There are a number of underlying principles. The Act provides for separate legal representation for children, clear review processes for children and their families, access to reports to court and copies of orders and reasons for decisions to be given to families. Separate Family and Criminal divisions within the Children's Court deal with protective and criminal matters. Support for children and their families involves a range of provisions. It is only in those cases where there is an unacceptable level of risk of harm to the child, and the family cannot be supported to protect the child, that the child must be removed from home.
Minimum intervention is consistent with the principle of preserving and strengthening families.
It narrows the grounds for protection and provides that harm or the likelihood of harm are the only criteria for protective intervention. This excludes protection orders being made against young people for behaviour such as running away, drug or alcohol abuse. Respect for cultural values requires the provision of interpreters at court and the involvement in case planning of a member of the appropriate ethnic community as agreed by the family. Particular provisions apply to Aboriginal children and their families. An Aboriginal person from the Aboriginal community from which the child belongs or an Aboriginal agency must be involved in decision making and case planning.