DT v Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection

The case involves an appeal by the father against a decision of the Youth Court which placed the child, ET, under the guardianship of the Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection until she attains the age of 18 years. The father argued that the Magistrate was biased in making the decision and also raised several other grounds of appeal. The mother, who was also a party to the proceedings, did not participate in the appeal hearing. The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the Magistrate was biased in making the decision and whether the father had other valid grounds for appeal. The Court of Appeal also needed to consider an application by the Department for the mother's participation in the appeal to be struck out.

The court found that the father's complaints about the Magistrate's conduct did not establish actual or apprehended bias. The court noted that the Magistrate's direction that phones should not be brought into the courtroom was based on the suggestion that the mother was using Facebook during the hearing, not because of any bias against the father. The court also found that the other grounds of appeal did not relate to decisions that were appealable under the Youth Court Act 1993 (SA). The court further held that the application under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1940 (SA) should be struck out as it served no purpose and was an improper attempt to avoid the exercise of the Youth Court's jurisdiction under the Safety Act 2002 (SA).

The appeal was dismissed and the application under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1940 (SA) was struck out. The child will remain under the guardianship of the Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection until she attains the age of 18 years.