Once the Childrens Court has made a decision in relation to an application for a Court Assessment Order or Child Protection Order, any party to the proceedings who disagrees with the decision, can lodge an appeal.
An appeal can also be lodged against a magistrate's decision to grant a Temporary Assessment Order.
However, only our department, a child or young person or a parent is able to lodge an appeal in these circumstances.
An appeal is started by filing a written notice of appeal in the Childrens Court, either in Brisbane if that is where the decision was made, or if it was outside of Brisbane, it is lodged with the nearest District Court Registry.
- The notice of appeal must state the grounds of the appeal and the facts relied on. It is recommended that legal advice is sought when drafting an appeal document.
- The notice must be lodged within 28 days of the decision being made and each party to the original proceedings must be served with a copy.
In deciding an appeal, the judge may make any of the following decisions:
- confirm the decision appealed against
- vary the decision appealed against
- set aside the decision and substitute another decision
- set aside the decision appealed against and refer the matter back to the Childrens Court for another hearing.
A Childrens Court Judge is an appointed District Court Judge who is commissioned for this purpose and has particular expertise in matters relating to children.
Where a Childrens Court Judge is not available, a District Court Judge can sit as a Childrens Court Judge.
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