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From $5 per parent*
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From $5 per parent*
*Concession pricing available. Fees may apply for additional services.
Life can bring challenges, especially during times of separation or transition within families. A supervised changeover offers a safe and supportive environment where children can transition between parents without conflict or stress. This service is designed to foster stability, comfort, and peace of mind for all involved, ensuring that the well-being of the child remains the top priority.
Our contact workers supervise the transfer of your child from one parent to the other, without you needing to meet in person. Usually, each parent or family member will attend the Centre at separate pre-agreed times then we will facilitate the handover of the children from one parent to the other.
Our Children's Contact Service (CCS) can also provide a neutral venue for supervised visits, where a worker can support and observe the interaction between the child and parent.
Who is This For?
Supervised changeovers are ideal for families experiencing:
- High-conflict separation or divorce
- Court-mandated arrangements requiring supervision
- Situations where communication between parents is challenging or strained
- Concerns about the emotional safety of children during transitions
This service is tailored to provide a neutral and structured setting for families who want to prioritise their children’s emotional and physical safety during parental transitions.
Benefits of a Supervised Changeover
Benefits of accessing this support include:
- Reduces stress and anxiety for children by removing them from conflicts between parents.
- Provides a calm, neutral and professional space where transitions can occur smoothly.
- Ensures both physical and emotional safety for children and parents.
- Minimises direct interaction between parents, allowing for smoother transitions.
- Helps establish a predictable routine for children during a time of change.
What to Expect
When you choose our supervised changeover service, here is what you can anticipate:
- An initial intake meeting for each parent and a child orientation process. This helps us to understand your family’s unique needs and outline the changeover process.
- Our trained contact workers will be present to ensure smooth and stress-free transitions.
- A safe, welcoming, and child-friendly environment where changeovers occur.
- All parties will receive clear instructions to ensure a respectful and cooperative process.
We understand this can be a new and challenging transition to navigate. Please raise any questions or concerns you have with your contact staff member during the intake and they will make sure you have what you need to feel confident about moving forward.
Individualised Support
To ensure the best outcomes for everyone we offer flexibility around our services to best meet individual needs including:
- arranging an interpreter service for your appointment with Auslan or language (supported by TIS) interpreter options available
- aligning you with team members who are culturally safe and sensitive to your needs such as First Nations identified or informed or a member or ally of the LGBTQ+ community.
- adapting service delivery where possible to best align to what feels safe and supportive for you
When you enquire or book our Children's Contact Service with our friendly Client Experience Team please feel safe to discuss your unique needs so we can help ensure the best experience for you.
How to Begin Your First Changeover with Us
Information for Parents and Carers
Information to help you prepare yourself and your children for beginning visits at our Children's Contact Service
Information for Children
Help your child get to know our Children's Contact Service and feel comfortable before their first visit.
Commonly Asked Questions
The Children's Contact Services is a safe and neutral space for all separated families. Parents and carers may use the service voluntarily, or where there are court orders or parenting plans in place. The service supports families with children where one parent/carer or family member cannot see the child freely or easily due to separation, conflict, safety concerns or other circumstances. To use the service both parents/carers or family members will meet separately with the Centre Coordinator for an intake and an assessment. The intake allows us to understand your situation and determine if this service is the best approach for you and your family. If for whatever reason the service is not suitable, Interrelate can provide you with a letter outlining the reason and support you to explore other options that may be more suitable.
Wait times for the Children's Contact Service are dependent on the mutual availability of the service and both parents and the time taken to complete the intake and assessment process with each parent/carer. If you have already made an intake appointment our client experience team would likely have advised of any wait times. If you are yet to make an appointment, we recommend you call or message us and we can connect you with your local centre as availability will differ in each of our locations.
The Children's Contact Service has strict requirements relating to the confidentiality of records. Throughout service, notes are kept about each family's interactions with the service including observations made by staff during changeovers or supervised visits. These notes can only be released under limited circumstances. The service is obliged to release records where there is a legal obligation to provide the information through a court ordered subpoena.
You can read more about subpoenas and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia here.
If your family is involved in family law proceedings whilst using the service, the court may appoint an Independent Children's Lawyer to independently represent the best interests of the child. If there is an ICL appointed in your family's matter, the Children's Contact Service Coordinator may communicate with the ICL about how visits or changeovers are going. We only provide relevant and factual information based on our observation reports and case notes from the visits or change-overs.
You can read more information about the ICL's role in family law proceedings here.
A supervised changeover offers a safe and supportive environment where children can transition between parents without conflict or stress. This service is designed to foster stability, comfort, and peace of mind for all involved, ensuring that the well-being of the child remains the top priority.
Our contact workers supervise the transfer of your child from one parent to the other, without you needing to meet in person. Usually, each parent or family member will attend the centre at separate pre-agreed times then we will facilitate the handover of the children from one parent to the other.
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.
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