Your rights, in ordinary words

Last updated: 24 August 2026 · NSW / Australia focus

You are allowed to get help. This page will not call DCJ on you for reading it. Using this site does not open a DCJ file.

You can ask for help

If you are 16, or 12, or 21, you are allowed to tell a trusted adult, a doctor, Kids Helpline, headspace, or Legal Aid that something is wrong. You do not have to use legal words. “I am not safe” or “I need help” is enough to start a conversation with those services.

People aged 0–17 are children in law. People aged 18–24 are adults. Adults still have a right to health care, Legal Aid assessment, and crisis lines. Being 18 does not mean you have to cope alone.

Child protection is not a punishment by default

In New South Wales, child protection work sits with the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). People sometimes say “CPS.” In NSW that usually means DCJ child protection — not a separate federal police of children, and not a “Ministry of Youth.”

The idea of child protection is to keep children safe from significant harm. It is not designed as a punishment for asking for food, housing, a doctor, or a counsellor. That does not mean every meeting feels fair. It does mean that reading a website is not the same as a report being made about you.

This static site does not take child-protection reports. It does not notify DCJ when you open a page.

NDIS is disability support, not guardianship

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is run by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). It can fund reasonable and necessary supports for eligible people with disability. It does not make the NDIA, this site, or Malachai Grant your parent or guardian.

A nominee or guardian is a separate legal appointment. Visiting these pages does not create one.

Police and health

• Emergency — 000 for police, fire, or ambulance if someone is in danger now.
• Health — a GP, a hospital emergency department, or healthdirect 1800 022 222 for non-emergency health questions. This site will not diagnose you.
• headspace — mental health support for 12–25. Call 1800 650 890 or use headspace.org.au. Talking to headspace is not the same as this website starting a court case.
• If police want to speak with you and you are under 18 — Legal Aid NSW Youth Hotline 1800 10 18 10 is an official line for that situation.

This page does not tell you to confront an unsafe person, and it does not tell you to ignore a court order. It tells you that official help exists.

What this site is not doing

• It is not becoming your legal guardian.
• It is not opening a DCJ file because you read it.
• It is not starting a case against DCJ, NDIS, “CPS,” or a Ministry of Youth.
• It is not medical, psychiatric, or legal advice.
• It is not an invitation to message Malachai privately with your story.

Adult diligence questions about the website (not a child’s case) may use legal@malachai.com (placeholder), the same address as the main terms. That inbox is not a counselling line and not a place to send a child’s file.

Youth help · Agencies · Courts · Terms