e-Newsletter March 2015
Hi All,
Once again, for the latest information on the sector, please see below.
Successful CQFLPN Motivational InterviewingWorkshop
Every attendee at the recent CQFLPN Motivational Interviewing Workshop, conducted by Aaron Kenny from Relationships Australia, found the training useful: 93 % said the information was very useful or extremely useful. Additionally 92% said that they would change the way they work with clients as a result of the training.
93% of attendees said that they would be interested in a second advanced workshop on Motivational Interviewing.
Family violence report aims to interrupt cycle of violence. RMIT. 19th March
Flash incarceration for perpetrators who do not comply with court orders is one of a range of recommendations to break the cycle of family violence outlined in a major new RMIT University report.The RMIT Centre for Innovative Justice report, Opportunities for early intervention: bringing perpetrators of family violence into view, has been lodged with the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s department.It lists a range of recommendations highlighting ways the justice system can interrupt the cycle of family violence to make perpetrators more visible. To find out more please click on RMIT News
Desperate Need of Reform DSS Tendering – CCA. Pro Bono 19th March.
There is a dog’s breakfast of approaches to human service contracting across Federal Government agencies and a desperate need for reform of Department of Social Services tendering practices, according to a submission being finalised by Not for Profit sector peak body, Community Council for Australia.
The CCA submission said one of the major problems with the tendering process was the Department’s lack of communication with Not for Profit service providers.
“It seems each agency has its own rationale and its own set of mandatory components and priority principles for its particular procurement practices and reporting requirements. Even within some agencies, there are high levels of inconsistency in approaches and processes,” the submission said.
The CCA submission is to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into the recent DSS tendering processes set up by the Greens in February.
The move came as community organisations including peak bodies and advocacy groups received pre-Christmas notice from the Federal Government that they have been defunded, their funding hadn’t been renewed or their applications weren’t successful. Many NFPs have since had their funding continued until mid 2015.
To read the complete article please click on Pro Bono.
Setting Aside a Binding Child Support Agreement While Driving a Mercedes.Kim Henderson. myFamilyLaw
In Lincoln [2015] FCCA 18the applicant father sought to set aside aBinding Child Support Agreement (‘BCSA’) signed in February 2012 by which he was to pay the sum of $2,200 per month as child support for one child.
S.136 (2)(d) Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, empowers the Court to set aside a BCSA where there are “exceptional circumstances, relating to a party to the agreement or a child in respect of whom the agreement is made, that have arisen since the agreement was made and the applicant or the child will suffer hardship if the agreement is not set aside”.
The father sought that:
- the agreement be wholly set aside and that henceforth he be assessed to pay child support by the Child Support Agency on an administrative basis; and
- the arrears in excess of $20,000 be set aside.
Judge Burchardtnoted that during the marriage the father had been a very successful businessman with a well known business which supported the very extravagant lifestyle enjoyed by the parties. To read the complete article please click on myFamilyLaw
Legal Professional Development Opportunity Brisbane, Thursday 23rd April: Complexity between Mental Illness and Disability: Understanding Autism Spectrum Conditions in a Legal Context.
Legal professionals from family and criminal law, and restorative justice practice are challenged on a daily basis with children or parents who present with features, diagnosed or undiagnosed, of ASD. These profiles in adults, women, men and children are not always obvious to the untrained eye and may present in legal practice with challenging interpersonal styles, inflexible thinking, or difficulties gaining insight or understanding into the needs of others. Accurate understanding of an individual’s profile can change the functional understanding of parenting skills and alleged criminal conduct and the relationship this can have with the law.
Following an opening address by Federal Circuit Court Judge Anne Demack, the workshop with be presented by Clinical Psychologist, Ms Kathleen Davey. With over 10 years clinical experience in autism spectrum conditions, Ms Davey will deliver:
·Profiles of Autism Spectrum Disorder in adults and children
·Implications for ASD in legal processes
·Considerations for shared parenting for children with ASD
·Effective communication with clients who present with a ASD profile
A registration fee of $110 (including GST) applies for this workshop, however, sponsorships are available subject to negotiation. Please contact to discuss this as an option. Please download the registration for via this link: or if you require any further information please don’t hesitate to contact Maria Buglar Phone: 0428 755 925
or (07) 3350 6320. Email:. Work hours: Thursday & Friday 8.30am-4.30pm. Website:
Petition for implementation of DV Senate Inquiry’s recommendations.
