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Fragmented Justice The Role of Social Work in Addressing Risks to Children Navigating Parallel Legal Systems in Australia1.17 MB
Published Version (Advanced Access)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Fragmented Justice: The Role of Social Work in Addressing Risks to Children Navigating Parallel Legal Systems in Australia
Australian Social Work , Vol.Advanced access
2025
Abstract
In Australia, families and workers frequently navigate three separate systems when trying to meet children’s safety and care needs: family law, and child protection and domestic and family violence systems within each state and territory. The absence of a consolidated national framework results in fragmented, inconsistent responses to children’s needs. This fragmentation undermines continuity of care, creates systemic gaps that can fail to meet a child’s safety needs, and increases the risk of harm for the child and their protective caregivers. In this article, the author highlights the risks that arise from fragmented legal responses and argues for the social work profession to champion an integrated, child-centred advocacy model. Rooted in social work values of human dignity, self-determination, and social justice, the proposed model draws on the Barnahus model and the participatory rights outlined by scholars such as Laura Lundy. The article concludes with a recommendation for the social work profession to advocate for a trial of an integrated justice model in Australia, which places the child’s voice and safety at the centre of legal decision making.
Details
- Title
- Fragmented Justice: The Role of Social Work in Addressing Risks to Children Navigating Parallel Legal Systems in Australia
- Authors
- Laura Dodds (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Publication details
- Australian Social Work , Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.1080/0312407X.2025.2569469
- ISSN
- 1447-0748; 0312-407X
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991183643802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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