Department of Child Safety and Jarrett and Anor

The applicant, the Department of Child Safety, sought orders concerning a child. The respondents were the child's mother and father. The proceedings were before Jordan J in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Department had established a sufficient basis to continue proceedings under the *Child Protection Act 1999* (Qld) and to maintain certain protective orders. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Department had met its evidentiary burden to demonstrate that the child was in need of protection, thereby justifying the continuation of the proceedings and the existing orders.

Jordan J reasoned that the Department had failed to present sufficient evidence to satisfy the threshold for a child protection application. The Court found that the material before it did not demonstrate that the child was at risk of harm as contemplated by the Act. Consequently, the Court concluded that the application initiating proceedings was without merit and that the existing orders, which had been made *ex parte*, were no longer justified. The Court applied the principle that protective orders should only be made where there is a demonstrable need to safeguard a child's welfare, and that the onus rests on the applicant to prove such a need.

Accordingly, Jordan J ordered that the Department's application be dismissed and that the previously made orders be discharged. The Court also requested that the Australian Federal Police remove the names of the mother and child from the All Points Watch Alert System.