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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
CHILD PROTECTION BILL
1998
Queensland
CHILD PROTECTION BILL 1998
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
CHAPTER 1--PRELIMINARY
PART 1--INTRODUCTION
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PART 2--PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION OF ACT
4 Purpose of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5 Principles for administration of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6 Provisions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children . . . . . . . . . 16
7 Chief executive's functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PART 3--BASIC CONCEPTS
Division 1--Key terms
8 Who is a "child" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
9 What is "harm" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
10 Who is a "child in need of protection" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
11 Who is a "parent" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Division 2--Custody and guardianship
12 What is effect of custody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
13 What is effect of guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
CHAPTER 2--PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
PART 1--CHILDREN AT RISK OF HARM
14 Chief executive may investigate alleged harm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
15 Child's parents to be told about allegation of harm and outcome
of investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2
Child Protection
16 Contact with child at immediate risk of harm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
17 Contact with children in school, child care centre, family day care etc. . . 22
18 Child at immediate risk may be taken into custody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
19 Effect of taking child into custody on existing order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
20 Officer's obligations on taking child into custody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
21 Moving child to safe place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
22 Protection from liability for notification of, or information given
about, alleged harm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
PART 2--TEMPORARY ASSESSMENT ORDERS
Division 1--Preliminary
23 Meaning of "parent" in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
24 Purpose of pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Division 2--Applications for, and making and effect of, temporary
assessment orders
25 Making of application for order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
26 Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
27 Making of temporary assessment order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
28 Provisions of temporary assessment order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
29 Duration of temporary assessment orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
30 Special orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
31 Order--procedure before entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Division 3--Other provisions about temporary assessment orders
32 Explanation of temporary assessment orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
33 Police officers to notify chief executive of certain orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
34 Extension of temporary assessment orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
35 Effect of temporary assessment order on existing child protection
orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
PART 3--COURT ASSESSMENT ORDERS
Division 1--Preliminary
36 Meaning of "parent" in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
37 Purpose of pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Division 2--Application for, and making and effect of, court
assessment orders
38 Application for court assessment order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3
Child Protection
39 Registrar to fix time and place for hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
40 Notice of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
41 Respondents to application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
42 Hearing of application in absence of parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
43 Making of court assessment order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
44 Provisions of court assessment order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
45 Order--procedure before entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
46 Duration of court assessment orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Division 3--Other provisions about court assessment orders
47 Chief executive's obligations after making of court assessment order . . . . 38
48 Extension of court assessment orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
49 Variation and revocation of court assessment orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
PART 4--CHILD PROTECTION ORDERS
Division 1--Preliminary
50 Meaning of "parent" in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
51 Purpose of pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Division 2--Applications for, and making and effect of, child
protection orders
52 Application for child protection order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
53 Registrar to fix time and place for hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
54 Notice of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
55 Respondents to hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
56 Hearing of application in absence of parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
57 Making of child protection order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
58 Provisions of child protection orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
59 Duration of child protection orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Division 3--Other provisions about child protection orders
60 Chief executive's obligations after making of child protection order . . . . . 44
61 Extension of certain child protection orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
62 Variation and revocation of child protection orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4
Child Protection
PART 5--ADJOURNMENTS OF PROCEEDINGS AND COURT
ORDERED CONFERENCES
Division 1--Adjournments of proceedings
63 Court may adjourn proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
64 Court's powers to make interim orders on adjournment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
65 Court's other powers on adjournment of proceedings for child
protection orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Division 2--Court ordered conferences
66 Registrar to appoint chairperson and convene conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
67 Attendance of parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
68 Communications inadmissible in evidence without consent . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
69 Report of conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
PART 6--OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS UNDER ORDERS
Division 1--Chief executive's obligations under child protection
orders
70 Chief executive's obligations about meeting child's protection
needs under certain orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
71 Charter of rights for a child in care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
72 Transition from care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Division 2--Orders for supervision
73 Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
74 Obligations of child's parents and powers of authorised officers . . . . . . . . . 50
75 Chief executive's powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Division 3--Obligations under orders granting custody or
