Court outcomes

Collaborating in court outcomes

The Department provides a PSP provider with information about the court outcomes. Reasonable efforts are made to provide the information about court outcomes within two business days of the Department receiving a report of the outcome from the legal officer, external legal practitioner or court liaison officer.

The information provided by the Department may include:

• the date of the court appearance and any future relevant court dates
• interim or final orders made and any notations to those orders
• the timetable (due dates) for filing evidence or reports
• any relevant undertakings given by any party
• any agreements between parties in relation to family and sibling time or other arrangements impacting upon the placement and
• any other matters relevant to a child’s placement.

Information about a court outcome helps make sure the PSP provider is aware of, and acts in accordance with, interim or final orders made by the court, and to:

• put in place appropriate family time and provide information to carers relevant to the child’s placement
• put in place appropriate arrangements to support compliance with other orders, for example a Parent Capacity Order, undertakings or a supervision order.

It is not the role of a PSP provider to provide information about court proceedings to:

• a child – this is the role of the child’s independent or direct legal representative or
• the child’s parents, siblings or family/kin – this is the role of their respective legal representatives.

However a PSP provider may:

• give information to the child of a general nature in relation to court proceedings
• facilitate the child making contact with their legal representative
• facilitate the child making contact with a departmental practitioner involved in giving instructions in court proceedings.

Information not to be provided by the Department to a PSP provider includes:

• information protected by legal professional privilege
• Children’s Court Clinic assessment reports and documents filed in the proceedings by other parties, unless the court has granted leave.

A departmental legal officer is able to provide advice to departmental practitioners about whether information may be subject to a claim of privilege and, if the information is privileged, whether the Department should agree to waive privilege.