Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) and the Stone and Bates Children [2020] NSWChC 6

Children's Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) and the Stone and Bates Children [2020] NSWChC 6 Hearing dates: 18 & 19 June 2020 Date of orders: 19 June 2020 Decision date: 19 June 2020 Jurisdiction: Care and protection Before: Children's Magistrate Virgo Decision: The Carers have standing under s 90 of the Care Act Catchwords: CHILDREN – Care and protection - rescission of Care Orders – standing – authorised carers - sufficient interest in the welfare of a child – daily care and control of a child - removal of children from authorised carers - whether removal negates 'sufficient interest' – comparison of 'sufficient interest' and 'genuine concern' – delay – conduct of carers following removal Legislation Cited: Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment Act 2018. Cases Cited: DCJ & the Prince children [2019] NSWChC 2 EL & WL v Director-General of the Department of Human Services & Ors [2010] NSWDC 248 EC v Secretary, NSW Department of Family and Community Services [2019] NSWSC 226 Texts Cited: NSW Legislative Council Hansard, 24 October 2018 Category: Principal judgment Parties: The Carers The Secretary The Children Representation: Ms Hall, solicitor for the Carers Mr Hemsley, solicitor for the Secretary (Bates children) Ms Rowley, solicitor for the Secretary (Sienna) Ms Flynn, solicitor as the Direct Legal Representative (DLR) for Sienna Ms Flynn, solicitor as the Independent Legal Representative (ILR) for the Bates children File Number(s): 2020/00064054 Publication restriction: Pseudonyms have been used in order to anonymise the children and parties