Guide to the child protection system

For more information about what to expect in care, you can contact one of the following organisations:

Child Safety Services

Child Safety Service Centres are located in communities throughout Queensland. Child Safety Officers work in Child Safety Service Centres. You should speak to your Child Safety Officer if you have a question about your case plan or care.

If you need to speak to Child Safety Services during the night or on a weekend, you can call the After Hours Service Centre on 1800 177 135 or (07) 3235 9999.

CREATE Foundation

CREATE aims to create a better life for children and young people in care. It offers support to young people in care, connecting young people to each other and to people who can help.

Phone: 1800 655 105

Email: qld@create.org.au

Office of the Public Guardian

The Office of the Public Guardian supports and protects the rights of children and young people in care. They do this through Community Visitors who can come to see you in care to provide help and support, and through their Child Advocate who can provide support if you need to go to a court or tribunal.

Phone: 1800 661 533

Email: child@publicguardian.qld.gov.au

Youth Advocacy Centre

The Youth Advocacy Centre offers free legal services, youth support and family support assistance and services to young people, particularly those who are involved in the child protection system.

Phone: (07) 3356 1002

Email: admin@yac.net.au

Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak

Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak works to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

Phone: (07) 3102 4119

Legal Aid Queensland

Legal Aid Queensland gives legal help to financially disadvantaged people about criminal, family and civil law matters.

Phone: 1300 651 188

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal's purpose is to provide a quick, inexpensive avenue to resolve disputes between parties and make decisions.

Phone: 1300 753 228

Key facts for children and young people in out of home care.

• Rights of children and young people in care - youth
• Rights of children and young people in care - general
• Rights of parents of children and young people in care
• Support for foster and kinship carers

All children have the right to be safe and protected. In most cases, your family and community will make sure this happens. When your family is not able to keep you safe and care for you, Child Safety Services may get involved to support you. Sometimes this might mean finding a safe place for you to stay while everyone works out the best way to help you.

Anyone can report concerns to Child Safety Services about a child who may be in danger of being hurt or not looked after properly. Child Safety Services won’t tell anyone the name of the person who reported their concerns.

Some professional people – people who work in specific jobs and make sure children are safe – are required, by law, to make reports to Child Safety Services and tell them if they’re worried about the safety of a child. These people are called 'mandatory reporters'.

In Queensland, mandatory reporters include:

• teachers in schools
• doctors
• registered nurses
• some police officers
• care workers
• officers of the Public Guardian
• Child Safety Services
• licensed care services.

Every Queenslander has a responsibility to report child sexual abuse. If you believe a child is in immediate danger or a life-threatening situation, call Triple Zero (000). You can report child sexual abuse to PoliceLink (24 Hours) on 131 444 and the Department of Child Safety.

The people who work at Child Safety Services can help you to understand what’s happening while you’re getting support. Some of these people include:

Child Safety Support Officer

Child Safety Support Officers (CSSO) work with you and your family to find out about your needs so Child Safety Services can make sure you are safe and protected.

Child Safety Officers

Child Safety Officers (CSO) work with you and your family to make sure that your safety, belonging and wellbeing needs are met. This means making sure you have a safe place to stay, people in your life who care about you, and everything you need to grow up to be the best that you can be.

Child Safety Officers find out information about the family, look at issues around your safety and make decisions based on what they know. The Child Safety Officer’s job is to help you and your family and to make sure you are safe and cared for.

Senior Team Leader

Senior Team Leaders can make decisions about where you stay if you are in out-of-home care and can decide who can spend time with you, for example, siblings and parents.

Family Group Meeting Convenor

The Family Group Meeting (FGM) Convenor plans family group meetings and helps you, members of your family and community, and your carers to make decisions about your needs. They are independent of the Child Safety Service Centre and help to make sure everyone can take part and feel safe.

Senior Practitioner

The Senior Practitioner is an expert who makes sure the help you’re getting meets your needs.

Manager

The Manager looks after the staff and how work is undertaken at a Child Safety Service Centre

Child Safety Officers might ask you some questions about your parents, or about things that have happened or are happening in your family. This is so they can get the information they need to help protect you.

When you’re answering questions, you might want to:

• think about the question, and take your time to answer
• ask if you don’t understand something
• ask for a break if you feel tired or confused.

