Kinship Carers Victoria’s series of Resource Booklets and other resources for carers.
Legal community
Working with Children Check (WWCC)
Court orders – the role of Child Protection and the courts
PODCAST
Understanding changes to the Children, Youth and Families Act
Stabilities amendment & Supporting stronger stable families amendment
KCV welcomes Fleur Ward and Sarah Masters – Accredited Childrens Law Specialists and Special Counsel at Coulter Legal. In March 2026, the Victorian parliament passed two pieces of legislation, that bring important changes to Victoria’s Child Protection system. The Childrens Youth and Families – Amendment Stabilities Act came into effect on 12 May 2026, and the Amendment Supporting Strong Stable Families Act will commence later in 2026. These reforms are some of the most substantial reforms to the Victorian Child Protection System in more than a decade.
This podcast relates to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ‑ Articles 9, 10, 12,18, 19, 20, 21,22, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34,35, 37, 39 and 40. Read a summary of the articles in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
PODCAST
New rules governing the CIMS
The Client Incident Management System (CIMS) is the program that investigates reports of incidents made against carers who may have mistreated children in their care. Reports against carers do not happen very often. However, over the years, KCV has witnessed some serious breaches of carers’ rights, particularly when a report is not upheld. Carers and children have been seriously affected by the unfairness of the processes and are not compensated for years of trauma when a report is not upheld.
In this podcast, lawyer Fleur Ward talks about how the DFFH has undertaken a review of CIMS procedures and has released a new set of guidelines. Carers need to be aware that it is quite easy for a report to be made and that if one is made, they need to listen to this podcast and contact their support agency immediately.
PODCAST
Family reunification and the law
In this video/podcast Director of Kinship Carers Victoria Anne McLeish and lawyer Fleur Ward talk about the complex and vexed issue of family reunification for carer families.
They speak in detail about the reunification provisions in the Children, Youth and Families Act (Vic) and how the current one-size-fits-all foundation of these provisions could mean that they are not serving their intended purpose. The rights of carers to access information contained in children’s court orders is also clarified.
This podcast relates to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ‑ Articles 10, 22. Read a summary of the articles in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
