Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T08:31:16.304Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Confidentiality in child protection cases Who benefits?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Frank Ainsworth  and
Patricia Hansen
Frank Ainsworth
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook University, Townsville Campus, Queensland 4811, Email: [email protected]
Patricia Hansen
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield Campus, Sydney, NSW 2135
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Child protection legislation in every Australian state and territory prohibits the disclosure of the identity of a person who acts as a mandatory reporter. There is also provision in most child protection legislation that prevents the naming of children and families in protection cases. It is argued that disclosure is not in the interests of the child, the family or the general public. Children's Court proceedings in most states and territories in Australia are closed to the public so that, unlike in most other jurisdictions, interested parties are not able to observe the proceedings. Child protection authorities also have considerable power to collect information about children and families from many sources. This power to obtain information is compounded by legislation which removes confidentiality provisions from professional codes of ethics. Furthermore, the rules of evidence do not ordinarily apply in the Children's Court. This article uses New South Wales as the exemplar state and raises questions about all of these issues.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , 2010 , pp. 11 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aronson, M. & Hunter, J. (1998) Litigation, evidence and procedures, (6th edn.), Sydney: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2010) Child protection Australia 2008-2008, Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Law Reform Commission (2009) Secrecy laws and open government, Canberra.Google Scholar
Bendall, C. (2009) ‘The demise of the enhanced standard of proof in child protection cases: re B (2008) ukhl 35’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 31, 2, 185–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, D., Farrier, D., Egger, S., McNamara, L. & Steel, A. (2006) Criminal laws: Material and commentary on criminal law and process of New South Wales, Sydney: Federation Press.Google Scholar
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Accessible at http://www.un.org/library/ethics/un-convention/ Accessed 2 March 2009.Google Scholar
Department of Community Services (1997) Review of the Children (Care and Protection Act 1987, Legislation Review Unit, Sydney.Google Scholar
Department of Community Services (2006) Statutory child protection in NSW: Issues and options for reform, Sydney.Google Scholar
Douglas, R. (2009) Douglas and Jones's Administrative Law, Sydney: Federation Press.Google Scholar
Family Inclusion Network NSW Inc. (2009) Submission the National Human Rights consultation, May.Google Scholar
Foster, C. (2009) Choosing life, choosing death: The tyranny of autonomy in medical ethics and the law, Oxford: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Goldstein, J., Solnit, A.J., Goldstein, S. & Freud, A. (1996) The best interest of the child: The least detrimental alternative, New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Hall, L. (2009) ‘Black vomit, ants in ‘starved’ girl's mouth’, 20 May, Sydney Morning Herald, p.8.Google Scholar
Hoyano, L. & Keenan, C. (2007) Child abuse: Law and policy across boundaries, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kennedy, R. & Richards, J. (2007) Integrating human services law and practice, Melbourne: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Madden, J. (2009) ‘Hate drove mum to murder’, 9 October, The Australian, p.3.Google Scholar
NSW Ombudsman (2009a) The death of Dean Shillingsworth: Critical challenges in the context of reforms to the child protection system, Sydney: December.Google Scholar
NSW Ombudsman (2009b) The death of Ebony: The need for an effective interagency response to children at risk, Sydney: October.Google Scholar
Odgers, S. (2009) Uniform evidence law, Sydney: Lawbook Co. Google Scholar
Overington, C. (2008) ‘Child welfare inquiry turned into farce by official secrecy’, 29 August, The Australian, pp. 3 and 5.Google Scholar
Overington, C. (2009a) ‘Couple awarded $50K to sue DoCS’, 20 April, The Australian, p.5.Google Scholar
Overington, C. (2009b) ‘Tales of broken, battered kids shows how the system on brink’, The Australian, 11 June, pp. 1 and 2 Google Scholar
Parkinson, P. (1997) Review of the Children (Care and Protection Act) 1987, Sydney: Department of Community Services.Google Scholar
Reardon, K.K. & Noblet, C.T. (2009) Childhood denied: Ending the nightmare of child abuse and neglect, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Robertson, G. (2009) ‘A charter we can believe in’, Australian Literary Review, 4, 2, 9 and 18.Google Scholar
Rout, M. (2009a) ‘I saw her fall, just like a rag doll’, 8 October, The Australian, p.3.Google Scholar
Rout, M. (2009b) ‘Ex-wife told GP she fears for her children’, 9 October, The Australian, p.3.Google Scholar
Shaw, J.W. (1998) Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Bill, Second reading. Parliament of New South Wales Legislative Council, 1 December.Google Scholar
Sen, A. (2010) The idea of justice. New York: Allen Lane.Google Scholar
Stewart, H. (2009) ‘Secrecy rules surrounding children in care may be concealing injustice’, 25-26 April, The Weekend Australian, p.9.Google Scholar
Swain, P. (2009) ‘The ethics of social work practice’, in Swain, P. and Rice, S. (eds.), In the shadow of the law: The legal context of social work practice, Sydney: Federation Press, pp.36–63.Google Scholar
Tang, A. (2009) Dealing with the media in children's proceedings, paper presented at the Children's Legal Services annual conference, Sydney, 30 May, p.3.Google Scholar
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Available at http://un.org/Overview/rights.html Accessed 2 March 2009.Google Scholar
Wenham, M. (2009) ‘Foster care abuse victim gets taxpayers-funded settlement’, Courier-Mail, 16 June.Google Scholar
Williams, J. (2008) Child law for social work, London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Wood, (2008) Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Sydney. November.Google Scholar