Short care and protection orders under s 211 of the Children and Young People Act 1999 (ACT) must state a period of operation; failure to do so renders the order wholly ineffective under s 213(1). The onus of establishing the grounds under s 156 rests on the applicant and is not reversed by the existence of interim orders. Whether a conference is a 'family group conference' for the purposes of the s 180(2) evidentiary exclusion is a question of fact determined by the family relationship of participants and the purposes of the conference, not by the label given to it by departmental officers. The costs regime under s 297 requires exceptional circumstances before costs may be ordered in care and protection proceedings.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 3 later cases that cite this judgment.