Child Advocate
What is a child advocate?
Navigating Queensland’s child protection and out-of-home care system can feel overwhelming, especially when legal decisions are being made about your life.
If you feel like your voice isn’t being heard or you don’t understand what’s happening, our child advocates are here to help.
Child advocates are independent lawyers who:
- protect your rights
- help you understand legal proceedings
- support you to have a say in decisions that affect your care arrangements.
They don’t work for Child Safety, the courts, or the Department of Education, so they can provide independent advice and advocacy for you.
A child advocate is a lawyer. We work with children and support them to participate in legal decision-making processes. We meet children and young people through referrals from other stakeholders. They can be from magistrates, carers or even child safety officers.
We can support them to participate by attending children's court, helping them to attend tribunal matters or even stakeholder meetings with people from their schools or from their health team.
I'm drawn to the job because by helping children have their voices heard we really do get better outcomes for them. A young person who has recently been involved with the Department of Child Safety often feels that they don't have a voice and that all their adults are making the decisions.
We make a difference by letting them know that they do have a right to be heard and making sure that adults hear them. Children seem to respond to that really well — they're generally happier and do better in school when they've had a chance to participate in the decisions that are being made about them.
So good outcomes are my favourite part.
Who can child advocates help?
Child advocates provide support to children and young people in the child protection system.
You can get help from a child advocate if you’re subject to:
- a care agreement or order under the Child Protection Act (e.g., assessment orders, custody orders, or child protection orders)
- an intervention with parental agreement
- an application for a child protection order.
It doesn’t matter where you’re staying or living. Child advocates can help if you’re in:
- out-of-home care (e.g., with a foster or kinship carer)
- a residential care facility
- youth detention or an adult correctional centre
- a disability service
- your family home (e.g., while a child protection order application is being processed)
- a friend’s house (including couch surfing)
- a mental health facility.
They can also help if you’re homeless.
If you’re unsure whether you can get help from a child advocate, ask your:
- Child Safety officer
- community visitor
- guidance counsellor at school
- psychologist.
You can also contact us directly.
How can child advocates help you?
Child advocates can assist with legal issues and decisions about your care. They can:
- provide information about legal matters
- help you have your say about your care arrangements during court processes (e.g., where you live or how much time you spend with your family)
- challenge Child Safety decisions you don’t agree with
- get school decisions reviewed, such as suspensions, exclusions, or refusals to enrol
- support you to participate in family group meetings
- work with your youth justice lawyer to help them understand your care history (in some cases).
What won’t child advocates do?
Child advocates will not:
- judge you or have opinions about your life, views, or choices
- advocate for you in family disputes (e.g., issues between your carer and a family member)
- act as your legal representative in court.
Child advocates can meet with you in person or communicate via phone or video call, depending on what works best for you.
How can you ask for a child advocate?
You can ask for help from a child advocate yourself or have someone make a referral for you.
To ask for help yourself:
- text us on 0418 740 186
- call us on 1300 653 187
- send us a message
- email publicguardian@publicguardian.qld.gov.au
If someone else is helping you request a child advocate, they can:
This could be your:
- foster or kinship carer
- Child Safety officer
- community visitor
- guidance counsellor at school
- psychologist.
It’s important that you understand what a child advocate does and agree to their help. No one should force you to work with a child advocate.
What about your privacy and confidentiality?
Child advocates will respect your privacy and keep what you tell them confidential.
However, there are times when they must share information, such as if you:
- or another child is at risk of harm (this must be reported to Child Safety)
- you tell them about a crime (this must be reported to the police).
If you agree, they can also share your information with others who may be able to help you.
Who else can help?
- Community visitors: visit children and young people in out-of-home care, youth detention, and other locations to ensure they’re being properly cared for.
- Independent Persons: help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people share their views with Child Safety, including where they want to live.
There may also be other organisations that can provide support.