guardianship to member of family or other suitable person
76 Obligations of family members to department under orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
77 Obligations of family members and other persons to child's parents . . . . . 52
Division 4--Placing child in care
78 Application of div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
79 Placing child in care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
80 Additional provisions for placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children in care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
81 Agreements to provide care for children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
82 Chief executive to tell parents of placing child in
care--assessment order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5
Child Protection
83 Chief executive to notify parents of placing child in care--child
protection order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
84 Chief executive to provide contact between child and child's parents . . . . 56
85 Chief executive to regularly review arrangements for child's protection . . 56
86 Removal from carer's care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
87 Notice of removal from care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
88 Child carers entitled to appeal against removal from carer's care . . . . . . . 57
Division 5--Property of child
89 Application of div 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
90 Management of child's property by public trustee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
91 Audit of trust by public trustee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
PART 7--GENERAL
92 Report about person's criminal history etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
93 Family meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
94 Carrying out medical examinations or treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
95 Carrying out social assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
96 Chief executive's custody or guardianship of child continues
pending decision on application for order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
CHAPTER 3--CHILDRENS COURT PROCEEDINGS
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
97 Application of ch 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
98 Definition for ch 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
PART 2--JURISDICTION
99 Court's jurisdiction and constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
100 Court's jurisdiction unaffected by pending criminal proceeding . . . . . . . . . 64
PART 3--PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS
Division 1--Court's procedures
101 Court's paramount consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
102 Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
103 Court to ensure parties understand proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
104 Expert help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Division 2--Right of appearance and representation at hearing
105 Right of appearance and representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6
Child Protection
106 Legal representation of child's parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
107 Separate legal representation of child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
108 Legal representation of more than 1 child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
109 Child can not be compelled to give evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
110 Court may hear submissions from non-parties to proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Division 3--General
111 Transfer of proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
112 Hearing of applications together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
113 Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
PART 4--COURT APPEALS
114 Who may appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
115 How to start appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
116 Stay of operation of decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
117 Hearing procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
118 Powers of appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
CHAPTER 4--INTERSTATE TRANSFERS OF GUARDIANSHIP
AND CUSTODY OF CHILDREN
119 Meaning of "parent" in ch 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
120 Transfers from other States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
121 Notice of declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
122 Transfer to other States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
CHAPTER 5--REGULATION OF CARE
PART 1--STANDARDS OF CARE
123 Statement of standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PART 2--LICENSING OF CARE SERVICES AND APPROVAL
OF CARE PROVIDERS
Division 1--Preliminary
124 Purpose of pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Division 2--Licensing of care services
125 Individuals can not hold licences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
126 Application for, or renewal of, licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
127 Restrictions on granting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
128 Grant of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
7
Child Protection
129 Duration of licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
130 Refusal of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
131 Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Division 3--Approval of care providers
132 Only individuals may hold certificates of approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
133 Application for approval or renewal of approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
134 Restrictions on granting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
135 Grant of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
136 Duration of approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
137 Refusal of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Division 4--Amendment, suspension and cancellation of authorities
138 Amendment of authority on application of holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
139 Amendment of authority by the chief executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
140 Authority may be suspended or cancelled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
141 Procedure for suspension or cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
142 Amendment, suspension and cancellation of authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Division 5--General
143 Inquiries about certain persons' suitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
144 Failure to decide applications taken to be refusal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
145 Offence to contravene condition of licence or approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
146 Authorised officer may require production of licence, approval etc. . . . . . . 84
147 Authorised officer may enter and inspect licensed premises . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
CHAPTER 6--ADMINISTRATION
PART 1--AUTHORISED OFFICERS
148 Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
149 Limitation of powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
150 Conditions of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
151 Identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
152 Production of identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
153 Authorised officer to give notice of damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
154 Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8
Child Protection
PART 2--GENERAL
155 Delegation by chief executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
156 Approved forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
157 Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
