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Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales (the Wood Report): A review and commentary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Patricia Hansen  and
Frank Ainsworth
Patricia Hansen
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield Campus, Sydney, NSW, Email: patricia.hansen@acu.edu.au, Dr Hansen is also a lawyer practising part-time in the NSW Children's Court.
Frank Ainsworth
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Email: frankainsworth@hotmail.com, Dr Ainsworth is a Guardian Ad Litem in the NSW Children's Court.
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Abstract

The Wood Report is the product of a Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW that was set up in June 2006 and reported in November 2008. In March 2009, the NSW Government published a response to the report, ‘Keep them safe: A shared approach to child wellbeing’. The NSW Parliament in April 2009 also passed the Children Legislation Amendment (Wood Inquiry Recommendations) Act 2009 with little debate. This legislation has introduced many of Justice Wood's recommendations and has enacted other changes that were not included in the Commission of Inquiry report. While many of the amendments are welcome, there is cause for concern about the likely consequences of some of the new provisions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , 2009 , pp. 17 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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