Since the beginning of 2015, two women a week have been murdered by their partners or former partners. This is double the already horrific average. Domestic violence is the leading preventable cause of death and disability for young women. In Australia. In the 21st century. It's a national disgrace and it must stop.
Recently the Senate inquiry into domestic violence released its first report. It provided eight clear recommendations for addressing this scourge. Politicians of all stripes say they're committed to dealing with domestic violence. Now it's time for action. Sign the petition to tell the Government to implement the Senate Inquiry's recommendations.
Service Information
Head Start Children's Therapy Services
Head Start Children's Therapy Services is a locally owned and operated private occupational therapy practice offering services to children and adolescents in the CQ Area. They work in collaboration with families to support development and participation in self-care, leisure, school and play activities.Head Start is registered as a FaCSIA, Helping Children with Autism provider in addition to having medicare and private health rebates available.
Contact. 2/28 Bolsover Street Rockhampton. Phone: 4921 1224. Mobile: 0476046024Fax: 4921 2487
Wahroonga Youth Mental Health Service
Wahroonga’s youth mental health service specialises in ages 12- 24. Wahroonga provides counselling and psychology services to young people who are having difficulty coping or are experiencing emotional or mental health concerns or who may be at risk of self-harm or suicide. The service is free and confidential and youth can refer themselves. For further information please call 4922-5226
News
Domestic violence deserves the same attention as terrorism.Jacqueline Maley. Sydney Morning Herald. 27th February
Domestic violence and terrorism are increasingly twinned in the public debate, particularly by people angry that domestic violence receives, in comparison, so little funding and public attention.This, despite the fact that it kills more Australians and is far more widespread than the knifing of someone in the name of Allah or taking hostages in Martin Place.
Interestingly, the police who handled the Martin Place siege, we were told, had plenty of experience in hostage situations. They handle them frequently – and they almost always arise in the context of domestic violence incidents.The comparison is useful up to a point, in highlighting how we have failed, as a nation, to take violence against women seriously, despite the fact that one in three women report having experienced it. Domestic violence costs the economy $13 billion a year.Terrorism engenders a shapeless sense of dread and damages the bonds of social trust, and it's hard to put a price on those things.
But then, I imagine domestic violence does the same, just on a more private scale.
Terrorism and domestic violence share another thing in common.With both issues, there is a great public debate about how much representatives of the groups which overwhelmingly perpetrate the crimes – men and Muslims – should be included in the conversation about addressing them. To read the complete article please click on
Sydney Morning Herald
Jessica Silva gets suspended jail term for killing abusive ex-partner. The Guardian. 6th March
Woman convicted of manslaughter for stabbing James Polkinghorne escapes jail time as judge finds killing was done in ‘extreme circumstances’Jessica Silva, 25, sat down and wept after Justice Clifton Hoeben sentenced her to two years’ imprisonment.But it was suspended on the condition of good behaviour.
Silva stabbed James Polkinghorne five times on Mother’s Day in 2012 after he arrived outside her Marrickville home in Sydney under the influence of the drug ice.
She pleaded not guilty to his murder on the basis of self-defence but after five days of deliberation, a jury found her guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
In handing down his sentence, Hoeben said he accepted Silva’s comments that Polkinghorne had been “very abusive”. To read the complete article please click on The Guardian
How funding changes in NSW locked women out of domestic violence refuges. The Guardian. 9th March
Women’s shelters are supposed to provide a place of safety for victims of domestic violence, but a radical shakeup of the sector by the state government led to desperate shortages of accommodation – sometimes with deadly consequences
A woman in a room at a refuge. Changes in funding models in NSW mean refuges set up to help victims of domestic violence now often have to assist women who are homeless for other reasons, including drug and alcohol abuse and management has been transferred to faith-based charities in many cases. To read the complete article please click on The Guardian
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Bottom of Form
Court Decisions of Interest
Full Court (Appeals Judgments)
Reid & Clements and Ors [2015] FamCAFC 33 – 10/03/2015 - View PDF
FAMILY LAW – APPEAL – Where the Independent Children’s Lawyer appeals interim orders of the trial judge – Where a further hearing of the parenting proceedings is pending – Where the trial judge ordered a regime whereby the children spend one day on and one day off with each parent – Whether the trial judge failed to consider relevant sections of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) – Whether the trial judge failed to follow the principles relevant to the conduct of an interim parenting hearing – Where the appeal was conceded – Where the parties applied for costs certificates pursuant to ss 6, 8 and 9 of the Federal Proceedings (Costs) Act 1981 (Cth) – Where the appeal succeeded on an error of law –– Where the trial judge failed to provide reasons – Appeal allowed – Costs certificates ordered for the appeal and re-hearing of the application.
