DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY, YOUTH & WOMEN & DAJANI

The parties to this proceeding were the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women (the Department) and the respondent, Dajani. The dispute concerned an application by the Department for a child protection order under the *Child Protection Act 1999* (Qld) in relation to a child. The matter came before Carew J in the Childrens Court of Queensland.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Department had discharged its onus to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the child was in need of protection. This required the Court to consider the evidence presented by the Department regarding the alleged circumstances of harm or risk of harm to the child and to assess whether those circumstances met the threshold for a finding of need of protection as defined by the Act.

Carew J considered the evidence in light of the statutory criteria for a child protection order. The Court applied the principles of statutory interpretation to the relevant provisions of the *Child Protection Act 1999* (Qld), focusing on the definition of a child in need of protection and the standard of proof required. The Court carefully weighed the evidence presented by the Department against the respondent's submissions and the overall welfare of the child.

The Court made orders in favour of the Department, finding that the child was in need of protection.