Children's Court Clinic

About our service 

Our service assists the Children’s Court and higher courts in care and protection matters by providing independent expert clinical assessments of:

• children and young persons, and/ or
• the capacity of parents and others to carry out parental responsibility.
• an assessment report by the clinic is taken to be an independent report to the court rather than evidence tendered by a party (section 59, the Care Act). The Children’s Court Clinic Authorised Clinician who prepares a report is available to the court for cross-examination.

The NSW Children's Court Clinic is established under section 15B of the Children’s Court Act 1987. 

Read The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

Division 6 'Examination and assessment orders' pertains to the role of the Children's Court Clinic.

The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 recognises that caring for children and young people is a responsibility shared by families, agencies and communities working in partnership. It also places emphasis on government departments working cooperatively to provide services to meet the needs of children and families.

How we work

Located in Parramatta, the Children's Court Clinic consists of a small unit of staff responsible for managing the statewide service, along with expert clinicians who conduct assessments.

The clinic contracts a number of accredited specialists known as 'Authorised Clinicians', who provide independent assessments for Children's and District Courts.

Magistrates and judges request assessment orders via the clinic when they require expert assessments in relation to particular cases. The clinic then refers the matter to the most appropriate Authorised Clinician who undertakes the assessment and writes a report.

This report is sent to the court to help the magistrate or judge make a decision in the best interests of the child or children.