Meet Tammy White, Independent Children’s Lawyer
What do you, as an Independent Children’s Lawyer, do?
I help children have a voice in their family law matter and assist the court in having an independent view in what are often complex family dynamics aggravated more often than not by drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues and family violence.
Why is this role important?
Without our assistance the child/children are being swept along in a process driven by parents who, more often not, cannot see past their hurt and pain to properly consider what is in their children’s best interests.
Why have you chosen to be an ICL?
I had a very abusive childhood and wanted to be able to assist children, who are usually voiceless, have a voice in decisions that impact on their futures.
Can you give an example from your own personal experience of the impact ICLs can have?
Recently I represented two boys whose parents were locked in a seemingly intractable dispute over with whom the children should live and how they should spend time with the other parent. There were issues of mental health and family violence.
Having met with the boys I was able to have discussions with the parents representatives and help construct Orders that reflected the boys wishes about how they wanted to spend time with their parents, given how aware they were of their parents dispute and how unsafe they felt in one parents home.
What are the biggest challenges you think currently face ICLs in Australia?
Its financial. I currently have 20 ICL and 10 DLR/ILR matters in my practice and I can’t justify taking on any more as the balance of my practice subsidies these matters. My most telling example was a hearing at the end of last year. My fees as ICL, for a matter that had run for 2 ½ years, were $18,000 (including counsel). The privately represented parents fees for approximately $100,000 each, which indicates how ferociously contested the matter was.
I’m in Gunnedah in regional NSW and the matter was heard in Sydney. Because of the issues I met with the child three times, in Sydney, which I was able to support by arranging those appointments when I was in Sydney for other matters. I am often asked to represent children far outside my region, I anticipate due to the dearth of ICLs, but then have to fight for an extension of aid for travel and accommodation.
In the example I gave above of the children I assisted, they were in the Northern Rivers area (seven hours drive from me) and my application for an extension of aid to travel to see them was refused, so my practice absorbed the costs of doing so.
Yes you can interview children via AVL but it is very difficult to build a rapport, particularly with younger children, and you get so much more from in-person interviews. This is extremely important work which is done not for the financial gain (as there is none) but because of the importance of children having a voice in matters that impact their current lives and their futures.
Last Updated on 02/06/2026
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