Court Advocacy Unit history in brief
The Department of Human Services Court Advocacy Unit is staffed by social welfare staff and legal officers. It provides a full-time duty service to protective workers. This includes providing advice and representation for the department in all matters brought before the court.
The Court Advocacy Unit’s role is to provide advice and representation to regional child protection workers and to liaise with the Victorian Solicitor’s Office Child Protection Court Unit.
The unit also provides advice and representation to departmental child protection workers in all matters brought before the Children’s Court, including child protection, supervision and guardianship, under the Children and Young Persons Act 1989.
The Court Advocacy Unit is now known as the Child Protection Litigation Office. The 2013 Memorandum of Understanding between Victoria Legal Aid, Child Protection Program and the Department of Human Services Child Protection and Family Services Branch states that the unit:
... is a statutory service, which provides child-centred, family-focussed services to protect children and young people from harm as a result of abuse or neglect within the family unit. Child Protection supports and refers children and young people to services to assist them deal with the impact of abuse and neglect on their wellbeing and development. Child Protection may also take matters before the Children’s Court, to ensure children and young people are protected and safe from harm.
All applications taken before the Children’s Court are conducted by the Child Protection Litigation Office (CPLO) and rural court officers. The CPLO is a legal unit within DHS Child Protection responsible for providing legal representation to metropolitan divisions for all matters before the Family Division of the Children’s Court.
Warning about distressing information
This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health and Human Services or another agency.
Disclaimer
Please note that this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. Fore more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & .
Source
Archival services administrative files.
List of records held by the department
For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s, and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.
Court Advocacy Unit case files (1983–2011)
File; Unappraised
Content: Court Advocacy Unit Case Files: legal case files pertaining to child protection, supervision and guardianship matters brought before the Family Division of the Children’s Court, and sometimes the County Court.
The content of the files relates to the case management of children and families involved in alleged and substantiated child abuse cases.
The files could be subpoenaed for evidence by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Family Court, County Court and Supreme Court. The files hold the paperwork associated with court hearings at the Children’s Court and sometimes the Family Court.
These case records span over 20 years and consist of files from the Community Services, Health and Community Services, Human Services departments. The records also include some Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office files c.1990s. Files do not seem to have been appended or updated and were most likely sent over to the unit for reference purposes and not returned.
The consignments of the Court Advocacy Unit files comprise more than one control system (subject to further research). The majority of the files hold a sequential case file numbering system. This system was updated with an annual single numbering system. Some of the earlier files have had file covers updated and their file number has been recorded as an annual single system number instead of sequential numbers. The Victorian Solicitor’s Office files hold their own system of annual single file numbers. One lot has file number prefixes which relate to TRIM: LEG signifies a legal file; CDF signifies confidential reporting.
Depending on case circumstances, documentation may include:
- court forms
- disposition reports
- case notes
- court outcomes
- court reports, for example, support of application to extend guardianship
- correspondence between the department and relevant bodies
- reports from medical specialists
- the Children’s Court of Victoria at Melbourne Decision Sheet for Court Register – Family Division.
Administrative files (1983–94)
File; Temporary and unappraised
Content: An administrative collection with files that cover both procedural and general administrative functions, such as personnel and payroll, liaison with other agencies, maintaining statistics as well as information relating to aspects of family law and child rights.
The files are not arranged in any specific alphabetical or numerical order.
Reviewed 31 August 2016