Record the active efforts before a significant decision about an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the file, list the decision to be made, the date, who from the family has been asked, whether an independent person was offered, and which community-controlled organisation was contacted. Do not decide where the child will live, and do not write the reasons for the decision.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether active efforts have been made and settles the reasons. Queensland states that when a significant decision is made about an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, Child Safety must make active efforts to apply the Child Placement Principle. Active efforts means doing everything it is practical to do, as soon as possible, so the child is safe and stays connected to family, culture and community, and upholding the family's right to be involved. The department says it will respect the child's culture, make sure the child and family can have their say, listen before the decision, support an independent person, and work with local community-controlled organisations. The placement page, last reviewed on 20 July 2026, states that the decision must allow the full participation of the child and the family group, be in a place appropriate to Aboriginal tradition or Island custom, and uphold prevention, participation, partnership, placement and connection. If the child cannot be placed with the family group, the stated order is a person from the child's community or language group, then another Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, then a person who lives near the family, community or language group and has shown a capacity to keep the child's connection to kin, country and culture. The decision of where the child will live is described as a significant decision, and Child Safety is to consult the child and the parents about an independent person. The Act section was not opened, so no section number is given. The lawyer does not treat this record as a kinship table for a non-Aboriginal child.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the file, list the decision to be made, the date, who from the family has been asked, whether an independent person was offered, and which community-controlled organisation was contacted. Do not decide where the child will live, and do not write the reasons for the decision. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Record the offer of an independent person, and the family's response, before the decision is treated as ready.
- If the child will not live with the family group, set out the options in the order on the placement page and the reason each earlier option is not available.
- Confirm the reasons for the decision are the lawyer's, and that the note does not describe the efforts as complete merely because a form was filled in.
Sources
- Queensland Government: Making active efforts · 2026-10-22
- Queensland Government: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, last reviewed 20 July 2026 · 2026-10-22
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.