Parenting · Ontario
Section 30 Assessments and Section 112 Reports: What Is the Difference?
Both put a professional opinion about your child in front of the court. They come from different statutes, cost very different amounts, and are decided by different people.
When a parenting case involves a serious dispute about a child, the court often wants evidence from someone other than the two parents. In Ontario there are two main routes to that evidence, and they are regularly confused with each other.
A point of clarification first. Section 112 is not part of the Children's Law Reform Act. Section 30 is. Section 112 is found in the Courts of Justice Act, and it is the provision that authorises clinicians at the Office of the Children's Lawyer to investigate and report. The two provisions sit in different statutes and do very different things.
Section 30 of the Children's Law Reform Act
Section 30 allows the court to appoint a person to assess and report on the needs of the child, and on the ability and willingness of each party to meet those needs. In practice this is a clinical assessment conducted by a mental health professional, usually a psychologist, a psychiatrist or a clinical social worker.
How it works
- The court can order an assessment on a party's motion or on its own initiative.
- The assessor is named in the order, either by agreement of the parties or by the court.
- The parties pay. The court decides how the cost is divided, and it can order one party to pay more, or all of it.
- The scope is set by the order. It can be a full parenting assessment, or it can be narrowed to one defined question.
- The report is filed with the court and served on the parties.
- The assessor can be summonsed and cross-examined on the report.
What it costs and how long it takes
A full section 30 assessment is expensive. Depending on the assessor and the complexity of the case, fees commonly run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and the process frequently takes several months from appointment to report. This is a significant consideration in most cases and a decisive one in many.
When courts order one
Section 30 assessments are not ordered routinely. The courts have been consistent that an assessment is appropriate where there is a genuine clinical issue, meaning something that requires professional expertise to understand. Mental health concerns, substance use, allegations of alienation, and serious questions about parenting capacity are the kinds of issues that may justify one.
An ordinary disagreement about schedules, holidays or decision making, however bitter, is usually not enough. Courts are also reluctant to order an assessment on an interim motion, because of the delay it introduces into a case that needs an answer now.
Section 112 of the Courts of Justice Act
Section 112 authorises the Office of the Children's Lawyer, a provincial body, to investigate and report to the court on decision making responsibility, parenting time and contact.
How it works
- The court makes a request, usually by way of a referral order setting out the issues and why the OCL's involvement would assist.
- The OCL decides whether to accept. This is the difference most people do not expect. The court can ask; it cannot compel. The OCL applies its own intake criteria and declines a significant number of referrals.
- If accepted, a clinical investigator, generally a social worker employed or retained by the OCL, conducts the investigation and prepares the report.
- There is no cost to the parties. The service is publicly funded.
- The clinician can be summonsed to give evidence.
Two different OCL roles
The Office of the Children's Lawyer does two distinct things in a parenting case, and a referral order should specify which is sought:
- A clinical investigation and report under section 112, prepared by a clinician.
- Legal representation for the child, where a lawyer is appointed to act for the child and advance the child's position in the proceeding.
These are not the same, and a lawyer appointed for a child does not produce a clinical report. In some cases the OCL assigns both a lawyer and a clinician.
The practical differences side by side
| Section 30 assessment | Section 112 OCL report | |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | Children's Law Reform Act | Courts of Justice Act |
| Who decides it happens | The court orders it | The court requests; the OCL decides whether to accept |
| Who conducts it | A court appointed mental health professional | An OCL clinical investigator |
| Cost | Paid by the parties, often tens of thousands | No cost to the parties |
| Scope | Defined by the order, can be broad or narrow | Set by the OCL within its mandate |
| Choice of professional | Parties can propose and agree on one | Assigned by the OCL |
| Giving evidence | Assessor can be cross-examined | Clinician can be summonsed |
Which route fits which case
Where there is a real clinical question and the parties can fund it, a section 30 assessment gives the most depth, the most control over scope, and a professional the parties had some say in choosing.
Where cost is the obstacle, a section 112 referral is the realistic option, with the caveat that acceptance is not guaranteed and waiting times vary considerably by region.
Where the only live question is what the child wants, neither may be necessary. A Voice of the Child Report is a narrower, faster and far cheaper product that reports the child's views and preferences without assessing parenting capacity. It answers a different question, but in many cases it is the question that actually matters.
What a report is, and what it is not
Both a section 30 assessment and a section 112 report are evidence. Neither decides the case. The judge decides, and the judge is not bound by the recommendations.
In practice, a thorough report carries real weight, and the weight it carries depends on the quality of the work behind it: whether the assessor met with both parents and the child, whether collateral sources such as teachers and physicians were contacted, whether the methodology is explained, and whether the conclusions follow from the information gathered. A report built on limited contact with one side is vulnerable, and should be tested.
It is also worth being clear-eyed before asking for one. An assessment introduces delay, cost and a stranger into your child's life, and the result may not be what you expect. It is a serious step, and it should be taken for a reason that could not be addressed any other way.
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Book a consultation Or send an enquiryThis article is general information about Ontario family law, current to October 2026. It is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for advice about your own situation. Family law changes, and the outcome in any case depends on its own facts. Reading this page does not create a lawyer and client relationship.