Workshop: Attending Court and Writing Reports

This workshop introduces non-legal practitioners, such as psychologists, counsellors and social workers, to the requirements and legal obligations of writing court reports, attending court as a witness or support person, and your responsibilities to your clients. We will examine commonly-requested reports such as Parenting Reports, Child Assessments, Family Reports, and Intervention Order assessment reports. Consideration will be given to the laws which govern these reports, including the Family Law Act and the Children and Young Person’s Act.

Outcomes

Participants will learn:

• how the Family Court, Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and Federal Circuit Court of Australia operate
• the requirements of attending court as a witness who is subpoenaed
• the requirements of attending court as a support person
• the purpose, structure and use of a court report
• how reports are used in courts, and issues that may arise in the process of cross-examination
• the impact of having an on-going professional relationship with clients after the process of court preparation.

Ideal for

• Professionals who have been asked to attend court or write a report for a client. This includes psychologists, counsellors, social workers, family workers, allied health and medical staff.

About the presenter

Lilia Szarski is a Clinical Supervisor and experienced Trainer at Relationships Australia Victoria and a qualified, registered psychologist. She has clinically supervised a team of professionally-trained family consultants in the Family Court, prepared family reports for the Courts and appeared as an expert witness in many family law cases. Lilia is a member of the Australian Psychological Society, International Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and the International Association of Applied Psychologists.