The Commission held public hearings in Brisbane from Monday 2 February. It concluded on Thursday 5 February.
The hearings were the continuation of the hearings held in Brisbane, in December 2025. The hearings focussed on the processes and procedures for child protection legal proceedings. It investigated 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 the hearings, the Commission investigated:
- 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.
Watch the livestream
There are strict confidentiality requirements under the Child Protection Act 1999. This means publication of any details that identify a child in care is prohibited.
All livestreamed hearings are subject to the Order to Prohibit Publication of Evidence (PDF, 153.0 KB) (Non-publication order). The publication or sharing of information obtained through this livestream that breaches the non-publication order is strictly prohibited and may result in prosecution.
Transcripts of each day will be published below when they are available.
