Applications by emergency care before a Bail Justice

An application before a bail justice is required if a child is placed into emergency care and cannot be produced before a court within 24 hours. A bail justice can make an IAO until the next court sitting day.

Case practitioner tasks

• If you place a child into emergency care and cannot attend the Children’s Court within 24 hours, contact the Bail Justice Call Centre on 03 9945 4444  to request an application by emergency care before a bail justice. Bail justices are available from 4.30pm weekdays to 6am the following working day and 24 hours on weekends and public holidays.
• See the time ready-reckoner in Guide for managing applications by emergency care before a Bail Justice if you are unsure whether an application before a bail justice is required.
• In most circumstances, applications before a bail justice will be conducted online. You will be invited to a Cisco Webex meeting which you and the relevant parties join online. You need to use your department laptop or mobile to join online hearings. If other parties are joining from a different location or devices, you will need to provide the Call Centre with the parties’ email addresses.
• The practitioner should take all reasonable steps to provide the parties with the opportunity to participate in the hearing, either in person or via remote means.
• Where an online bail justice is not possible, you will agree on a hearing time and location with the Call Centre. Endeavor to have all parties to the application present at the hearing location before contacting the bail justice.
• Present at the hearing location before contacting the bail justice.
• Complete Form 12 ‘Interim accommodation order’ (see Court - Events forms) in CRIS or offline if necessary. Include the child’s name and address, applicant’s name and address and grounds from s. 162(1) of the CYFA. Do not complete other details (including any conditions you may be recommending), because you cannot pre-empt the decision of the bail justice. For online hearings, the emergency application and Form 12 is to be emailed to the bail justice as a Word document once the invitation is sent out by the Call Centre.
• Do not brief the bail justice before the hearing. Provide all relevant information in the course of the hearing. The bail justice has the authority to make an IAO where the matter cannot be heard by a Court in the required time frame. Refer to the bail justice as ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am,’ when in session.
• Prepare to provide evidence to the bail justice about:
  • protective concerns
  • risk of significant and immediate harm to the child/ren
  • best-interests assessment and rationale for the child being placed into emergency care
  • your recommendation about where the child should be placed until the matter can be heard at the Children’s Court.

The bail justice may:

• make an IAO placing the child as recommended by the practitioner
• make an IAO returning the child to the parent’s care
• make no IAO.
• If the bail justice makes an IAO, they will complete Form 12 with the bail justice’s signature and other details, including conditions the bail justice has made on the order. The bail justice will provide you with a copy of the order. Give all parties a copy of the IAO. Keep the form to present to the Court the next working day. 
• Initiate the protection application in the CMS Portal, upload a copy of the application, the affidavits of service, and a copy of the order granted by the bail justice, select a hearing for the next business day and upload any additional documents required, such as the Form B and redacted CRIS notes. See Applications by Emergency Care for more information. 
• You should explain the IAO to the family, and carers and confirm their understanding regarding the requirements to attend court.
• If the bail justice does not make an IAO, the application that was issued by the practitioner (the protection application or breach application) continues to exist and you should inform the family that the matter will be heard at the Children's Court the following working day, and that they should attend. You can make a further application for an IAO at the court hearing.
• Record the outcome in CRIS case notes and update the CRIS court screens. Bail justice is a specific hearing/event type in the court screens.

Supervisor tasks

• Provide support and direction.

Team manager tasks

• Endorse key decisions, including confirming the requirement for an application before a bail justice, and placement type and conditions being recommended in the hearing.

• Applications by emergency care

• Guide for managing applications by emergency care before a Bail Justice
• Court -Events forms
• CMS Portal - advice
• CMS Portal - procedures