It’s okay to ask for a support person, like an adult friend, family member or lawyer to be there.

By law, Child Safety Services has to explain everything to you, and tell you about your rights.

Child Safety Services and the Queensland Police Service can find a place for you to stay before telling your parents if they believe you are in danger. They must tell at least one of your parents once you’re safe.

They can also contact you at school before they talk to your parents. Again, they’ll have to tell your parents about it afterwards unless they believe talking to your parents could risk you getting hurt.

If Child Safety Services is concerned there is a risk you might be harmed, then a Child Safety Officer will visit you and your family to talk about the things that have them worried. This is called an ‘Investigation and Assessment’. Child Safety Services will work with you and your family to find out what is working in your family, what has you worried about, and how safe you are. They will work with you and your family, to get the help and support you need to be safe.  

The law says Child Safety Services must listen to what you say you want to happen before they make a final decision about you – for example, whether your parents can have contact with you.

The Office of the Public Guardian offers child advocates who can help you to give your opinion throughout the process. They can also help you with legal matters, issues with school, and any official complaints you might wish to make. They'll try to find the best way to make sure you're protected, and you can live a full and happy life.

When you or your family need help to make sure you’re safe and protected, you might see written plans being made. These plans tell each of the people helping you what to do, and they should be developed together with you and your family. Some of the plans you might see are:

Case Plan

A case plan is your family’s plan for what needs to happen and how to get there. You and your family develop the plan with Child Safety Services. The case plan outlines why Child Safety Services is involved with your family, the goals everyone is trying to achieve and the steps to get there.

A case plan is normally made during a Family Group Meeting. A family group meeting helps your family to develop or change a case plan. You can go to the meeting, along with members of your family and staff from Child Safety Services. You can have your say during the meeting to make sure the plan is right for you.

If you choose not to go to the Family Group Meeting, you can talk to a Child Safety Officer and ask them to speak for you and tell them everything you would like them to say during the meeting, including your ideas and your goals. This will make sure everyone at the meeting gets to hear your point of view. You could also ask a youth worker or a lawyer to be there on your behalf.

A child advocate from the Office of the Public Guardian can also give you support and help you to understand how you can take part in Family Group Meetings.

Support Plan

A support plan is made if you have a support service case (this is explained a little later).

Education Support Plan

An Education Support Plan helps you to get the most out of school. You can be involved when the plan is being made.

Child Health Passport

A Child Health Passport keeps all of your health details in one place, and helps health care workers support you. The passport includes items like immunisation details, health assessment details and the outcomes of any referrals to specialists.

Cultural Support Plan

If you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or if you come from a specific cultural background, then a Cultural Support Plan will be developed with you and your family to make sure you stay connected to your culture and community. An Independent Person can help you have your say when creating a Cultural Support Plan.

Transition to Independence

If you are around 15 years old and in care, your Child Safety Officer will start to talk to you about planning for your future as an adult. Transition to Independence is a plan to help you with life skills, study and work, as well as offering counselling and supporting your relationships with family.

If you’re unhappy with your plan, you can talk to your Community Visitor or Child Advocate from the Office of the Public Guardian. They can help you express your views.

A support service case provides services to help families, pregnant mothers or young people. Child Safety Services may make a support service case, with you or your family, when:

• Child Safety Services investigated and found that no action is needed to protect a child, but feels the family would still like some help
• Child Safety Services has found that parents will need help to keep a newborn child safe after the child is born
• a young person who has been in care needs some extra support after their 18th birthday.

An Intervention with Parental Agreement, or IPA for short, can be made when your parents agree to work closely with Child Safety Services. This can help the whole family get help and learn the skills they need in order to keep you safe.  If an IPA is made, you and your parents will not have to go to court.

Under an IPA, you might go to a Family Group Meeting. There may also be:

• help for your family to reach your goals
• a chance for you to have your say on things that are important to you.

Normally, you would stay with your parents while an IPA takes place. However, you might need to spend some time away from your parents, if your parents agree that some time away would be best for you.

A care agreement is a short-term agreement your parents may make with Child Safety Services for you to be placed in care, away from your parents for a short time.

There are 2 types of care agreements:

Assessment Care Agreement

This may happen when Child Safety Services are looking into concerns about your safety. It can’t happen if one of your parents refuses, and can only last up to 30 days. If there’s an Assessment Care Agreement, your parents will still be your legal guardian and can still make decisions about your welfare.

