Prout and Daniell

In the matter of Prout and Daniell, Hogan J of the Supreme Court of Queensland considered an application by the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women for leave to produce documents that identified or could lead to the identification of notifiers. The dispute concerned the disclosure of information related to child protection concerns.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether to grant the Department leave, pursuant to section 186 of the *Child Protection Act 1999* (Qld), to produce specific documents. These documents included various "Record of Concerns," "Child Concern Report," and "Notification" records, some of which contained information that could identify the individuals who had reported concerns. A secondary issue involved the provision of un-redacted copies of these documents to the Court, pursuant to section 69ZW of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

Hogan J applied the provisions of the *Child Protection Act 1999* (Qld) and the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The Court granted the Department leave to produce the specified documents, acknowledging the need for disclosure in the context of the proceedings. The Court also ordered the Director-General of the Department to provide un-redacted copies of these documents to the Court.