17 - 18 September | ICC, Sydney
2026
Family Law and Care & Protection Conference
Get ready for an engaging two-day event bringing together legal and allied professionals from across NSW, exploring ideas, sharing knowledge, and strengthening practice.
Two days of insight, connection, and shared expertise.
The annual Family Law and Care & Protection Conference is a key opportunity for learning, collaboration and engagement. This year's program will bring together Legal Aid NSW staff, panel practitioners, allied professionals, judicial officers and other sector stakeholders to explore current and emerging issues in family law and care and protection practice.
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Conference overview
The Family Law and Care & Protection Conference is Legal Aid NSW's flagship annual conference for legal and allied professionals working in the family law and care and protection jurisdictions.
The conference brings together professionals from across New South Wales to explore the issues, developments and challenges shaping contemporary practice. Through practical training, legal updates and multidisciplinary discussion, participants can build capability, meet continuing professional development requirements and strengthen professional relationships.
This year features a refreshed format, with dedicated family law and care and protection streams alongside a full plenary program on Thursday, followed by a range of specialist intensive streams on Friday.
The 2026 Family Law and Care & Protection Conference will be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney, 14 Darling Drive, Sydney NSW 2000.
The Cockle Bay Room is on Level 3.
Day 1 | Main Conference Day
Thursday 17 September | 9.00am - 4.30pm
Day 2 | Intensives
Friday 18 September | 10.00am - 3.30pm
Are you a panel lawyer or panel FDRP?
Don't forget to apply your Early Bird discount code before completing your registration. Available until Friday 28 August 2026
Program highlights
Click on a session title to see more information about the session.
Sovereign Citizens, Self-Represented Litigants and Modern Practice
How do we effectively advocate, manage risk and maintain professional boundaries when dealing with people who fundamentally reject, misunderstand or cannot engage effectively with the legal process?
Self-represented litigants are an increasingly familiar feature of family law and care and protection practice. As these matters become more complex, practitioners may encounter litigants who rely on AI-generated material, advance pseudo-legal arguments, reject the authority of the court or
otherwise struggle to engage constructively with the legal process.
Facilitated by Megan Norris, Barrister, Culwulla Chambers, this multidisciplinary panel brings together Peace Decle, Barrister, Commercial Bank Chambers, Dr Brent Waters, Consultant Psychiatrist, and Professor David Heilpern, Southern Cross University to explore one of the more complex and evolving challenges facing legal practice today. Drawing on frontline advocacy experience, behavioural insights and research, panellists will share observations from practice, reflect on emerging trends and discuss practical approaches to managing difficult dynamics in family law and care proceedings.
This session is designed to provide practitioners with practical insights and greater confidence in responding to challenging behaviours while maintaining effective advocacy, procedural fairness and a focus on the best interests of children.
Children Who Resist or Reject a Parent
How do we navigate cases where a child resists or rejects a parent while maintaining a clear focus on safety, risk and the child's best interests?
Few issues in family law generate more debate or present more difficult decisions for practitioners,
experts and the courts.
Facilitated by Anika Huda, Solicitor in Charge, Domestic Violence Unit, Legal Aid NSW, this panel brings together Dr Robyn Goodwin, Clinical Psychologist, LSC Psychology, Amanda Gale, Team Leader, Allied Professional Services, Domestic Violence Unit, Legal Aid NSW, and other experienced panellists to explore the complex dynamics that can arise when children resist or reject a parent.
Bringing together legal and social science perspectives, the discussion will examine the competing considerations that arise in these matters, including risk, safety, child wellbeing and the challenges of understanding a child's experiences and expressed views in the context of highly contested family litigation. The panel will also consider some of the most difficult decisions encountered in practice, including matters where a change of residence is proposed. This session is designed to help practitioners better understand the complex dynamics that can arise when a child resists or rejects a parent, critically evaluate the factors at play, and navigate these matters with a clear focus on the best interests of the child.
Unexplained Injury, Unacceptable Risk and Care Proceedings
How should courts assess risk when there is no clear explanation for a child's injury?
Cases involving unexplained injury often present some of the most difficult questions in care and protection practice. They require courts to make significant decisions about children's safety and welfare in circumstances where the cause of an injury may be disputed, uncertain or unknown.
Bringing together perspectives from across the care and protection jurisdiction, this session will explore the evolving approach to unexplained injury before the Court, the application of the unacceptable risk test and the challenges these matters present for legal practitioners, experts and the courts. The discussion will consider recent developments in the law and the insights that legal and social science disciplines can bring to some of the most complex and contested matters in care proceedings. This session will provide an opportunity to reflect on an evolving area of care and protection practice and its implications for advocacy, evidence and decision-making.