Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice v M & J (Pseudonyms) [2024] NSWDC 35

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice v M & J (Pseudonyms) [2024] NSWDC 35 Hearing dates: 20 February 2024 Date of orders: 21 February 2024 Decision date: 21 February 2024 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Acting Judge Levy SC Decision: See paragraph [16] for orders Catchwords: CARE APPEAL – construction of s 90A of the Children And Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) – erroneously made prohibition order by Children's Court set aside – Children's Court had no statutory power to make that order after the proceedings had been finalised Legislation Cited: Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, s 76, s 90A, s 91, s 105 Children's Court Act 1987 (NSW), s 12(1) Cases Cited: Department of Community Services (DFaCS) and Amber [2019] NSWChC 10 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice (Plaintiff) M, a pseudonym (First Defendant) J, a pseudonym (Second Defendant) Judith Little, Independent Legal Representative (Third Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr MW Anderson (Plaintiff) Ms R Koulouris, Solicitor (First Defendant) No appearance (Second Defendant) Ms Connolly, Solicitor as agent (Third Defendant)

Solicitors: Karen Smith, Crown Solicitor (Plaintiff) Koulouris & Associates (First Defendant) Judith Little, Independent Legal Representative (Third Defendant) File Number(s): 2023/00357724 Publication restriction: Non-publication order