158 Payments for care and maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
CHAPTER 7--ENFORCEMENT AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
PART 1--OFFENCES
159 Obstruction of authorised officer etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
160 Impersonation of authorised officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
161 Offence to remove child from carer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
162 Offence to remove child from custody or guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
163 Offence to refuse contact with child in custody or guardianship . . . . . . . . . 90
164 Offence for person to take child out of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
165 Offence not to comply with certain orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
PART 2--WARRANT FOR APPREHENSION OF CHILD
166 Application for warrant for apprehension of child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
167 Issue of warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
168 Special warrants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
169 Warrants--procedure before entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
PART 3--GENERAL POWERS OF AUTHORISED OFFICERS
Division 1--Preliminary
170 Application of pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Division 2--Power of seizure of authorised officers
171 Power of seizure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
172 Procedure after seizure of thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
173 Forfeiture of seized thing on conviction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
174 Dealing with forfeited things etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Division 3--Other powers of authorised officers on entry
175 Power to photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
PART 4--EVIDENCE AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
176 Evidentiary provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
177 Proceeding for offences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
9
Child Protection
178 When proceeding may start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
PART 5--CONFIDENTIALITY
Division 1--Preliminary
179 Definitions for pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Division 2--Confidentiality in relation to administration of Act
180 Confidentiality of notifiers of harm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
181 Confidentiality of information obtained by persons involved in
administration of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
182 Confidentiality of information given by persons involved in
administration of Act to other persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
183 Prohibition of publication of information leading to identity of children . 102
Division 3--Confidentiality in relation to proceedings
184 Production of department's records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
185 Refusal of disclosure of certain information during proceeding . . . . . . . . . 104
186 Prohibition of publication of certain information for proceedings . . . . . . . 105
187 Restrictions on reporting certain court proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Division 4--General
188 Release of information by health service employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
PART 6--GENERAL
189 Compliance with provisions about explaining and giving documents . . . . 107
190 Exercise of powers and compliance with obligations by others . . . . . . . . . 107
191 Protection from liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
CHAPTER 8--MISCELLANEOUS
192 Appeals against appealable decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
193 Regulation-making powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
CHAPTER 9--REPEALS, SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL
PROVISIONS
PART 1--REPEALS
194 Repeal of Children's Services Act 1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
195 References to repealed Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
PART 2--SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
196 Definitions for pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
197 Existing section 47 declarations and care and protection orders . . . . . . . . 110
10
Child Protection
198 Existing supervision orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
199 Existing section 134 declarations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
200 Licensed institutions under repealed Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
201 Approved foster parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
202 Existing applications and proceedings for care and protection orders . . . . 113
203 Applications to revoke or substitute certain orders under repealed Act . . 113
CHAPTER 10--AMENDMENTS
204 Acts amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
SCHEDULE 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
CHARTER OF RIGHTS FOR A CHILD IN CARE
SCHEDULE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
APPEALABLE DECISIONS AND AGGRIEVED PERSONS
SCHEDULE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
AMENDMENT OF ACTS
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
CHILD CARE ACT 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES
APPEALS TRIBUNALS ACT 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
CHILDRENS COURT ACT 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
COMMONWEALTH POWERS (FAMILY LAW--CHILDREN)
ACT 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
CRIMINAL CODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
CRIMINAL LAW (REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS) ACT 1986 . . 124
CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
DRUGS MISUSE ACT 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
EVIDENCE ACT 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
FAMILY SERVICES ACT 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
HEALTH ACT 1937 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
MAINTENANCE ACT 1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
MENTAL HEALTH ACT 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
11
Child Protection
REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES
ACT 1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
SUCCESSION ACT 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
YOUNG OFFENDERS (INTERSTATE TRANSFER) ACT 1987 . . . . . . 131
SCHEDULE 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
DICTIONARY
1998
A BILL
FOR
An Act about the protection of children, and for other purposes
s1 14 s5
Child Protection
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
HAPTER 1--PRELIMINARY 2
C
PART 1--INTRODUCTION 3
title 4
Short
1. This Act may be cited as the Child Protection Act 1998. 5
6
Commencement
2. This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 7
8
Definitions
3.(1) The dictionary in schedule 4 defines particular words used in this 9
Act. 10
(2) Key terms used in this Act are defined in part 3, division 1. 11
PART 2--PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION OF 12
ACT 13
of Act 14
Purpose
4. The purpose of this Act is to provide for the protection of children. 15
for administration of Act 16
Principles
5. This Act is to be administered under the following principles-- 17
(a) every child has a right to protection from harm; 18
s5 15 s5
Child Protection
(b) the welfare and best interests of a child are paramount; 1
(c) families have the primary responsibility for the upbringing, 2
protection and development of their children; 3
(d) the preferred way of ensuring a child's wellbeing is through the 4
support of the child's family; 5
(e) powers conferred under this Act should be exercised in a way that 6
is open, fair and respects the rights of people affected by their 7
exercise, and, in particular, in a way that ensures-- 8
(i) actions taken, while in the best interests of the child, 9
