Best Interests Children's Law Podcast

Re-thinking Advocacy in the Australian Protection System: Churchill Report on Child Centred Legal Services

Arna Delle-Vergini and William Wainwright Season 2 Episode 8

Elicia Savvas’s Churchhill Fellowship report, released in September 2024, explores children’s legal services and related organisations in the United States, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The Churchill report largely focuses on the features and benefits of child centred legal services, the need for independent advocacy, and how children’s court systems can support meaningful participation. It contends that the Australian legal sector can better support children’s rights by drawing on the UK and US systems. The report discusses the ‘client directed’ model of legal representation, meaning the child provides instructions about their own needs and wishes. 


Show Notes:

Report: 

https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/project/to-investigate-child-centred-legal-services-in-child-welfare-law/


Research for this episode was compiled by Maigan Hounslow. 


Best Interests Children’s Law Podcast is sponsored by Ex Curia: Coaching & Consulting Pty Ltd, Meliora Psychology and Claudia Grimberg Lawyers.

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