Cairns practitioners and stakeholders are invited to a workshop to mark the fifth anniversary of the Queensland Intermediary Scheme (QIS) hosted by Judge Morzone KC and the QIS Program Team on 18 March 2026.
The 90-minute session in the Cairns Courthouse will provide an update on QIS operations, including some data highlights and practical information about assessments and reports.
Intermediaries will explain what happens at an assessment, how communication needs and adjustments are tested and their processes for the preparation of reports including quality assurance processes.
They will also provide practical information about, and techniques for, framing questions for children and vulnerable witnesses.
Participants will have an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions relating to the QIS. To provide questions on notice to the Program Team, email intermediaryscheme@justice.qld.gov.au.
Registrations are essential to attend.
The QIS started as a pilot program on 5 July 2021 in response to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Criminal Justice Report (2017). It operates in both Brisbane and Cairns.
The QIS supports children under 16 years and adults with an impairment of the mind or communication difficulty who are the complainants of, or witnesses to, child sexual offences to provide their best evidence.
Intermediaries assess the complainant/witness and make recommendations to police, the parties and the courts about how to best communicate with them.
The QIS is facilitated by provisions in the Evidence Act 1977, Evidence Regulation 2017 and District Court Practice Direction 7 of 2021.
For more information about QIS, visit the Courts website.
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