maintain family relationships and are supportive of 10
individual rights and ethnic, religious and cultural identity or 11
values; and 12
(ii) the views of the child and the child's family are considered; 13
and 14
(iii) the child and the child's parents have the opportunity to take 15
part in making decisions affecting their lives; 16
(f) if a child does not have a parent able and willing to protect the 17
child, the State has a responsibility to protect the child, but in 18
protecting the child the State must not take action that is 19
unwarranted in the circumstances; 20
(g) if a child is removed from the child's family-- 21
(i) the aim of authorised officers' working with the child and 22
the child's family is to safely return the child to the family if 23
possible; and 24
(ii) the child's need to maintain family and social contacts, and 25
ethnic and cultural identity, must be taken into account; 26
(h) if a child is able to form and express views about his or her care, 27
the views must be given consideration, taking into account the 28
child's age or ability to understand; 29
(i) if a child does not have a parent able and willing to give the child 30
ongoing protection, the child has a right to long-term alternative 31
care. 32
s6 16 s7
Child Protection
about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children 1
Provisions
6.(1) A decision of the chief executive or an authorised officer under this 2
Act about an Aboriginal child or a Torres Strait Islander child must be made 3
only after consultation with the recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait 4
Islander agency for the child. 5
(2) However, if consultation is not practicable before making the decision 6
because the agency is not available for consultation or urgent action is 7
required to protect the child, the chief executive or an authorised officer 8
must consult with the agency as soon as practicable after making the 9
decision. 10
(3) If the chief executive, an authorised officer or the Childrens Court 11
exercises a power under this Act in relation to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait 12
Islander child, the chief executive, officer or court must have regard to-- 13
(a) the views of the recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 14
agency for the child and about Aboriginal traditions and Island 15
custom relating to the child;1 and 16
(b) if it is not practicable to obtain the agency's views--the views of 17
members of the community to whom the child belongs; and 18
(c) the general principle that an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 19
child should be cared for within an Aboriginal or Torres Strait 20
Islander community. 21
(4) As far as is reasonably practicable, an authorised person must try to 22
conduct consultations, negotiations, family meetings and other proceedings 23
involving an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander (whether a child or 24
not) in a way and in a place that is appropriate to Aboriginal tradition or 25
Island custom. 26
executive's functions 27
Chief
7. For the proper and efficient administration of this Act, the chief 28
executive's functions are-- 29
(a) providing, or helping provide, information for parents and other 30
1 The Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 36, contains definitions of Aboriginal
tradition and Island custom.
s7 17 s7
Child Protection
members of the community about the development of children 1
and their safety needs; and 2
(b) providing, or helping provide, preventative and support services 3
to strengthen and support families and to reduce the incidence of 4
harm to children; and 5
(c) providing, or helping provide, services to families to protect their 6
children if a risk of harm has been identified; and 7
(d) providing, or helping provide, services for the protection of 8
children and responding to allegations of harm to children; and 9
(e) helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to 10
establish programs for preventing or reducing incidences of harm 11
to children in the communities; and 12
(f) providing support and training to approved care providers to help 13
them care for children under this Act; and 14
(g) promoting a partnership between the State, local government, 15
non-government agencies and families in taking responsibility 16
for, and dealing with the problem of, harm to children; and 17
(h) promoting and helping in developing coordinated responses to 18
allegations of harm to children and responses to domestic 19
violence; and 20
(i) cooperating with government entities that have a function relating 21
to the protection of children; and 22
(j) consulting with clients of the department and of organisations 23
involved in providing services relating to the purpose of this Act 24
and with client representative groups; and 25
(k) consulting with recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 26
agencies about the administration of this Act in relation to 27
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children; and 28
(l) providing, or helping provide, public education about child abuse 29
and neglect and to encourage people whose occupation involves 30
responsibility for children and members of the public to report 31
suspected child abuse and neglect to the chief executive; and 32
(m) collecting and publishing, or helping collect and publish, 33
information and statistics about harm to children; and 34
s8 18 s 10
Child Protection
(n) promoting research into the causes and effect of harm to children; 1
and 2
(o) encouraging tertiary institutions to provide instruction about harm 3
to children and its prevention and treatment. 4
ART 3--BASIC CONCEPTS 5
P
Division 1--Key terms 6
is a "child" 7
Who
8. A "child" is an individual under 18 years. 8
is "harm" 9
What
9.(1) "Harm", to a child, is any detrimental effect of a significant nature 10
on the child's physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. 11
(2) It is immaterial how the harm is caused. 12
(3) Harm can be caused by-- 13
(a) physical, psychological or emotional abuse or neglect; or 14
(b) sexual abuse or exploitation. 15
is a "child in need of protection" 16
Who
10. A "child in need of protection" is a child who-- 17
(a) has suffered harm, is suffering harm, or is at unacceptable risk of 18
suffering harm; and 19
(b) does not have a parent able and willing to protect the child from 20
the harm. 21
s 11 19 s 12
Child Protection
is a "parent" 1
Who
11.(1) A "parent" of a child is the child's mother, father or someone 2
else (other than the chief executive) having or exercising parental 3
responsibility for the child. 4
(2) However, a person standing in the place of a parent of a child on a 5
temporary basis is not a parent of the child. 6
(3) A parent of an Aboriginal child includes a person who, under 7
Aboriginal tradition, is regarded as a parent of the child. 8
(4) A parent of a Torres Strait Islander child includes a person who, 9
under Island custom, is regarded as a parent of the child. 10
(5) A reference in this Act to the parents of a child or to 1 of the parents 11
of a child is, if the child has only 1 parent, a reference to the parent.2 12
2--Custody and guardianship 13
Division
is effect of custody 14
What
12.(1) This section applies if-- 15
(a) an authorised officer or police officer takes a child into the chief 16
executive's custody;3 or 17
(b) the chief executive or someone else is granted custody of a child 18
under an assessment order or child protection order. 19
(2) The chief executive, or other person granted custody of the child, 20
has-- 21
(a) the right to have the child's daily care; and 22
(b) the right and responsibility to make decisions about the child's 23
daily care. 24
2 In some provisions, "parent" has a narrower meaning. The same meaning is
given the term in chapter 2, part 2 (see section 23), chapter 2, part 3 (see
section 36), chapter 2, part 4 (see section 50) and chapter 4 (see section 119).
