The Commission held public hearings in Brisbane from Monday 8 to Friday 12 December 2025.
These hearings focused on the processes and procedures for child protection legal proceedings. This includes investigating the role of the Director of Child Protection Litigation and the Office of the Child and Family Official Solicitor.
The Director of Child Protection Litigation is an independent statutory agency, charged with the authority to make court applications for child protection orders on behalf of the State and to conduct the resulting legal proceedings in the Childrens Court of Queensland.
The Office of the Child and Family Official Solicitor is part of the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety. The staff who work for the Office are lawyers. They provide legal advice to and represent the Department, Child Safety Service Centres, and Child Safety Officers.
Through hearings, the Commission continued to investigate:
- the role of the Director of Child Protection Litigation and its office
- the role of the Office of Child and Family Official Solicitor
- the process of making and applying for child protection orders
- how child protection legal proceedings are conducted
- procedures and processes for Dispute Resolution Processes, for example family group meetings or court-ordered conferences
- how families, parents and carers are involved in these processes.
To date, some of the issues raised about child protection litigation include:
- inaccuracies contained in affidavits and court submissions
- decisions made without proper documentation
- families feeling powerless to challenge DCPL decisions
- parents feeling decisions are weighted more on DCPL’s evidence, rather than their own
- long delays relating to the slow, complex and confusing processes, which may cause harm for families, including keeping children in the care of the State longer than required.
If you have been involved in legal proceedings relating to a child protection order, or have supported or provided service to a family in child protection proceedings, you may wish to make a submission to share your experience of the legal process.
