Annual Supreme Court Conference

Name: Annual Supreme Court Conference
Start: 2026-08-01T08:30:00+10:00
End: 2026-08-01T08:30:00+10:00
Location: Supreme Court of New South Wales (After Hours Entry via Phillip Street)

About

In partnership with the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Department of Communities and Justice, the Crown Solicitor's Office is pleased to invite you to the 2026 Annual Supreme Court Conference: Child Focused Practice and Proceedings.

We welcome keynote speakers to this event including:

- The Honourable Justice Anthony McGrath, Adoptions List Judge, Supreme Court of NSW;
- The Honourable Children’s Judge Laurie Robertson, Children’s Court of NSW;
- PJ Richards, National Practice Leader, Ministry of Children, New Zealand
- Timothy Dauth, Family History Researcher and Anthropologist and Maxwell Turner, Family History Researcher and Forensic Scientist;
- Penny Haskins, independent assessor and expert;
- Carmen Fife, A/Assistant Director and Becky Senior, Caseworker, Key Assets Australia;
- Elizabeth Byrne, Manager Client Services, Karen Breaden, Open Adoption Manager and Natalie Greenham, A/Principal Solicitor, DCJ;
- Ally Pettitt, Solicitor, Legal Aid NSW;
- Dian Neligan, independent solicitor; and
- Carers and families who have direct experience of the OOHC system.

Sessions include:

- a panel discussion; “Feedback, Reflections and Forward Focusing – a year in review and next steps to ensure the Voice of the Child remains prioritised”;
- presentation on “Family finding for children in OOHC - the use of social media and genealogy websites such as ancestry.com in family finding, and the emerging area of DNA and genetic genealogy”;
- a panel discussion: “Family time – how to ensure Care Plans and Adoption Plans work in a meaningful and realistic way in the best interests of the child”; and
- a panel discussion with carers and families around what children want practitioners, Judges and social workers to prioritise in their practice.