Director-General, Department of Families Youth & Community Care & Reissner

The Director-General of the Department of Families, Youth and Community Care (the Director-General) sought to have a child, R, made a ward of the state. The application was opposed by the child's mother, Ms Reissner. The matter came before Lindenmayer J in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Director-General had discharged the onus of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the child R was in need of protection within the meaning of the relevant legislation. This required the Court to consider the evidence presented regarding the circumstances of the child and the capacity of the mother to provide adequate care.

Lindenmayer J applied the principles of statutory interpretation to the provisions of the *Children's Services Act 1965* (Qld). His Honour considered the evidence of the mother's alleged neglect and the potential risks to the child's well-being. The Court weighed the evidence presented by the Director-General against the evidence and submissions put forward by Ms Reissner. The Court's assessment focused on whether the threshold for intervention established by the Act had been met, considering the paramountcy of the child's welfare.

The Court found that the Director-General had not discharged the onus of proof on the balance of probabilities. Accordingly, the application to have R made a ward of the state was dismissed.