Thirty-seven days ago, Legal Aid NSW changed its funding policy for Independent Children’s Lawyers (ICLs). Since then, the advocacy hasn’t stopped, and neither has the need.
As we’ve covered in earlier updates, Legal Aid NSW tightened eligibility for family law representation from 1 July 2026, and confirmed that ICL funding will generally cease once both parties are legally represented at final hearings in parenting orders matters. For children caught in the middle of complex, high-conflict, or violence-affected disputes, that funding decision has real consequences.
Our Solicitor Director, Neisha Shepherd, has spent the past five weeks working across every level of the system to keep children’s right to independent representation on the agenda. In her own words, that’s meant:
- Written submissions advocating for continued ICL funding
- Supporting the Law Council of Australia’s push for nationally sustainable ICL funding
- Coordinating and attending meetings with Members of Parliament, ICLs and key stakeholders
- Participating in the Attorney-General’s Family Law System Roundtable, part of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children
- Continued direct advocacy with Legal Aid NSW to reconsider its funding policy
- Raising public awareness of why every child deserves an independent voice in the family law system
Why this matters
Children don’t choose family violence. They don’t choose abuse, conflict or separation. Yet, as Neisha puts it, “they are expected to live with the consequences of decisions made about their lives.”
An Independent Children’s Lawyer isn’t an optional extra, in many parenting orders matters, the ICL is the only independent voice in the courtroom focused solely on a child’s best interests. As we explained in our earlier piece on the role of Independent Children’s Lawyers, ICLs gather evidence, help ensure a child’s views are properly understood, and give the Court the information it needs to make decisions that will shape that child’s future.
That safeguard doesn’t stop once orders are made. Many of the disputes ICLs support involve what happens afterwards too, including contravention of parenting orders matters, where a breach of existing orders is contested and a child’s circumstances are back in question. When ICL funding falls away, that ongoing protection falls away with it.
Advocacy that doesn’t stop when court rises
What’s notable about the past five weeks is that this hasn’t been advocacy from the sidelines. It’s submissions, roundtables, meetings with decision-makers, and conversations with the people who actually hold the power to change policy, on top of a full court diary and weekends spent meeting with children.
It’s a continuation of the story we’ve been following since Legal Aid NSW first flagged budget pressure earlier this year. Our June update on the tightened eligibility criteria for family law services and our July confirmation that care and protection funding would remain unchanged both pointed to the same underlying tension: rising demand for family law and ICL services against a funding model that hasn’t kept pace.
Every child deserves to be heard
Every child deserves to know that someone in the courtroom is there solely for them. Until every child who needs an Independent Children’s Lawyer has access to one, that advocacy work continues, and so does ours.
If you’re navigating a parenting orders dispute, whether that’s an initial custody arrangement, a contravention of parenting orders issue, or an ongoing matter involving family violence or child safety concerns, our team of family and child custody lawyers can help you understand your options and how funding changes might affect your matter. Speak to a lawyer for child custody matters who understands both the legal process and the impact on your children.