If you are considering appealing, it is important that you seek legal advice and speak to your lawyer, and as soon as possible. You must follow a certain process to make an appeal, and there are strict time limits.
What actually happens?
Changing a decision from appealing a decision made in Court is not very common. A different Court will hear the evidence, and most times, it will include the same evidence as well as new evidence.
If you want to try and change the final orders made in the Children’s Court, you have the right to appeal to the District Court (under s91(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1988). If the final orders were made by the President of the Children’s Court, then the appeal is made to the Supreme Court.
Case management
The District Court aims to deal with care appeals as quickly as possible. The Judge will manage the case and give directions to make sure the appeal moves forward without delay.
You have 28 days from the date of the Children’s Court order to file your appeal. If more than 28 days have gone by, you can still apply, but you also have to ask for an extension of time as part of your application for an appeal and explain why you were delayed in starting the process.
Appeals are started by filling in a Court form called a Summons (Form 84). The summons must say:
You file the summons at the Local Court registry, who will send it to the District Court. You can also file it directly. If you are urgently filing, it is worth contacting the District Court Registry so that they can be aware of it coming. There is a filing fee, but if you are on a low income you can ask not to pay the fee or have it delayed. You’ll need to give proof, like a Centrelink letter or a bank statement.
After filing the appeal
Once you file the summons, you must give a copy to (serve) all the other parties in the case. Other parties then need to file a notice of appearance if they want to take part in the appeal.
Your case will usually be listed for a short Court mention (called a directions hearing) within about three weeks. At the first directions hearing, the judge will check:
If you want to use new evidence that was not used in the Children’s Court, you must tell the District Court early on:
AbSec and our partners acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout NSW and their continuing connections to land, waters, and communities. We also acknowledge the lands on which these stories were told, the lands of the Dharawal, Yuin and Wonnarua people.
We acknowledge the Elders, leaders and advocates that have led the way and continue to fight for our children. We also acknowledge the Stolen Generations who never came home and the ongoing impact of government policy and practice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families.
This website shares the experiences and advice of Aboriginal families involved in the NSW child protection system who participated in the Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research at UNSW. We acknowledge and thank the families who generously gave permission to share their stories.
These experiences reflect what worked for those families and do not constitute advice or views of AbSec. AbSec recommends seeking independent legal advice for your own circumstances.
