Children and the Court

This Program is the culmination of years of dialogue undertaken by judicial officers across all Australian jurisdictions and the National Judicial College of Australia (the NJCA).  From the outset, the program has been designed and developed to bring together academics, professionals and experts in their respective fields, drawn from a range of disciplines and jurisdictions, along with highly experienced judicial officers, to share knowledge, skills and experiences.  Indeed, the consideration of child and juvenile justice from these multiple perspectives has been used by the Program committee to inform the ambitious judicial learning outcomes.

Experiential learning is a central aim of the Program. Through the use of well-crafted case scenarios, the program sessions bring together both participants and professionals from backgrounds of law, social work and psychology to discuss and share, listen, disagree where necessary and learn from one another. Importantly, these program workshops are contemporary, able to be adapted and are specifically designed for judicial participants – from family law, criminal matters to child care and protection matters.

A secondary aim of the Program is to match judicial knowledge and understanding with enhanced court craft skills by providing participants with practical skills and strategies such as revisiting child friendly procedures, adopting a children’s rights focused narrative, and using child-friendly language.

The Program is designed to facilitate inter-professional communication that in turn, will enable judicial officers to gain a better understand of the important work they do that involves children and adolescents. For this reason, the gathering of highly credentialed experts, professionals and academics in their respective fields act as facilitators in multiple sessions and workshops throughout the two days.

By the end of the program, participants will:

• Understand the development of a child’s brain, resulting trauma and the psychology of children and young people;
• Better appreciate and understand a diagnosis applicable to the myriad of mental and physical health issues affecting children and young people who come before the courts;
• Analyse and gain enhanced mastery over the task of determining what constitutes the best interests of children;
• Be able to identify the many factors that contribute to an informed assessment of children as witnesses, victims and perpetrators, including having regard to the multitude of issues that can apply and affect vulnerable people within the justice system;
• Apply academic, medical and sociological recommendations so as to improve the outcomes and experiences for children and family members who end up in the justice system;
• Excise sharpened judge craft skills in the courtroom when dealing with experts, children and their family members; and
• Identify, appreciate and apply self-care measures to safeguard judicial officer mental health.

Participants will explore three important elements of judicial excellence as members of the court and general community, informed and impartial decision-makers and managers of court processes.

This program is an intensive and immersive two day program. All catering, resources and access to materials is included in the registration fee.

Not included: cost of travel and accommodation.

Meet your Program Planning Committee