Child Protection Care Agreement

This might happen when Child Safety Services believes you need help to keep safe. In that case, Child Safety Services will ask your parents to agree for you to go with Child Safety Services and let Child Safety Services make decisions about your day-to-day care (such as where you live and go to school). This can last for up to six months.

One or both of your parents can stop a care agreement, but they have to give two days’ notice to Child Safety Services.

Magistrates Court

The Magistrates Court is the lowest level of court in Queensland. The Childrens Court is part of the Magistrates Court, so the person making decisions in the Childrens Court is called a Magistrate.

Childrens Court

The Childrens Court deals with things that happen to people under 18 years of age, when people need help to keep children safe.

This is the court Child Safety Services may go to when deciding the best way to keep you safe.

Family Court

The Family Court makes decisions about where children live, and who looks after children, when parents don't agree after breaking up.

The court protects your rights and your parents' rights, and helps everyone decide what needs to happen to keep you safe.

The court can make several different Child Protection Orders, which tell people how to make sure you are safe. Some of these are:

Temporary Custody Orders

A Temporary Custody Order can let Child Safety Services take care of you for up to 3 days, to keep you out of danger.

Temporary Assessment Orders

A Temporary Assessment Order (TAO) allows Child Safety Services to do specific things, like place you in a safe place away from your parents' care for up to 3 days. While the TAO is in place a Child Safety Officer will keep working with you and your family to figure out what needs to happen, to make sure you are safe in the future and you and your family get the right help.

Court Assessment Order

A Court Assessment Order will let Child Safety Services take care of you for up to 28 days so they can look into ways to better keep you safe. The Court Assessment Order can be extended once, for another 28 days.

Directive Order

A Directive Order tells a parent to do something, or not do something, to care for you. It may also tell a parent not to see you if it could be dangerous, or they can only see you if someone else is there. It can last for up to 1 year.

Protective Supervision Order

A Short-term Custody Order lets someone else in your family, or Child Safety Services, look after you for up to 2 years.

Short-term Guardianship Order

Guardianship means someone has the right to make decisions about your life. Sometimes parents aren’t able to do this, for instance if they are missing or hard to find in an emergency, or because things like drug use or mental health issues get in the way of making good decisions. A Short-term Guardianship Order makes Child Safety Services your guardian, meaning they can make decisions with you about your life, for up to 2 years.

Transition Order

If you have been in out-of-home care for a while, a Transition Order would help you gradually move back to your family home, over a period of 28 days.

Long-term Guardianship Order

If it would not be safe for you to go back to live with your parents, Child Safety Services can apply for a Long-term Guardianship Order. This would make another member of your family, Child Safety Services, or someone else (like a foster carer or kinship carer) your legal guardian until you turn 18.

Some of the people you might see at court are:

• lawyers, who help to give information about the law to help the Magistrate make a decision
• your parents
• anyone else who lives with you
• your long-term guardian, if you have one
• your own lawyer, if you have one – this could be either a Direct Representative, who will ask you what you’d like the court to know, or a Separate Representative, who will decide what the courts need to know to help keep you safe
• your Child Advocate from the Office of the Public Guardian
• an Independent Person may be present if you are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. They may provide the court with information on how you can stay connected to your culture and community.

Other people may attend court, if they’re involved in your life and the court has allowed them to be there.

Child Safety Services’ job is to work with you and your family to find out what is working well, whether there are any worries, how safe you are right now, and how to keep you safe in the future.

The Office of the Child and Family Official Solicitor (OCFOS) is part of Child Safety Services. OCFOS provides legal advice to Child Safety Services staff and helps them to figure out what they can legally do to keep you safe. The OCFOS worker will make a referral to the Director of Child Protection Litigation (DCPL) if necessary.

The DCPL will then consider all the information and make the final decision about whether to go to court, and if so, what type of child protection order to apply for.

Having different people involved is important because it means that decisions made are more likely to be fair, considered and based on the evidence. 

You have a right to go to court and to have a say in decisions made about you. Depending on how old you are, if you do need to go to court, you may be able to speak to a lawyer who can help you have your say. If you’d like to find out whether this is possible, you can call:

• Office of the Public Guardian on 1800 661 533
• Legal Aid Queensland on 1300 651 388
• Youth Advocacy Centre on (07) 3356 1002
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service on 1800 012 255.

