CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) ACT 1998 - SECT 96 Attendance of child or young person, parents and others

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) ACT 1998 - SECT 96

96 Attendance of child or young person, parents and others

(1) In proceedings before it with respect to a child or young person, the Children's Court may, on its own initiative or at the request of any party to the proceedings, require the attendance at the court house where the proceedings are conducted--

(a) of the child or young person and of any parent of the child or young person, or

(b) of any other person who has, or has had, care responsibility for the child or young person, or

(c) if the whereabouts of the child or young person is unknown to the Children's Court--of any other person the Children's Court has reasonable cause to believe knows, or has information concerning, the whereabouts of the child or young person.

(2) If a child or young person does not wish to be present before the Children's Court during the hearing of any proceedings, the child's or young person's wishes are to be taken into account by the Children's Court.

(2A) The fact that a child or young person is presumed by section 99C(1) to have the capacity to instruct his or her legal representative does not of itself mean that the child or young person is required to attend the Children's Court to give those instructions. Such a child or young person is required to attend only if required under this section.

(3) A child or young person is not required (except as provided by subsection (4)) to give evidence in the Children's Court.

(4) Despite subsection (3), the Children's Court may require a parent of the child or young person who is the subject of the proceedings who is himself or herself a child or young person to give evidence in the Children's Court.

(5) A person referred to in subsection (1)(c) may be required to give to the Children's Court such information that the person has about where the child or young person is or may be located.

(6) If the Children's Court decides to require any person to attend a court house under subsection (1) it may issue to the person a notice in accordance with Part 2 requiring the person to attend as directed in the notice (a
"care proceedings attendance notice" ).

Note : Section 109B enables the Children's Court to issue a warrant for the arrest of a person who fails to attend as directed by a care proceedings attendance notice.

(7) In this section--


"parent" of a child or young person includes a birth parent, or an adoptive parent, of the child or young person who does not have parental responsibility for the child or young person.