Bilal & Omar [2015] FamCAFC 30 – 27/02/2015 - View PDF
FAMILY LAW – APPEAL – BINDING FINANCIAL AGREEMENT – WAIVER OF LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE – Where the trial judge held a financial agreement entered into by the parties in 2007 was not binding – Where the trial judge determined that the advice given to the wife did not comply with s 90G(1)(b) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) because she had not understood the advice as her solicitor spoke a different Arabic dialect – Where the trial judge also found reference to an interpreter did not fulfil the s 90G(1)(b) requirement – Where the trial judge refused to grant the husband access to the wife’s solicitor’s file (or records) and also refused to allow the wife’s solicitor to give evidence on the basis of a finding that the wife’s claim of legal professional privilege should be upheld because she had not intentionally waived it – Where the wife had given evidence of what she had been told by her solicitor – Where, on appeal, the husband argued that the trial judge applied the wrong test for waiver of privilege – Where the Full Court found that the trial judge had applied the wrong test and held that the test is one of inconsistency with the maintenance of privilege rather than the subjective intention to maintain privilege – Where the Full Court also found that the wife’s evidence as to whether advice was given was contradictory – Where the husband also argued that the trial judge failed to take into account a relevant consideration, being the wife’s credibility – Where the Full Court also found merit in this complaint – Appeal allowed – Remitted for rehearing – Costs certificates granted.
New First Instance Judgments
Fagan & Fagan [2014] FamCA 1108 – 20/11/2014 - View PDF
FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN – Best Interests –Where a child is alienated from a father – Where there are two children of the marriage – Where the father and the ICL seek orders that the father have sole parental responsibility – Where the mother seeks orders for equal shared parental responsibility – Where communication between the parents is dysfunctional – Where the parents live a considerable distance apart – Where it is found that the actions and words of the mother have contributed to the alienation of the eldest child from the father and the paternal grandmother – Where the ability of the mother to provide suitable long term accommodation for the children is uncertain – Orders made for the children to live with the father and spend time with the mother.
Cowley and Anor & Yuvaves [2015] FamCA 111 – 02/03/2015 - View PDF
FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN – Surrogacy – best interests of the child – applicants seek orders for parental responsibility and for the child to live with them – undefended proceedings.
Resources
Children's involvement in family law proceedings:
Family Court practice and procedure: the right of the child to be heard
Children are often assumed to be unduly traumatised by being directly involved in litigation concerning the breakdown of their parents' relationship. They are said to be manipulated by parents into giving evidence or expressing wishes favourable to one parent or even to manipulate the parents themselves to achieve their own ends. It is argued that the court must be sensitive to the difference between what a child wants and what he or she needs and that, while a child may express a wish to participate, this may not be in his or her long term best interest. To access this resource please click on ALRC
Reports
Intergenerational Report
On 5 March the Federal Treasurer, the Hon, Joe Hockey, released the Government's Intergenerational Report 2015 available here.
A review of kinship carer surveys: the "cinderella" of the care system?
Meredith Kiraly. Child Family Community Australia. 11th March
Across the English-speaking world, child protection authorities are increasingly placing children with extended family rather than in foster care or residential care. Many more children are in such arrangements informally. A number of surveys of kinship carers have been conducted in recent years in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This paper systematically reviews these surveys to identify messages for policy and practice about the characteristics and support needs of kinship care families. Some comparisons are made with population studies of kinship care. The review will be of interest to Commonwealth and state government policy-makers, service providers and caseworkers, as well as kinship care families. To read the full review please click on APO
Grants
Westpac Foundation Community Grants: apply before Tuesday 24 March
Westpac Foundation Community Grants are now open. These grants provide a funding boost of up to $10,000 to community organisations making a difference locally.These grants support a diverse range of organisations all around Australia,
making a difference through creating better futures for youth at risk, Indigenous Australians, people living with disability, refugees or homeless populations.
Organisations can check their eligibility and apply here.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Westpac.
Australian Government Grants
Queensland Government Grants
Queensland Gambling Community Benefit Fund Closes Feb 28th
Department of Social Service Grants
Arts Queensland Projects and Programs Fund
Events, Training and Meeting Date Claimers
Between e-Newsletters you can find regularly updated Events, Training and Meeting information at
Events and training
There are a range of Playgroups operating across the region. For more information please visit the Playgroup Qld website to search suburb or postcode or simply call the Playgroup Support Team on toll free 1800171882