If you go to court, everyone else will be dressed in neat business clothes. This is to show respect to the court. If you attend court, dress in a way that makes you feel comfortable but shows respect to the people around you.

When you’re in court, the following things can help you get the most out of the session:

• be polite, and call the Magistrate ‘Your Honour’
• stand when the Magistrate is talking to you
• act calmly, to help the court make its decision
• if you don’t understand what’s happening, you can ask the Magistrate or any lawyers around you to explain.

Court proceedings will go through some of the following stages:

Mention

A mention is where the case is reviewed by the court, and the court can then move the case to the next stage.

Adjournment

An adjournment (pronounced add-jern-ment) is where the court puts off the session to a later date. This is common and doesn’t mean anything is wrong.

Hearing (or trial)

A hearing or trial is where the court hears the facts and people’s views, then makes a decision.

Interim order

If a court makes an adjournment, which means it puts off the session to a later date, the court can also make an interim order to make sure something important happens in the meantime. For example, an interim contact order would allow your parents to spend time with you between court dates.

Subpoena

A subpoena (pronounced sub-peener) is an order to give information to the court. A person can be ‘subpoenaed’ to give information in person, but documents, like Child Safety Services records, can also be ‘subpoenaed’ so court officials can read them before making a decision.

At a court hearing (also called a trial), the Magistrate hears all the evidence from people involved in your care and then decides:

• whether you need help to be protected and safe
• which type of child protection order would most help you
• whether you need a new case plan
• if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, whether your cultural needs have been considered.

In the court, the words 'hearing' and 'trial' mean basically the same thing - the process a court goes through to listen to people and make decisions.

The hearing will normally begin with a lawyer calling witnesses - which means talking to people who know about the issue. Other lawyers might also talk to these witnesses. If a lawyer talks to witnesses called by another lawyer, this is called cross-examination.

If a lawyer talks to their own witness a second time, this is called re-examination.

If you are called as a witness, you should tell the court what you have actually seen and heard. It is very important that you give honest answers. Try not to worry, because the decisions made by the court take into account everyone's evidence.

If you're asked a question that is not relevant to the case, the Magistrate can tell you not to answer the question. If you don't know an answer just say so. You cannot get into trouble for not knowing an answer – it is not a test. If you don’t understand a question then ask for an explanation. While you are giving evidence you are the most important person in the room – everyone is there to listen to you so it is important you get across your story.

It is important everyone in court is respectful, polite and quiet when questions are being asked, so the court hearing can go smoothly.

After all the witnesses have been spoken to, each party can give a short speech about their side of the case, called a closing address. Once this is finished the Magistrate will make their decision. This may take a while because the Magistrate has to consider everything they have heard in court.

Family Group Meetings

A Family Group Meeting is held when Child Safety Services believes that you are in need of protection under the Child Protection Act 1999. A family group meeting brings together the most important people in your life. The meeting will help you and the department to develop a plan to keep you safe from harm and ensure your family gets help and support. You can go to the meeting along with members of your family and staff from Child Safety Services. There’ll be a convenor, who runs the meeting and makes sure everything is prepared in advance. If you have a Community Visitor or Child Advocate you can ask them to attend with you and help you present your views and wishes.

If you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, an Independent Person can also come along to ensure your culture is understood and respected. A Cultural Support Plan may be discussed at the Family Group Meeting as well.

Just because a person goes to a Family Group Meeting or agrees to help develop a case plan doesn’t mean they did anything wrong. However, the things people say in Family Group Meetings may be heard by the court, to help the court make decisions.

You can also have a support person or lawyer with you at the meeting.

Court-ordered Conferences

Court-ordered conferences are meetings held when someone doesn’t agree with Child Safety Services about a Child Protection Order.

An independent chairperson runs the meeting, with the aim of getting everyone to agree to an outcome.

The meeting might ask questions like:

• what are we worried about?
• what is working well?
• what more needs to happen?

Usually, a court-ordered conference will be held before the court makes a decision, unless the court is worried that someone may not be safe at a meeting. There may be more than one court-ordered conference while the issue is being heard.