3 Under section 18, a child at immediate risk of harm may be taken into custody.
s 13 20 s 14
Child Protection
is effect of guardianship 1
What
13. If the chief executive or someone else is granted guardianship of a 2
child under a child protection order, the chief executive or other person 3
has-- 4
(a) the right to have the child's daily care; and 5
(b) the right and responsibility to make decisions about the child's 6
daily care; and 7
(c) all the powers, rights and responsibilities in relation to the child 8
that would otherwise have been vested in the person having 9
parental responsibility for making decisions about the long-term 10
care, welfare and development of the child. 11
CHAPTER 2--PROTECTION OF CHILDREN 12
ART 1--CHILDREN AT RISK OF HARM 13
P
executive may investigate alleged harm 14
Chief
14.(1) If the chief executive becomes aware (whether because of 15
notification given to the chief executive4 or otherwise) of alleged harm or 16
alleged risk of harm to a child and reasonably suspects the child is in need 17
of protection, the chief executive must immediately-- 18
(a) have an authorised officer investigate the allegation and assess the 19
child's need of protection; or 20
(b) take other action the chief executive considers appropriate. 21
(2) If the chief executive reasonably believes alleged harm may have 22
involved the commission of a criminal offence relating to the child, the chief 23
executive must immediately give details of the alleged harm to the 24
commissioner of the police service. 25
4 Section 22 provides for protection from civil liability for persons, who, acting
honestly, notify or give information about suspected harm to a child.
s 15 21 s 16
Child Protection
parents to be told about allegation of harm and outcome of 1
Child's
investigation 2
15.(1) An authorised officer or police officer who is investigating an 3
allegation of harm, or risk of harm, to a child, or assessing the child's need 4
of protection because of the allegation must give details of the alleged harm 5
or risk of harm to at least 1 of the child's parents. 6
(2) Also, as soon as practicable after completing the investigation, the 7
officer must-- 8
(a) tell at least 1 of the child's parents about the outcome of the 9
investigation; and 10
(b) if asked by the parent--give the information in writing to the 11
parent. 12
(3) However, if the officer reasonably believes-- 13
(a) someone may be charged with a criminal offence for the harm to 14
the child and the officer's compliance with subsection (1) or (2) 15
may jeopardise an investigation into the offence; or 16
(b) compliance with the subsection may expose the child to harm; 17
the officer need only comply with the subsection to the extent the officer 18
considers is reasonable and appropriate in the particular circumstances. 19
with child at immediate risk of harm 20
Contact
16.(1) This section applies if-- 21
(a) an authorised officer or police officer is investigating an allegation 22
of harm, or risk of harm, to a child; and 23
(b) the officer has been denied contact with the child or can not 24
reasonably gain entry to the place where the officer reasonably 25
believes the child is; and 26
(c) the officer reasonably suspects the child-- 27
(i) is at immediate risk of harm; or 28
(ii) is likely to leave or be taken from a place and suffer harm if 29
the officer does not take immediate action. 30
(2) The officer may exercise the following powers-- 31
s 17 22 s 17
Child Protection
(a) enter the place; 1
(b) search the place to find the child; 2
(c) remain in the place, and have contact with the child for as long as 3
the officer reasonably considers necessary for investigating the 4
allegation. 5
(3) The officer may exercise a power under subsection (2) with the help, 6
and using the force, that is reasonable in the circumstances. 7
(4) At the first reasonable opportunity, the officer must record, in a 8
register kept for the purpose by the department or the Queensland Police 9
Service, full details about the exercise of the powers and other actions taken 10
by the officer. 11
with children in school, child care centre, family day care etc. 12
Contact
17.(1) This section applies if-- 13
(a) an authorised officer or police officer is investigating an allegation 14
of harm, or risk of harm, to a child; and 15
(b) the officer reasonably believes-- 16
(i) it is in the child's best interests that the officer has contact 17
