no longer required.
•Parties to child protection cases get a new continuing duty of disclosure so they can see the evidence being used against themClause 31New section 189C imposes a continuing duty on the litigation director to disclose all relevant documents; misuse of disclosed material is an offence carrying up to 100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment (section 189E).
•QCAT must pause its review of a contact decision when the same issue is already before the Childrens Court, avoiding duplicated proceedingsClause 19New section 99MA requires QCAT to suspend the review and notify parties so the Childrens Court can deal with the contact matter.
•Courts can join two or more child protection cases (for example, relating to siblings) if it is in the interests of justiceClause 26Replaced section 115 lets the Childrens Court hear applications together on its own initiative, even where the parties differ.

Bill Journey

Introduced16 Feb 2016

First Reading

Committee

Committee Report28 Apr 2016

Committee report tabled

Second Reading

In Detail

Third Reading

Royal Assent25 May 2016

Referenced Entities

Legislation

Child Protection Act 1999 Director of Child Protection Litigation Act 2016 Childrens Court Act 1992 Public Guardian Act 2014 QCAT Act 2009 Legislative Standards Act 1992

Organisations

Programs & Schemes

Family group meetings Court-ordered conferencing

Roles & Offices

Director of Child Protection Litigation Public Guardian Separate Representative direct representative authorised officer (Child Protection Act)chief executive (Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services)

Sectors Affected

Child Protection Civil Law Courts

Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards