Children's Contact Service

Supervised visits, or contact visits, are when a child spends time with a parent, carer, or family member who they do not live with under the supervision of trained children’s Contact Workers. Children's Contact Workers are present to ensure a conflict free and safe handover of the child from one parent to the other. They monitor and offer support during the visit to facilitate a positive and safe environment for the child and the parent, enabling them to develop their relationship. As part of the supervision, the Contact Workers will observe and take notes of what occured during the session. All Contact staff remain neutral with the goal to support families, wherever possible towards self managing their own arrangements, and supporting the best interests of the child.

Supervised visits can go anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours and are determined by the needs of the child, any court orders or parenting plans and the centre’s availability. Visits are usually scheduled for a set day and time for families whether weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Service staff will work with you to develop a schedule of visits that works for the child, both parents and the availability of the service. The service aims to meet family's needs in terms of visit times and provides flexible options to work with family's schedules.

The cost of supervised visits are based on an hourly rate. The cost is $50 per hour, Monday - Saturday. Typically the cost is split evenly between both parents/carers unless specified in any court orders or parenting plans. Interrelate receives some funding to provide this service so our fees are at a reduced rate. If you have any concerns about the cost of the service please discuss this with the service Coordinator.

We want you and your family to have the best chance to strengthen your relationships and spend time together. How often visits take place will depend on your unique situation and needs for the service, as well as our availability to host the visit. The service aims to work with you to develop a schedule that meets the needs of both parents, the child, any court orders or parenting plans and the capacity of the service to meet the frequency requested. The Children's Contact Service is independent of the Family Law Court and is not obligated to fulfil any court orders, however the service works to accommodate each family's needs.

The Contact Centre rooms are each specifically developed to be welcoming, well-resourced and child-friendly environments. Each have toys and equipment to help facilitate family interactions which can help children build relationships. Some centres have kitchen facilities for the preparation of lunch and dinner. Please check during intake for a full list of amenities available. Parents are encouraged to bring food and activities to cater to their child's age and interests to the visit. Staff will discuss what to bring when they meet with you.

Usually it is the responsibility of the visiting parent to provide what is needed for the visit with their child such as food, drink, nappies, sunblock, etc. Each centre is equipped with toys and resources to cater to children's ages and interests, however we encourage the visiting parent to bring activities to share with their child. The service aims to help your child feel as comfortable as possible during the visits and staff will ensure both parents are clear on what they need to provide. If you have any questions or concerns about this please discuss with the Service Coordinator.

Your child is our main priority. Our Contact Workers talk with children and carefully observe and monitor their emotional and physical behaviour during contact visits. In any situation where a child becomes upset, staff are available to provide support and listen to both parent's strategies on how to best settle them. The service's role is to support the best interests of children, in a situation where a child cannot be calmed, the visit will need to finish early. Staff can provide additional information on how you can support your child to adjust to visits.

Yes, we often encourage the attendance of extra visitors where there is a meaningful relationship with the child such as siblings and extended family, especially those who would normally have contact with the child if supervision was not required.
The attendance of extra visitors will need to be pre-arranged with the Service Coordinator prior to attending the visit to enable adult visitors to complete the required checks.

The cost of supervised changeover is $5 per parent/carer. Interrelate receives some funding to provide this service so our fees are at a reduced rate. If you have any concerns about the cost of the service please discuss this with the Service Coordinator.

We want you and your family to have the best chance to strengthen your relationships and spend time together. How often changeovers take place will depend on your unique situation and needs for the service, as well as our availability to host the changeover. The service aims to work with you to develop a schedule that meets the needs of both parents, the child, any court orders or parenting plans and the capacity of the service to meet the frequency requested. The Children's Contact Service is independent of the Family Law Court and is not obligated to fulfil any court orders, however, the service works to accommodate each family's needs.

Your child is our main priority. Our Contact Workers talk with children and carefully observe children and monitor their emotional and physical behaviour during the changeover. In any situation where a child becomes upset, staff are available to provide support and listen to both parent's strategies on how to best settle them. The service's role is to support the best interests of children, in a situation where a child cannot be calmed, the changeover may not be able to occur. Staff can provide additional information on how you can support your child to adjust to visits.

Interrelate's email address for service of subpoenas is: subpoenas@interrelate.org.au. Subpoenas should be addressed to the Coordinator of the centre where the visits have taken place, or predominately taken place.

The conduct fee is $140 per subpoena issued. The conduct fee for short turn around subpoenas is $150.

Interrelate has a number of Children's Contact Service locations available as well as other Family Law services to support clients. It assists the service to provide an efficient response where it is clarified in the description that a subpoena is specifically for Children's Contact Service records, including any service location.