Establishment of an Accreditation Scheme for Children’s Contact Services
Submission Date: 23 September 2025
The Law Council of Australia provided a submission to respond to the Consultation Impact Analysis published by the Attorney-General’s Department to inform its consideration of the establishment of an accreditation scheme for Children’s Contact Services (CCS). We commend the Department on its comprehensive Analysis.
CCS provide supervised contact between children and parent(s). Use of CCS occurs in circumstances including, but not limited to where there are identified risks to either the child or one of the parents, such as where there are concerns about domestic and family violence, child abuse, alcohol and substance misuse, mental health issues, or parental incapacity.
Since CCS began operating in the 1980s, the number and reach of services has grown—including a wider network of privately-owned services—to respond to increasing demand.1 CCS have become integral to family law operational matters, especially for matters progressing through the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) and the Family Court of Western Australia.
CCS provide reports that are a ‘written objective account of a family’s time at a service compiled from the file notes of observations recorded by CCS staff’2 at each supervised session. These reports are prepared for the Court at the request of either parent, their legal representative, an Independent Children’s Lawyer, or a court-appointed expert, and can be used as evidence in proceedings.
The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) established a framework for the regulation of CCS that would be implemented through the creation of accreditation rules. This measure followed several phases of consultation conducted by the Department. The Law Council’s contributions to those consultations expressed in-principle support for the creation of an accreditation process for CCS and for the staff who provide services in them, noting that an unregulated CCS sector can pose safety risks to the families who use these services. We have, however, repeatedly emphasised that steps to regulate the sector must avoid being overly prescriptive or unduly onerous to a point where the number of available services may significantly decrease, and where services may be forced to increase costs for families accessing the service.3
The Analysis proposes the following four options for consideration:
- Option 1: Maintain the status quo.
- Option 2: Introduce a light-touch regulatory regime, requiring standards to be met at the organisation/provider level (low intervention model).
- Option 3: Introduce a moderate level regulatory regime, requiring standards to be met at both the organisation/provider level, and the individual practitioner level (medium intervention model).
- Option 4: Introduce a comprehensive regulatory regime, with strict standards for the operation of a CCS, supported by strong validation and verification requirements (high intervention model).
The Law Council continues to support the accreditation of CCS and does not support maintaining the status quo, as proposed by Option 1. Given the serious work undertaken by CCS, and the suite of risks these services attempt to address, the Law Council supports the implementation of an accreditation scheme that ensures that CCS and practitioners are able to provide contact supervision that is physically, psychologically, and culturally safe to all participants. It is also important to ensure consistency in the quality of CCS delivered across different organisations, so that children and families receive safe and reliable support, regardless of where they access these services.
1 Attorney-General’s Department, Establishment of an Accreditation Scheme for Children’s Contact Services (Consultation Impact Analysis, July 2025) 2.
2 Attorney-General’s Department, Children’s Contact Services Guiding Principles Framework for Good Practice (October 2018) 7.
3 Law Council of Australia, Establishment of an Accreditation Scheme for Children’s Contact Services (Submission to the Attorney-General’s Department, 10 May 2021); Exposure Draft: Family Law Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2023 (Attorney-General’s Department, 24 November 2023) 62-64.
Last Updated on 30/09/2025
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