Establishment of an Accreditation Scheme for Children’s Contact Services
2 October 2025
On 22 September 2025, the Law Council provided a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department in response to its consultation on the establishment of an accreditation scheme for Children’s Contact Services (CCS).
This submission was informed by contributions from the Family Law Section, in addition to the Law Institute of Victoria, Law Society of New South Wales, Law Society of South Australia, and Law Society of Western Australia.
The Law Council’s submission expressed support for the introduction of an accreditation scheme that ensures that CCS providers and practitioners are equipped to provide contact supervision that is physically, psychologically, and culturally safe to all participants. Such a scheme is also important to ensure consistency in the quality of CCS delivered across different organisations.
Nonetheless, the submission raised concerns that stringent standards, while well-intentioned, could have a perverse effect and limit the overall availability and affordability of CCS providers. As such, any proposed accreditation scheme must carefully consider the points at which any additional regulatory burden may become too onerous and risk limiting a provider’s willingness to provide a CCS.
The submission suggested there may be benefit in drawing specific features of various options in the Consultation Impact Analysis into a revised proposal that increases oversight of the CCS sector and protects children, while not being too burdensome so as to have a ‘chilling’ effect on the industry.
The Law Council will continue to engage with the Attorney-General’s Department, and Australian Government, as options for the accreditation of CCS are considered.
Last Updated on 29/09/2025
Share
Tags
Most recent items
Law Council
National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference 2025
Law Council