with the child before the child's parents are told about the 18
investigation; and 19
(ii) the child's parents knowing in advance about the proposed 20
contact with the child is likely to adversely affect or 21
otherwise prevent the proper and effective conduct of the 22
investigation; and 23
(c) the child is at a school, or place where child care is provided, 24
when the officer is to have contact with the child; and 25
(d) the officer lawfully enters the school or place. 26
(2) The officer may have contact with the child, and remain in the school 27
or place, for as long as the officer reasonably considers necessary for 28
investigating the allegation. 29
(3) Before exercising a power under subsection (2), the officer must 30
notify the principal or other person in charge of the school or place of the 31
intention to exercise the power. 32
s 18 23 s 18
Child Protection
(4) As soon as practicable after the officer has had contact with the child, 1
the officer must tell at least 1 of the child's parents that the officer has had 2
contact with the child and the reasons for the contact. 3
(5) The officer's obligation under subsection (4) to give reasons for the 4
contact with the child is limited to the extent the officer considers is 5
reasonable and appropriate in particular circumstances if the officer 6
reasonably believes-- 7
(a) someone may be charged with a criminal offence for harm to the 8
child and the officer's compliance with the subsection may 9
jeopardise an investigation into the offence; or 10
(b) compliance with the subsection may expose the child to harm. 11
(6) Also, at the first reasonable opportunity, the officer must record, in a 12
register kept for the purpose by the department or the Queensland Police 13
Service, full details about the exercise of the powers and other actions taken 14
by the officer. 15
at immediate risk may be taken into custody 16
Child
18.(1) This section applies if-- 17
(a) an authorised officer or police officer is investigating an allegation 18
of harm, or risk of harm, to a child; and 19
(b) the officer reasonably believes the child is at risk of harm and the 20
child is likely to suffer harm if the officer does not immediately 21
take the child into custody. 22
(2) The officer may take the child into the chief executive's custody. 23
(3) For subsection (2), the officer may-- 24
(a) enter the place where the officer reasonably believes the child is; 25
and 26
(b) search the place to find the child; and 27
(c) remain in the place for as long as the officer reasonably considers 28
is necessary to find the child. 29
(4) The officer may exercise a power under subsection (2) or (3) with the 30
help, and using the force, that is reasonable in the circumstances. 31
s 19 24 s 20
Child Protection
(5) The officer must, as soon as practicable, apply for a temporary 1
assessment order for the child. 2
(6) Also, the officer may arrange a medical examination of, or for 3
medical treatment for, the child that is reasonable in the circumstances.5 4
(7) The chief executive's custody of the child ends on the earlier of the 5
following to happen-- 6
(a) the application for the temporary assessment order for the child is 7
decided; 8
(b) 8 hours elapses after the child is taken into custody. 9
of taking child into custody on existing order 10
Effect
19.(1) This section applies if-- 11
(a) an authorised officer or police officer takes a child into the chief 12
executive's custody; and 13
(b) a child protection order granting custody or guardianship of the 14
child to someone other than the chief executive is in force. 15
(2) The order, so far as it relates to the child's custody or guardianship, 16
ceases to have effect while the chief executive's custody of the child 17
continues. 18
obligations on taking child into custody 19
Officer's
20.(1) If an authorised officer or police officer takes a child into the chief 20
executive's custody, the officer must, as soon as practicable-- 21
(a) take reasonable steps to tell at least 1 of the child's parents-- 22
(i) that the child has been taken into custody and the reasons for 23
the action; and 24
(ii) when the chief executive's custody ends under section 18(7); 25
and 26
(b) tell the child about his or her being taken into the chief executive's 27
5 Section 94 (Carrying out medical examinations or treatment) applies to the
medical examination or treatment.
