Child protection duty lawyer

The child protection duty lawyer may be able to help on your Court date for child protection matters before the Children’s Court.

The child protection duty lawyer can give free basic legal help to people who do not have a lawyer and have not received legal advice before going to Court.

The child protection duty lawyer can only help you on your specific Court date. If you need help before or after your Court date, contact Legal Aid Queensland, a community legal centre or get a private lawyer.

Getting help from the child protection duty lawyer

The child protection duty lawyer is a free lawyer who may be able to help you if you are appearing in Court for a child protection matter.

The child protection duty lawyer may not necessarily appear with you in Court (unless you have a specific need), but they can still help by:

• discussing your situation and options available to you.
• giving you free legal information and advice.
• explaining what will happen in Court.
• helping you fill out Court forms and documents (for your Court date).
• discussing your eligibility for aid and helping with your legal aid application.
• referring you to other organisations who may be able to help.

They cannot:

• represent people in child protection trials.
• take on casework.

You do not have to book to see the child protection duty lawyer, but you should check if they are available at the Court you are attending on your Court date. If you need legal help, you should arrive early to the Court (on your Court date) and ask to see the child protection duty lawyer.

Note: The child protection duty lawyer can only help on the day you are appearing in Court. For example, if your Court date is on a Tuesday, you cannot get help from the duty lawyer before Tuesday. They cannot help if your matter is not listed in the Court on that specific day.

Make sure you bring all your Court documents with you. Without them, the child protection duty lawyer can only give you limited help.

Let the child protection duty lawyer know if you need extra help—for example, if you have experienced domestic or family violence, or you need an interpreter, have difficulty reading or writing or have a disability.

Disclaimer: The material presented on this website is an information source only. The information on this website is written for people resident in, or affected by the laws of Queensland, Australia only. Links to other sites from this website are provided for the users’ convenience. The LGBTI Legal Service does not endorse these sites and is not responsible for the information on these sites or the use made of this information. If you have a specific legal problem, you should consult a professional legal advisor.