VIC Child Protection - Child Court Hearing Contact

[MiizzCarmen]

Children Protection are for Guardian of Sectary Order in the next court hearing. The mother wants her child in a stable environment and Children Protection agree. Child Protection are not willing to give the child to the father. So the mother wants to have a relationship with her child and be part of the child's life as it grows up but has no custody . The worker has agreed with the mother and has said you can have contact once a month or 4 times a year with her child. The mother has agreed to once a month.

Questions:
The contact the mother has once a month with her child will that be until the child is 18 years old?
Would the mother be able to change the once a month contact to regular contact even though she isn't seeking custody?

 

[Ivy]

Hi MizzCarmen,

In regards to your first question, the duration of the Guardianship to Secretary Order depends on the particular order and will be stated in the order. A Guardianship to Secretary order can be made for up to 2 years in the first instance whereas a Long-term Guardianship to Secretary order lasts until the child is 18 or marries, whichever comes first.

In regards to changing the contact, the parent has certain rights to discuss access arrangements with the child care worker and to appeal the order before it has finished depending on their particular circumstances.

Please look at these two links for more information on the Guardianship to Secretary order and the Long-term Guardianship to Secrectary order: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/as...rdianship-to-secretary-order-info-parents.pdf and http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/as...4414/long-term-guardianship-order-parents.pdf

The linked documents also provide information about legal services that can provide further advice.

 

[MiizzCarmen]

Child protection are seeking a long term Guardian of Sectary Order. A case worker has just started the contact visits for the mother to see her child. There is an upcoming court hearing if the mother does not agree with the amount of time she gets to see her child can that be changed in the upcoming court hearing?

 

[Ivy]

If the mother disagrees with the amount of time she gets to see her child, she can certainly raise that in the hearing. However she should try to discuss the arrangements with the child care worker before the hearing. If she is able to come to an agreement with the child care worker beforehand, that will likely be very useful for making sure that the arrangements the mother wants are put in place.

Remember that the hearing will be trying to determine what is best for the child. So if the mother disagrees with the access visit arrangements, she should think about why it would be better for the child if the arrangements were changed.

Also, if the mother disagrees with the outcome of the hearing, she has one month after the order is put in place to appeal to the County Court.

Within six weeks after the order is put in place, there will also be a best interests planning meeting that the mother can attend to make a plan for the child's long term safety.

Finally, the Long-term Guardianship to Secretary order will be reviewed every 12 months.