s 21 25 s 21
Child Protection
custody;6 and 1
(c) tell the chief executive the child has been taken into the chief 2
executive's custody and where the child has been taken. 3
(2) Subsection (1) does not require the officer to tell the child's parents in 4
whose care the child has been placed. 5
(3) The officer's obligation under subsection (1)(a)(i) to give reasons for 6
taking the child into custody is limited to the extent the officer considers is 7
reasonable and appropriate in particular circumstances if the officer 8
reasonably believes-- 9
(a) someone may be charged with a criminal offence for harm to the 10
child and the officer's compliance with the subparagraph may 11
jeopardise an investigation into the offence; or 12
(b) compliance with the subparagraph may expose the child to harm. 13
child to safe place 14
Moving
21.(1) This section applies if-- 15
(a) an authorised officer or police officer reasonably believes a child 16
who is under 12 years is at risk of harm but does not consider it 17
necessary to take the child into the chief executive's custody to 18
ensure the child's protection; and 19
(b) a parent or other member of the child's family is not present at 20
the place where the child is, and, after reasonable inquiries, the 21
officer can not contact a parent or other member of the child's 22
family. 23
(2) The officer may, with the help that is reasonable in the circumstances, 24
move the child to a safe place and make arrangements for the child's care at 25
the place. 26
(3) As soon as practicable after moving the child, the officer must-- 27
(a) take reasonable steps to tell at least 1 of the child's parents or a 28
family member of the child's whereabouts; and 29
(b) if the officer is a police officer--tell the chief executive the child 30
6 Section 189 deals with compliance with provisions about giving information.
s 22 26 s 22
Child Protection
has been moved to a safe place and where the child has been 1
moved. 2
(4) The child may be cared for at the place under the arrangements until 3
the child's parents or family members resume or assume the child's care. 4
(5) The moving of the child does not-- 5
(a) prevent the child's parents or family members resuming or 6
assuming care of the child; or 7
(b) affect existing parental rights for the child. 8
from liability for notification of, or information given 9
Protection
about, alleged harm 10
22.(1) This section applies if a person, acting honestly-- 11
(a) notifies the chief executive or another officer of the department 12
that the person suspects a child has been, is being or is likely to 13
be, harmed; or 14
(b) gives the chief executive, an authorised officer or police officer 15
information about alleged harm to a child. 16
(2) The person does not incur liability for giving the notification or 17
information. 18
(3) Also, merely because the person gives the notification or information, 19
the person can not be held to have-- 20
(a) breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics; or 21
(b) departed from accepted standards of professional conduct. 22
s 23 27 s 25
Child Protection
ART 2--TEMPORARY ASSESSMENT ORDERS 1
P
1--Preliminary 2
Division
of "parent" in pt 2 3
Meaning
23. In this part-- 4
"parent", of a child, means the child's guardian, and if the child is in a 5
person's custody or guardianship under this Act, includes anyone else 6
who would be the child's guardian if the person did not have custody 7
or guardianship of the child. 8
of pt 2 9
Purpose
24.(1) This part provides for the making of temporary assessment 10
orders. 11
(2) A temporary assessment order is made to authorise actions necessary 12
as part of an investigation to assess whether a child is a child in need of 13
protection, if the consent of a parent of the child to the actions has not been 14
able to be obtained or it is not practicable to take steps to obtain the parent's 15
consent. 16
2--Applications for, and making and effect of, temporary 17
Division
assessment orders 18
of application for order 19
Making
25.(1) An authorised officer or police officer may apply to a magistrate 20
for a temporary assessment order for a child. 21
(2) The application must be sworn and state the following-- 22
(a) the grounds on which it is made; 23
(b) the nature of the order sought; 24
(c) if taking the child into, or keeping the child in, the chief 25
executive's custody is sought--the proposed arrangements for 26
s 26 28 s 28
Child Protection
the child's care. 1
(3) The magistrate may refuse to consider the application until the 2
applicant gives the magistrate all the information the magistrate requires 3
about the application in the way the magistrate requires. 4
5
Example--
6
The magistrate may require additional information supporting the application be
7
given by statutory declaration.
