Tailored for Practitioners working with Children, Youth and Families
Date 21 August 2026
Time 12.00pm-3.40pm AEST (Syd/Mel/Bris time)
Venue / Recordings Live Online with Recording - recording available for viewing until 21 September 2026
Pricing $440
Price includes gst
CPD Includes availability for Psychologists, FDRP's, Counsellors, Social Workers
Other related LawSense Events LawSense Law for Mental Health Practitioners Events
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Program
12.00 LawSense Welcome
12.05 Chairperson’s Introduction
Dr Gary Banks, Principal Clinical Psychologist and Managing Director, Sydney Counselling Centre; Authorised Clinician, NSW Children’s Court; Approved Clinician (Family Reports and Single Expert Reports); Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Provider
12.10 Parental Alienation and High Conflict Families: Understanding How the Court Manages Parental Alienation Matters and Navigating High Conflict Families, Including Consent Issues
How the Court Identifies and Deals with Parental Alienation
- Exploring how the law defines parental alienation
- Determining whether there is parental alienation – what the Court considers, and the level and nature of evidence required
- Exploring the role of the mental health practitioner in the Court identifying and responding to parental alienation
- Examining court responses to parental alienation – learning from case studies
Navigating High Conflict Families
- Effectively navigating issues arising in high conflict families, including:
- risk assessments
- privacy and confidentiality issues with family members
- consent from parents regarding minors and managing mature minors
- parent refusing to accept a diagnosis regarding a child
- practitioners “advocating” for one party or the other
Wendy Kayler-Thompson, Founding Partner, Forte Family Lawyers; Accredited Family Law Specialist, Law Institute of Victoria
1.10 Break
1.20 Managing and Objecting to Subpoenas and Applying Recent Laws Regarding Protected Confidences in Family Law Matters
Options in Responding to a Subpoena
- How can documents be produced – can you produce copies and can they be produced electronically?
- Responding to subpoenas addressed to the practice where the relevant practitioner no longer works there
- Extending the time for compliance with a subpoena
- Subpoenas to give evidence – can you appear by video link?
- Obtaining payment for time spent and photocopying to deal with a subpoena
Reducing the Scope, Redacting or Objecting to Subpoenas
- Examining key considerations in deciding to object to production of subpoenaed documents
- What do you do when the whole file patient file is requested, rather than particular reports or documents – dealing with the subpoenaing party lawyers to reduce the scope of documents caught by the subpoena
- Understanding options to legally object to a subpoena
- What should be contained in your communication to the Court regarding your objection?
- Managing confidentiality concerns in producing documents
Recent Law Changes Regarding “Protected Confidences” and Objecting to Subpoenas
- Understanding the recently added option to object to a family court subpoena based on “protected confidences”
- Examining elements required for the information to be protected – defining “sensitive information”: and “protected confidence”
- Understanding and optimising the steps a practitioner would object to producing notes or files based on them containing sensitive information and ‘protected confidences’
Nevena Brown, Consultant, Meridian Lawyers
2.20 Break
2.30 Exploring Best Practice in Providing Treatment Reports or Letters and Dealing With Court Appearances
Reports, Letters, Letters of Support, Letters Instead of Producing Files
- Exploring the circumstances where practitioners may be called upon to provide a treatment report or a letter including, “Letter in Support”
- Examining limitations in providing treating reports or letters, including where you have not seen all the relevant parties
- Exploring options of providing a report or letter instead of the client file or other files, including understanding the advantages and pitfalls
Defensible Treatment Reports / Letters Used in Courts
- Examining key elements of an effective and defensible treatment report/letter:
- examining the role of the treating practitioner providing a report, versus an independent assessment, including the effect on your report of “advocating” for a client/patient
- examining duties to the Court in writing reports
- structuring the report, to ensure clarity and admissibility in Court
- including relevant observations and evidence and dealing with hearsay
- the extent and type of data you should rely upon and specifying any assumptions
- Dealing with the opinions of other practitioners that you disagree with
- Learning from case studies and examples – what is a “good” report versus a “bad” report
Understanding Court Processes and Expectations
- Outlining key court processes – evidence in chief, cross-examination, re-examination and submissions
- Understanding the Court’s expectations with treating professionals giving evidence
Dealing With Court Questions and Cross Examination
- Effectively preparing for cross examination, including dealing with solicitors and barristers
- Understanding what the Court expects from you in cross examination and how the judicial officer hearing the matter may get involved in questioning
- Asking questions of the cross-examining lawyer in Court to clarify questions or assumptions being put to you
- Succinctness versus “oversharing”
- Tips for dealing with cross-examination and re-examination
Dr Michael Emmett Maher, Clinical Psychologist, The Relationspace
3.30 Closing Remarks
3.40 Event Close
Presenters / panelists include:
Dr Gary Banks is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, in practice for more than 25 years. In addition to a number of other clinical positions, he has been appointed to the NSW Children’s’ Court Clinic since its inception and as a Family Consultant to the Family Law Court. He has been a provider to the NSW Legal Aid Commission and the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for more than 20 years.
Wendy Kayler-Thomson has practised as a lawyer specialising in family law for more than 25 years. Wendy has been accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a Specialist in Family Law since 1999. Wendy is the Immediate Past Chair of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, the peak body for Australian family lawyers.
Nevena Brown has over 25 years’ experience as a health and insurance lawyer. Her experience with medical and allied health professional negligence claims began in 2000 when she advised Avant and Guild Insurance Ltd regarding civil claims against its members. Nevena now acts nationally for allied health and medical indemnity insurers, assisting a range of health practitioners.
Having initially trained as a clinical psychologist in the UK over 20 years ago, Dr Maher later undertook specialist child psychotherapy training at the Tavistock Centre in London before moving to Sydney. He also prepared family law reports in the UK. Since joining the Relationspace in 2020, he has pursued an interest in the family law interface with psychology and works as an expert witness for the Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia. Dr Maher has also worked as an accredited clinician for the Children’s Court of NSW.