An Independent Person should be present at a court-ordered conference for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people to ensure all cultural matters are mentioned and considered.

You may hear people talk about ‘court documents’. Court documents are the papers containing information and evidence that people involved in the process believe the court needs to have in order to make the best most informed decisions. Some of these might be:

Application for a Court Assessment Order or Child Protection Order

This application will explain why Child Safety Services believes the court should make an order. The date of the court session will be near the end of this document.

Affidavit

An affidavit (pronounced affy-dave-it) is a statement a person makes “under oath”, which means they swear it is true. Normally, this means the person has signed a written statement in front of a Justice of the Peace, who has a licence to approve these documents. Saying things that are untrue in an affidavit is against the law. Affidavits should only contain facts, not opinion.

Submission

A submission lets you, or your parents or someone else involved in your care, tell the court the personal reasons why you’d like the Magistrate to decide one way or the other. You can make a submission in person or in writing.

The difference between a submission and an affidavit is that a submission is your personal view, but an affidavit should only contain facts.

Social assessment report

This is a report about your history, views and wishes written by an expert in child protection, such as a psychologist or social worker. The person writing the social assessment report will speak to you about your life, will speak to other people close to you and will look at Child Safety Services records. The court will look at this report when it makes a decision.

The court process might happen differently each time, but usually it will go something like this:

Application filed in the Childrens Court.

First mention at the Childrens Court. This is where the court first reviews the case, and finds out whether the child protection order is accepted by your parent.

Family group meeting/s. If you haven't already had any family group meetings, there may be one or more of them to make or review case plans.

Court-ordered conference. If one or both of your parents disagree with Child Safety Services about how to protect you, there may be a court-ordered conference to discuss this.

Another mention at the Childrens Court. This is likely to make sure everything that needs to be done before the hearing is done.

Hearing (or trial). This is where people get to test each other's evidence by asking questions of witnesses. The court makes a decision and final orders are given to all parties.

If you don’t agree with a decision, such as:

• who you should live with
• whether your parents know where you’re living
• the amount of contact you have with your family

You can talk to:

• your Child Safety Officer, who works at Child Safety Services
• your Community Visitor or a Child Advocate, from the Office of the Public Guardian
• Legal Aid Queensland
• the Youth Advocacy Centre.

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, you could talk to your Independent Person or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. You could also start by talking to people you trust, like teachers or local Elders.

To find out more about what an Independent Person is and how they can help, check out Independent Person: Information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people

If you’d like to formally review a decision of Child Safety Services, you should talk to your Child Safety Officer first. If you’re still concerned, you can go to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), who will look at the decision again.

QCAT can only review specific decisions. These include:

• who will care for you
• not informing your parents of who is caring for you and where you are living
• refusing to allow contact between you and your parents or a member of your family
• restricting or imposing conditions on the contact between you and your parents or a member of your family
• removing you from a carer.

You need to make sure you have the original letter from Child Safety Services telling you about the decision.

You can talk to a Child Advocate from the Office of the Public Guardian who can help you to make an application and present your views to the tribunal. A Child Advocate can even speak on your behalf if you would like them to. You can also talk to Legal Aid Queensland or another agency, who can help you complete any required paperwork.

You should apply to QCAT within 28 days of finding out about a decision if you’d like them to review it. You’ll need to lodge an application form. You can also find it at QCAT’s Brisbane office or, if you live outside Brisbane, at your local Magistrates Court. Remember, you can talk to your Child Advocate, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Legal Aid Queeensland or another agency for help filling out the form.

When you apply for a review of a decision, you can also apply for a ‘stay’ of the decision. If a stay is granted, that means the decision is not carried out until QCAT makes a decision about your application. A stay will only be agreed to in special circumstances, and will not always be granted.

Another person can apply to QCAT to review a decision on your behalf, if you need. QCAT will then consider your best interests when they review the decision.

