The court report is an essential element in protecting vulnerable children who require court ordered protective intervention to ensure their safety, needs and rights.
The writing guide has been developed to assist practitioners in preparing and writing their reports using the new court report templates, which were released on 28 March 2020. The guide includes a general guidance section (Part A), including key concepts, legislative requirements and risk assessment. Part B includes guidance for completing sections in each court report template.
The writing guide is located in Forms and secure documents on the manual Sharepoint site, alongside the court report templates in the Court/Reports section.
COVID-19 response changes
Due to the current COVID-19 response changes in court practices and processes, practitioners are required to modify information being presented to the Court. See Revised child protection court report templates - implementation fact sheet explaining the changes on the department's COVID-19 Hub.