Our Guiding Principles:
Child Focused – The needs and welfare of the child are always our priority. We support the fundamental right for every child to have a safe childhood and develop in a safe environment
Safety – The Children's Contact Service strives to provide the highest level of physical and emotional safety for children, families and staff at all times
Neutral – When providing a service, we ensure the voice of both parents is heard in planning and decision making. However, the child's welfare and best interests will always take priority in decision making and planning at all times.
(Ref: Children's Contact Service Guiding Principles for Good Practice, Attorney General's Dept.)
The services we provide:
We provide supervised contact, supported contact, changeovers, supported changeovers and video contact sessions.
Supervised Contact
Contacts take place at one of our family-friendly, well-resourced and secure venues. Children spend time with parents and other valued people in a supervised setting. A worker is with the family for the entire visit. Each parent has a different arrival and departure time, as well as separate entry points to minimise the potential for conflict.
Following feedback received from the legal community and clients, the service will be making a change to increase the duration of contact sessions commencing in 2024. For eligible government funded clients where there is capacity and service requirements are met, the Children's Contact Service will accommodate up to two hours of contact for each session.
Changeovers
Parents or carers drop off and collect their children at one of our venues. Each parent has a different arrival and departure time, as well as separate entry points to minimise the potential for conflict.
How to apply
- To register for the service or make an enquiry, complete our online registration form here or contact our Intake team on (02) 4254 9395. A team member will then be in contact to discuss your individual needs. Each parent/carer is required to register separately.
- Once you have lodged your registration, a team member will schedule an Intake Assessment appointment with you. Intake Assessments help the service develop an understanding of the family's needs. These are conducted separately for each parent/carer.
- Once each parent/carer has completed their Intake Assessment, if appropriate the family can move toward the scheduling of visits.
For a more detailed overview of our Children's Contact Service Registration and Intake Assessment Process, click here.
Access to the program is determined individually for each family, with consideration of any risk and safety issues, court orders, scheduling needs and the best interests of each child. We endeavor to work with families to ensure the program can successfully accommodate their needs wherever possible.
Please see our FAQs section below for further information.
A subsidised service for families with interim court orders and parenting plans. Contribution rates are outlined in the table below and are calculated per parent/client.
| Service |
Concession* |
Non-concession |
Cancellation (with proof) |
|
Intake assessment |
$60 |
$90 |
$20 |
|
Supervised and |
$40 |
$50 |
$20 |
|
Video call contact |
$20 |
$25 |
$10 |
|
Changeover |
$20 |
$25 |
$10 |
|
Change-back |
$20 |
$25 |
$10 |
|
*A current Concession or Healthcare Card is required to be eligible for the concession rate. A copy of our Client Fees & Contributions Policy can be provided upon request. Where clients are eligible for a government funded service, we will not deny access due to financial hardship. |
|||
A fee for service option for families with final court orders, or no court orders or plans. Fee rates are outlined in the table below (Inc GST).
|
Service |
Weekdays* |
Saturday* |
Summary** |
|
Intake assessment |
$200 per parent |
$250 |
Not available |
|
2 hour supervised or supported contact* |
$200 |
$250 |
$60 |
|
*Minimum two hour service |
|||
We recognise the stress that separation can cause and aim to keep any waiting periods to a minimum. We will be transparent about our service availability and keep you informed about how much contact time the service can offer your family, when you can expect contacts to commence with your child as well as the nature of any delays. You can assist the service in keeping waiting times to a minimum by communicating openly with staff members and completing all registration and Intake Assessment requirements promptly.
Separation can be a difficult and stressful process. The Childrens Contact Service encourages you to seek support if you need further assistance. You can also speak with our team about local referrals that may be appropriate for your situation.
Lifeline
If you are seriously injured or at risk of harming yourself right now, call 000. If you need crisis support, you can contact Lifeline online or by phoning 13 11 14.
Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue offers mental health support including a free telephone and online counselling service open 24/7 for everyone in Australia. Their website has a range of information to support mental health and wellbeing.
