Representing yourself

People can represent themselves in the Children’s Court, however the law and court procedures can be complicated. As it can be difficult to know and understand all the laws and procedures that might apply in a particular case, it may be useful to talk to a lawyer.

In deciding whether to represent yourself or if you have already decided to do so, it may help to research information about the Children’s Court and the relevant law. The following links may provide a useful starting point.

Practice and Procedure

LawAccess NSW

LawAccess NSW is a free government telephone service that provides legal information, referrals and in some cases, advice.

If you are going to court, have a legal problem or have a question about the law, LawAccess NSW can:

give you legal information over the telephone
send you written information
refer you to another legal or related service
in some cases, arrange for one of their lawyers to provide you with telephone legal advice.

LawAccess Online is also great starting point to search for information about the law and legal issues. LawAccess NSW can be contacted on 1300 888 529.

Law Libraries open to the public

Legal Information Access Centre

The Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) at the State Library of NSW is a specialised legal information and research service for the general public. The centre has an excellent legal collection and is staffed by law librarians who can help you find information relevant to your issues.

Self-represented litigants should contact LIAC for assistance with their legal research requirements. The State Library's has an extensive law collection including plain language resources, legal text books, law journals, legislation and law reports.

The library also subscribes to an extensive range of loose-leaf services and online legal databases. The LIAC service is provided to meet the legal information needs of residents across NSW. You can consult the Find Legal Answers section of the LIAC website or look for the Find Legal Answers toolkits in your nearest local public library.

Public libraries with extra legal resources

Many public libraries have additional collections of legal resources and specialist librarians to assist you.