Children’s Contact Centres typically provide services to separated families in the form of supervised contact and handovers.  They are not used in all family law matters, however they can be of great assistance in certain family law matters.  Parents or carers can agree to engage a Children’s Contact Centre or it can be ordered by the court.

The Attorney – General announced today that:

“Children’s Contact Services provide a safe and child-focused venue for supervised visits and changeovers to help children of separated parents.

“Our recently announced funding is helping to increase services to families and to ensure that families experiencing separation have access to appropriate assistance and services.”

In September this year, it was announced that there would be $1 million provided on a one-off basis to organisations around Australia providing supervised contact and handover services.

The Australian Capital Territory received $21,523 of the $1,065,359 one-off additional funding.

In Canberra, Marymead provides supervised contact and handover services to families.  The Marymead Contact Program provides a location for supervised contact and changeovers to take place between children and their parents or carers.  They can be contacted on (02) 6162 5800.

Written by Claire Naidu, Accredited Family Law Specialist