Parent Line NSW
Parent Line NSW is a free telephone counselling and support service for parents and carers with children aged 0 – 18 years who live in NSW. You can phone them on 1300 1300 52 or access their website for more information.
Women Illawarra
Women Illawarra is a local, not for profit community organisation run for women, by women. They provide domestic and family violence support, community programs and a range of other resources. You can phone them on (02) 4228 1499 or visit their website for more information.
MensLine Australia
MensLine Australia is a free telephone and online counselling service offering support for Australian men, anywhere, anytime. MensLine offer support with addiction, mental health, separation and divorce, family violence and more. You can phone them on 1300 78 99 78 or access their website for more information.
CatholicCare offers a range of parenting and mental health support services including groups and counselling. You can find more information about our internal services on our website or by speaking with our Intake Team on (02) 4254 9395.
Take a Virtual Tour of our Child and Family Cottage in Wollongong:
Check out our gallery at the bottom of this page for photos of our Nowra, Campbelltown and Wollongong Children's Contact Service Locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Separation can be challenging. At CatholicCare Childrens Contact Service we support families to feel safe, secure and enjoy positive experiences during visitation. We encourage and assist parents and carers to work towards co-parenting and managing their own contact arrangements into the future.
For any further questions we welcome you to contact the Intake Team on 4254 9395.
If you are struggling to arrange or comply with court ordered or parenting plan contacts then you may be eligible for the service. We have two streams of service offered to families:
- Government funded service: this is a subsidised service available to families with interim court orders or parenting plans
- Self-funded service (SFS): non-subsidised (fee for service) option available to families with final court orders, or no court orders or parenting plans
Yes. The service has facilities suitable for children aged 0-12 years. In sibling groups where there are children over the age of 12, the age limit is applied to the youngest aged child. This means that older siblings may also attend the service until the youngest child reaches the age limit.
The service assesses the needs of each family individually, including our ability to accommodate the terms set out in any orders and plans. We cannot guarantee that we can offer the entire number of hours ordered by the court, however we will endeavour to provide the highest level of service to you and your family. We will discuss the service availability with you as part of the Intake and Assessment process. The Children's Contact Service is not required to meet the orders made by the court, however we will work alongside you as you comply with the orders or plans that have been made.
Yes, there are Intake Assessment fees and ongoing service fees payable when accessing the service. Fees are shared equally between both parent/carers in the matter unless stated otherwise in court orders or parenting plans. We have fee payment options available which can be discussed at the time of your Intake Assessment.
The service will make all efforts to ensure that time spent waiting for a service is minimal.
Yes, there is a 12-month limit placed on families using the service. Each family's individual circumstances will be assessed and the service will support you as you work toward your individual goals throughout this time.
Your registration will remain active for 6 months. An update of your registration status will be provided to you during this period. Should the other parent/carer not register within this period your registration will be closed. You are welcome to re-register.
Following your registration an appointment will be made for you to complete your Intake Assessment with a member of our team. Following completion, you will receive a letter of completion recognising that you have met all registration and Intake requirements. A completed registration and Intake Assessment is required from each parent/carer in order to proceed toward contact scheduling. Please note that Intake Assessment fees are non-refundable should the other parent/carer not register or complete the Intake Assessment.
The Children's Contact Service has three venues; Campbelltown, Wollongong and Nowra. Contacts are held at our secure, well resourced, child friendly venues. Where required, the service has processes in place to ensure that no contact occurs between the separated parents/carers in the matter.
Photos of the three venues are included in the gallery at the bottom of this page.
Please note that our Nowra service is currently not operational on Sundays. If you have specific queries regarding days of operation, please contact the service directly.
In using our service, you have the right to be treated with respect by our staff, informed honestly about the services we offer and an expectation for us to provide professional quality services and do what we say we will. As a client, it's your responsibility to treat our staff with respect, do what you have agreed to do and act in a safe manner. We will discuss our Service Agreement with you at the time of the Intake Assessment and can provide you with a copy.
