In Defence of Victoria's Children's Court

Children's Court of Victoria comprises the Family and Criminal Divisions. Our reference here is to the Children's Court – Family Division – and its hearing of applications relating to the care and protection of children and young people. Inquiries included: Brouwer George , Own motion investigation into the Department of Human Services, Child Protection Program, (Ombudsman Victoria, 2009); Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry: Terms Of Reference (7 March 2012) Child Protection Inquiry <http://www.childprotectioninquiry.vic.gov.au/terms-of-reference.html>; Victorian Law Reform Commission, Review of Victoria's child protection legislative arrangements: Terms of reference, (31 October 2012) <http://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/projects/child-protection/child-protection-terms-reference>.

VLA, Submission to the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry (VLA, 26 July 2011); Warner Bevan , Supplementary submission, (2011); LIV, Submission to Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry (2011); FCLC, Submission: Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry, (2011).

Brouwer , above n 1, 50, 57, 58, 66.

Anglicare, Berry Street, MacKillop Family Services, The Salvation Army, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and Centre for Excellence, May 2011, A better approach to protection and care: A submission to the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry, Child Protection Inquiry, <http://www.childprotectioninquiry.vic.gov.au/images/stories/submissions/anglicare-victoria-et-al.pdf>; McDonald Paul , ‘Children lost in a chaotic court system’, The Age (Melbourne), 11 October 2010.

Office Child Safety Commissioner (‘OCSC’), 2011, Submission by the OCSC to the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry; Crawford Carly , ‘Push to abolish Children's Court in Victoria under welfare shake-up’, Herald-Sun (Melbourne), 13 September 2011; Nader Carol , ‘Call to make child protection less hostile’, The Age (Melbourne), 6 October 2010.

Cummins Philip Scott Dorothy & Scales Bill , 2012, Report of the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry.

Victorian Government, Directions Paper Victoria's Vulnerable Children: Our Shared Responsibility, (2012), in particular see 18–22.

See Cummins , above n 6, for evidence about the clash of cultures, 386.

Anglicare , above n 4, 52.

Brouwer , above n 1, 47.

Ibid.

McDonald , above n 4.

Ibid.

Anglicare , above n 4, 53.

Children's Court of Victoria, 2011a, Submission to the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry, 15.

Children's Court of Victoria, 2011b, Supplementary submission to the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry, 28–29.

Grant Paul , ‘Safeguarding children must concern us all’, The Age, 22 December 2009, 11.

VLA , above n 2, 20, see also, Children's Court of Victoria, above n 15, 17–19.

Boreham Rebecca , ‘The chance to be heard’, The Age (Melbourne), 21 December 2009, 17.

Anglicare , above n 4, 52–55.

MacIntyre Alasdair , After Virtue: A study in moral theory (University of Notre Dame Press, 2nd ed, 1984), 8.

Gleeson Murray , The rule of law and the Constitution: Boyer Lectures (ABC Books, 2000) 1–2.

Boreham , above n 19.

Gorman Joe , Case's publicity shows why DHS should answer to court, The Age (Melbourne), 15 December 2009, 15.

Farouque Farah , ‘Kids in court’, The Age (Melbourne) 24 January 2012; see also Children's Court of Victoria. Research Materials: Family Division – General, Children's Court of Victoria (20 September 2012), <http://www.childrenscourt.vic.gov.au/CA256CA800011129/page/Research+Materials?OpenDocument&1=60-Research+Materials∼&2=∼&3=∼>.

FCLC , above n 2, 8.

Victorian Law Reform Commission, above n 1, 8–9.

Warner , above n 2.

Gorman , above n 24.

Boreham , above n 19.

Children's Court of Victoria, 2011c, above n 25, 7.

Gleeson , above n 22.

Justice John Fogarty, Protective services for children in Victoria: A report (Health & Community Services, 1993) 142–243.

Boreham , above n 19.

Anglicare , above n 4, 54.

Farouque , above n 25.

Ibid.

Boreham , above n 19.

Farouque , above n 25.

Children's Court of Victoria, 2011c, above n 25.

VEOHRC, Submission to the 2011 Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children (April 2011), 8–10.

Ibid 11.

FCLC , above n 2, 6.

Ibid 7.

VEOHRC , above n 41, 38.

Munro Eileen , The Munro Review of Child Protection – Part One: A systems analysis (2010), 12, <http://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/TheMunroReviewofChildProtection-Part%20one.pdf>.

Cummins , above n 6, 381.