Observations on the Department of Children and Youth Affairs consultation paper on Guardian ad Litem Arrangements

The OCO welcomed the initiative of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) to prepare a policy approach to the reform of guardian ad litem (GAL) arrangements in proceedings under the Child Care Act 1991.

In preparing its observations, we were mindful of the intensely serious and sensitive nature of child care proceedings. The children affected by such proceedings can be extremely vulnerable; the proceedings themselves can be long, complex and adversarial; and decisions arising from child care proceedings can have profound and lasting implications.

The policy approach to reform of guardian ad litem arrangements under the 1991 Act needs to be underpinned by a recognition of guardians ad litem as being primarily a service for children, where this service is a vital mechanism for promoting the rights of children in the context of care proceedings affecting them.

While the DCYA’s initiative in seeking to advance reform in this sensitive and complex area is welcome, it appears that elements of the policy approach currently being contemplated may be fashioned by an understanding of guardians ad litem as being first and foremost a service to the courts.

• November 2015
• Type: Report
• Topic: Children in care, Family law