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Government of Western Australia State Coat of Arms
Children's Court of Western Australia

Government of Western Australia State Coat of Arms
Children's Court of Western Australia

Home →Publications and Forms→Practice Directions→Practice Direction 2 of 2023 - Trial Bundles in Protection Proceedings

Practice Direction 2 of 2023 - Trial Bundles in Protection Proceedings

To make the Practice Directions accessible we have not used paragraph numbering. If you need this, please see the PDF version.

1. Application of Practice Direction

This Practice Direction is supplementary to Practice Direction 6 of 2021.

This Practice Direction applies to:

  1. child protection applications initiated by the Department of Communities (the applicant);
  2. all trials proceeding on or after 1 July 2023.

2. Trial bundle

No later than 5 days before the day fixed for readiness hearing (or 5 days before the trial if no readiness hearing is ordered), the applicant is to lodge a bundle of materials for use by the judicial officer at trial (the trial bundle), comprising:

  1. the case outline lodged pursuant to 19.1 of Practice Direction 6 of 2021;
  2. the chronology of events lodged pursuant to 19.2 of Practice Direction 6 of 2021;
  3. any application being determined at trial;
  4. affidavits and documentary evidence relied upon at trial, pursuant to paragraph 18.4 of Practice Direction 6 of 2021;
  5. the written proposal, cultural support plan (as appropriate) and, in the case of an application for a protection order (special guardianship), any report pursuant to s 61(2B) and 61(3) of the Children and Community Services Act 2004; and
  6. any expert report, the substance of which the applicant intends to rely on at the trial.

Unless directed otherwise, the applicant is to include in the trial bundle any material filed by the other parties, including any response filed during the proceedings.

The trial bundle is to be:

  1. indexed;
  2. divided into sections corresponding to paragraphs 2.1 (a) - (f), and paragraph 2.2, above;
  3. paginated; and
  4. presented in lever arch files.

A copy of the trial bundle is to be provided to each other party and, where appointed, the separate representative.

3. Directions

The Court may direct that a respondent or child representative file a separate trial bundle.

The Court may make directions as to the filing of trial bundles in respect of an application initiated by a party other than the Department of Communities.

The Court may dispense with or vary a requirement of this Practice Direction if the Court considers it appropriate to do so, having regard to factors which may include the following (alone or in combination):

  1. the volume of material lodged in the proceedings;
  2. the number of parties and whether they are represented at trial; and
  3. the requirements of s 145 of the Children and Community Services Act 2004.

Judge Hylton Quail

President
Children's Court of Western Australia
9 June 2023


Last updated: 19 June 2023

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