Office of the Public Guardian

Child Advocates are located throughout Queensland
Phone: 1800 661 533
Email: child@publicguardian.qld.gov.au

Legal Aid Queensland

There are many Legal Aid offices throughout Queensland
Phone: 1300 651 188

Youth Advocacy Centre 

4/162 Petrie Terrace Brisbane  QLD  4000
Phone: (07) 3356 1002
Email: admin@yac.net.au

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services

183 N Quay Brisbane City  QLD  4000
Phone: 1800 012 255

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Level 9, 259 Queen Street Brisbane  QLD  4000
Phone: 1300 753 228
Email: enquiries@qcat.qld.gov.au

• Adjournment
  • Delaying a hearing or mention of a case in court for a certain amount of time. There are lots of reasons these happen but often it is because the parents and Child Safety Services cannot agree on what the next step is or because they do not have all the information they want to give to the court before it makes a decision.
• Adoption
  • Adoption legally gives the rights and responsibilities of parenting to another person – an ‘adoptive’ parent. If this happens, then the child is ‘adopted’, and they live with a new family. This means there is no legal relationship between a child and their birth parent (or their extended family) anymore.
• Affidavit
  • An affidavit (pronounced affy-dave-it) is a statement someone swears to be true, normally by signing it in front of a professional person called a Justice of the Peace.
• Case plan
  • A case plan is a written plan for your protection and care needs. It is developed in a Family Group Meeting between Child Safety Services, you, your family and other people significant to you. It records the goals and outcomes of ongoing intervention and includes the agreed tasks that will need to occur to meet the goal and outcomes.
• Child Safety Officer
  • A Child Safety Officer works for Child Safety Services and will work directly with you, your family and carer to help make sure you are cared for, safe and well.
• Contact
  • By law, contact means somebody speaking with, seeing or writing to you, including through emails and social media such as Facebook. Contact could be in any location and might happen with another adult, such as a Child Safety Officer, being there.
• Court-ordered conferences
  • Court-ordered conferences (COC) are meetings held when someone doesn’t agree with Child Safety Services about the need for a Child Protection Order.
  • An independent chairperson runs the meeting, aiming to get everyone to agree to an outcome.
  • The meeting might ask questions like
    What are we worried about?
    What is working well?
    What more needs to happen?
  • Usually, a court-ordered conference will be held before the court makes a decision, unless the court is worried someone may not be safe at a meeting. There might be more than one court-ordered conference while the issue is being heard.
  • A recognised entity will be present at a court-ordered conference to support the cultural needs and safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
• Custody
  • The right and responsibility to care for and make decisions about the day-to-day needs of a child. (For example, this could include how much television you watch, or which friends you can hang out with and where.)
• Family and Child Connect
  • This is a free service to help families in need of support. Family and Child Connect (FACC) works with government and non-government services within the community to help families get the right services at the right time.
• Family Group Meetings
  • A Family Group Meeting (FGM) helps your family to develop or change a case plan, which is the main plan to explain what should be done to help keep you safe. You can go to the meeting, along with members of your family, your Community Visitor or Child Advocate and staff from Child Safety Services. There will be a convenor, who runs the meeting and makes sure everything is prepared in advance.
  • If you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, an Independent Person can also come along to ensure your culture is respected.
  • Just because a person goes to a Family Group Meeting or agrees to help develop a case plan, doesn’t mean they did anything wrong. However, the things people say in Family Group Meetings may be heard by the court, to help the court make decisions.
• Guardianship
  • The legal responsibility for making decisions about the long-term care, wellbeing and development of a child or young person. This includes decisions about things like medical procedures and enrolment in school. Your parents will remain your guardians until a court orders another person or Child Safety Services to be your guardian.
• Intensive Family Support Service
  • The Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) helps vulnerable families in complex situations build their ability to care for and protect their children.
• Interim custody
  • If a court adjourns (delays) a hearing, it can make an interim order to make sure you are looked after properly in the meantime. (‘Interim’ means ‘in the meantime’.)
  • An interim order made on adjournment of a court assessment order may grant temporary custody to the Chief Executive, or your parents.
  • An interim child protection order made on adjournment of a child protection order can grant custody to a family member or the Chief Executive.
• Placement
  • A placement is the place where you live when you can’t live at home with your parents.
• Independent Person
  • An Independent Person is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person or a group who knows about protecting children, your community or you, but is separate to Child Safety Services.
• Social assessment report
  • A social assessment report includes all types of information about you - like your history, where you live and the views and wishes you discussed in previous interviews. The social assessment report also includes information and reports from Child Safety Services and includes an independent opinion on the best way to protect your best interests.
• Subpoena
  • (Pronounced sub-peener): A subpoena is an order to give information to a court.