A fresh approach to child protection practice and legislation in Australia

This paper outlines some of the findings and approaches of the Victorian Review. It assesses a stylized "orthodox model" of child welfare law and practice, a model which remains in many Australian jurisdictions and which has its popularity in Britain, Canada, and the United States. It concludes that serious consideration should be given to rebuilding and strengthening these arrangements. This entails emphasis on utilizing laws to serve an educative function and facilitating access by children and families to preventive and support services. It argues that a broad concept of neglect should be adopted and that the "welfare orientation" of the Children's Court requires reconsideration, because the capacity of courts to resolve entrenched structural problems of society has been overrated. Welfare practice, and specifically a community approach to welfare, should shape the primary response to protection of children; judicial involvement should be a last resort.