Court Children’s Service (CCS) is staffed by psychologists and social workers who have specialist expertise in the needs of children in families that are separated. The role of the service is to assist parents, registrars and judges make decisions about arrangements that are in the best interests of the children.
CCS can assist families and the Court by:
- helping parents understand the needs of their children after separation
- identifying risk factors that impact children
- identifying family strengths and protective factors
- providing assessments and advice to the Court as an expert witness
- providing information about resources and support services, and
- assisting in the resolution of disputes.
The different types of services provided by CCS include:
- undertaking preliminary assessments early in proceedings
- undertaking comprehensive assessments for final hearings
- assisting registrars in the delivery of dispute resolution conferences, and
- undertaking confidential assessment interviews as part of the Court’s Lighthouse Project.
The work of CCS is undertaken by employees of the Court, referred to as Court Child Experts, and by private practitioners who have been engaged by CCS for the purpose of undertaking comprehensive assessments for final hearings. These private practitioners are referred to as Regulation 7 Family Consultants.
Will CCS be involved in my case?
CCS will only be involved in your case if a Registrar or Judge has made an order that this is to occur. For example, you may be ordered to attend for a:
- Child Impact Report
- Dispute Resolution Conference
- Child Impact Addendum Report
- Specific Issues Report, or
- Family Report.
For more information about CCS and the types of court events you may attend, see the publications:
- Court Child Experts FAQs
- Family Consultant FAQs
- Child Impact Report FAQs
- Family Reports FAQs
- Expert witnesses in family law
- Court-based Family Dispute Resolution
- Reports prepared by Court Children’s Service
***Disclaimer – The above information was taken from the Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia website as accurate in July 2024. If any changes are made by the court from that date they may not be reflected in this post
