The role of the ODCPL

The Office of the DCPL (ODCPL) was established on 1 July 2016 within the Department of Justice portfolio, to help the DCPL perform the DCPL’s functions.

The ODCPL is Brisbane based and comprises of lawyers and administrative support staff.

The ODCPL operates three chamber groups of lawyers, each led by an Assistant Director of Child Protection Litigation that is allocated specific regions across the State. This ensures the ODCPL is responsive to local service delivery needs, and results in a consistent group of lawyers appearing in the Court in a particular region and working with the local Child Safety Service Centre staff, partner agencies and local lawyers.

The Blue Chambers deal with referred child protection matters from the following locations:

• Brisbane court locations, including Brisbane, Caboolture, Cleveland, Holland Park, Pine Rivers, Sandgate, Redcliffe and Wynnum;
• Sunshine Coast court locations, including Caloundra, Gympie, Kingaroy and Maroochydore; and
• Central Queensland court locations, including Emerald, Gladstone and Rockhampton.

The Longman Chambers deal with referred child protection matters from the following locations:

• Darling Downs and South West Queensland court locations, including Charleville, Dalby, Goondiwindi, Ipswich, Stanthorpe, Roma, Toowoomba and Warwick, and also undertakes some matters within Brisbane at Richlands;
• Northern Queensland Court locations, including Bowen, Charters Towers, Mackay, Proserpine and Townsville; and
• Western Queensland Court locations, including Longreach and Mt Isa.

The McDonald Chambers deal with referred child protection matters from the following locations:

• South East Queensland court locations, including Beenleigh and Southport;
• Wide Bay Burnett court locations, including Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and Maryborough; and
• Far North Queensland court locations, including Atherton, Cairns, Innisfail, Mossman and Mareeba.