DMT v Department of Communities (Child Safety Services)

[2011] QCAT 6

CITATION: DMT v Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) [2011] QCAT 6

PARTIES:	DMT
v
Department of Communities (Child Safety Services)

APPLICATION NUMBER:   CSR220-09

MATTER TYPE: Children’s matters

HEARING DATE:     5 January 2011

HEARD AT:  Brisbane

DECISION OF: C Endicott, senior member

DELIVERED ON: 5 January 2011

DELIVERED AT:      Brisbane

ORDERS MADE: Application for review dismissed

CATCHWORDS :  CHILD PROTECTION - Early end to proceedings – section 47 Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 – application for review lacking in substance  

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

The hearing took place on the papers in the absence of the parties. 

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. An application was made to the Children Services Tribunal on 5 October 2009 by DMT (the applicant) seeking to review a decision made by Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) (the respondent) in a letter dated 23 September 2009 restricting contact between the applicant and her daughter. 

2. In that letter, the respondent stated that DMT was entitled to have one phone call and one face to face visit with her daughter per month.  The respondent has subsequently conceded that the letter dated 23 September 2009 contained an error in that the actual decision made by the respondent on 9 July 2008 about contact between DMT and her daughter entitled DMT to one telephone call per fortnight and one face to face visit per month together with the possibility of make up arrangements if a visit was missed. 

3. By submissions lodged by the respondent on 13 October 2009, a request was made to dismiss the review application on the basis that there had been no change of circumstances about contact since the decision was made on 9 July 2008 as contact arrangements were continued to be provided to DMT in accordance with the decision made on 9 July 2008.  The submissions were considered in October 2009 but no formal order was issued by the Children Services Tribunal based on the submissions.   

4. From 1 December 2009 the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has replaced the Children Services Tribunal.  The review application was a pending proceeding and is able to be determined by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the tribunal) under the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (the Act). 

5. On 28 April 2010 a copy of the submissions made in October 2009 by the respondent were sent to DMT for her response.  DMT was informed by that letter that her review application would be considered for dismissal in accordance with the submissions made by the respondent and her comments were requested to be received by 14 May 2010. No response was received from DMT.    

6. Section 47 of the Act gives the tribunal power to bring a proceeding to an early end if the tribunal considers that an application is frivolous, vexatious or misconceived or is lacking in substance or is otherwise an abuse of process.

7. The tribunal is satisfied from the submissions made by the respondent that the letter dated 23 September 2009 contained an error in describing DMT’s contact arrangements with her daugheter.  The tribunal finds that no decision had been made in September 2009 to restrict telephone contact to once per month in variation of the decision made in July 2008 to permit telephone contact once per fortnight. 

8. In view of that finding, the application made by DMT to review a decision purportedly made on 23 September 2009 restricting contact lacks substance as no such decision was made. The contact decision remained unchanged from 9 July 2008 to 23 September 2009. The review application must be dismissed under section 47 of the Act.