Letter · Child Protection & Care Proceedings
Plain-language letter to a child or young person client from their direct legal representative (NSW care proceedings)
Short plain-language letter to a child aged 12 or over, or a young person, explaining the lawyer’s role as their direct legal representative, what the court case is about, confirming what they want the court to know, and how to get in touch.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the 6 authorities it cites, for New South Wales.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use after the first meeting with a child or young person in NSW care proceedings where the lawyer acts as a direct legal representative, and again after a significant court event. Do not use for a child under 12 unless the court has declared the child capable of giving instructions, or where a guardian ad litem is appointed.
How AI may be used
The lawyer writes what the young person said and the advice; AI may simplify the lawyer’s wording and check reading level, for the lawyer to approve.
AI may
- Rewrite the lawyer’s finished explanation of the process in simpler words or at a stated reading age, for the lawyer to approve
- Fill court dates, the lawyer’s contact details and the names of the other parties from the file
- Check the letter for jargon and for sentences longer than about 20 words
AI must not
- Must not write, summarise or rephrase what the young person said they want: the lawyer writes section 3 from their own notes
- Must not predict the outcome of the case
- Must not include the young person’s placement address, school or carer details unless the lawyer confirms it is safe and necessary
- Must not process casework records, reports or the young person’s words in a tool outside the firm’s approved environment
The lawyer checks
- The lawyer is acting as a direct legal representative under s 99A, the child is 12 or over or the court has declared them capable, and no guardian ad litem is appointed
- Section 3 matches the lawyer’s file note of the young person’s instructions and was read back to them
- The letter is going to a safe address agreed with the young person, and the carer or caseworker will not open it if the young person does not want that
- The reading level suits this young person, or the lawyer will go through it with them in person
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Child Protection & Care Proceedings
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- Plain-language letter of advice to a parent in NSW care proceedings
- Victorian child protection proceedings: stage-by-stage checklist for a parent’s lawyer (Children’s Court family division)
- Checklist: testing the care plan and permanency plan against the statutory requirements (NSW)
- Letter to the department requesting reports, Form B, CRIS notes and documents before a child protection hearing (Victoria)
- Firm protocol: AI use with child protection records
- Checklist: AI-assisted review of subpoenaed casework files in care proceedings
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