application 8
Deciding
26. A magistrate may decide an application for a temporary assessment 9
order without notifying the child's parents of the application or hearing 10
them on the application. 11
of temporary assessment order 12
Making
27.(1) The magistrate may make a temporary assessment order for the 13
child only if the magistrate is satisfied-- 14
(a) an investigation is necessary to assess whether the child is a child 15
in need of protection; and 16
(b) the investigation can not be properly carried out unless the order 17
is made. 18
(2) However, in deciding the application, the magistrate must also be 19
satisfied reasonable steps have been taken to obtain the consent of at least 20
1 of the child's parents to the doing of the things sought to be authorised 21
under the order or it is not practicable to take steps to obtain the consent. 22
of temporary assessment order 23
Provisions
28.(1) The magistrate may make a temporary assessment order for the 24
child that provides for any 1 or more of the following the magistrate 25
considers to be appropriate in the circumstances-- 26
(a) authorising an authorised officer or police officer-- 27
(i) to have contact with the child; and 28
(ii) if the magistrate is satisfied it is necessary to provide interim 29
s 29 29 s 29
Child Protection
protection for the child while the investigation is carried 1
out--to take the child into, or keep the child in, the chief 2
executive's custody while the order is in force; 3
(b) authorising the child's medical examination or treatment;7 4
(c) directing a parent not to have contact (direct or indirect)-- 5
(i) with the child; or 6
(ii) with the child other than when a stated person or a person of 7
a stated category is present. 8
(2) Also, the order may be made subject to the reasonable conditions the 9
magistrate considers appropriate. 10
(3) In addition, the order may also authorise an authorised officer or 11
police officer to enter and search any place the officer reasonably believes 12
the child is, to find the child, if the magistrate is satisfied-- 13
(a) entry to a place has been, or is likely to be, refused, or it is 14
otherwise justified in particular circumstances, including, for 15
example, because the child's whereabouts are not known; and 16
(b) the entry is necessary for the effective enforcement of the order. 17
(4) On entering a place, an authorised officer or police officer may 18
remain in the place for as long as the officer reasonably considers necessary 19
for exercising the officer's powers under this section. 20
(5) An authorised officer or police officer may exercise powers under the 21
order with the help, and using the force, that is reasonable in the 22
circumstances. 23
of temporary assessment orders 24
Duration
29.(1) A temporary assessment order must state the time when it ends. 25
(2) The stated time must not be more than 3 days after the day the order 26
is made. 27
(3) The order ends at the stated time unless it is extended. 28
7 Section 94 (Carrying out medical examinations or treatment) applies to the
medical examination or treatment.
s 30 30 s 30
Child Protection
(4) Regardless of subsections (1) to (3), the order ends when the child 1
turns 18 years. 2
orders 3
Special
30.(1) An authorised officer or police officer may apply for a temporary 4
assessment order (a "special order") by phone, fax, radio or another form 5
of communication if the officer considers it necessary because of-- 6
(a) urgent circumstances; or 7
(b) other special circumstances, including, for example, the 8
inspector's remote location. 9
(2) Before applying for the order, the officer must prepare an application 10
stating the grounds on which the order is sought. 11
(3) The officer may apply for the order before the application is sworn. 12
(4) After making the order, the magistrate must immediately fax a copy 13
of it to the officer if it is reasonably practicable to fax the copy. 14
(5) If it is not reasonably practicable to fax a copy of the order to the 15
officer-- 16
(a) the magistrate must tell the officer-- 17
(i) what the terms of the order are; and 18
(ii) the date and time the order was made; and 19
(b) the officer must complete a form of order ("order form") and 20
write on it-- 21
(i) the magistrate's name; and 22
(ii) the date and time the magistrate made the order; and 23
(iii) the order's terms. 24
(6) The facsimile order, or the order form properly completed by the 25
officer, authorises the exercise of powers under the order made by the 26
magistrate. 27
(7) The officer must, at the first reasonable opportunity, send to the 28
magistrate-- 29
(a) the sworn application; and 30
s 31 31 s 31
Child Protection
(b) if the officer completed an order form--the completed order 1
form. 2
(8) On receiving the documents, the magistrate must attach them to the 3
order. 4
(9) A court must find the exercise of the power by an officer was not 5
authorised by a special order if-- 6
(a) an issue arises in a proceeding before the court whether the 7
exercise of the power was authorised by a special order; and 8
(b) the order is not produced in evidence; and 9
(c) it is not proved by the person relying on the lawfulness of the 10
entry that the officer obtained the order. 11
before entry 12
Order--procedure
31.(1) This section applies if an authorised officer or police officer is 13
intending to enter a place under an authority under a temporary assessment 14
order. 15
(2) Before entering the place, the officer must do or make a reasonable 16
attempt to do the following things-- 17
(a) identify himself or herself to a person present at the place who is 18
an occupier of the place; 19
(b) give the person-- 20
(i) a copy of the order so far as it relates to the entry and 21
searching of the place; or 22
(ii) if the entry and searching is authorised by a facsimile order 23
or order form mentioned in section 30(6), a copy of the 24
facsimile order or order form so far as it relates to the entry 25
and searching of the place; 26
(c) tell the person the officer is permitted by the order to enter and 27
search the place to find the child; 28
(d) give the person an opportunity to allow the officer immediate 29
entry to the place without using force. 30
(3) For subsection (2)(a), an authorised officer must produce the 31
s 32 32 s 33
Child Protection
officer's identity card to the person for inspection.8 1
(4) However, the officer need not comply with subsection (2) if the 2
officer reasonably believes that immediate entry to the place is required to 3
ensure the effective exercise of powers under the order is not frustrated. 4
3--Other provisions about temporary assessment orders 5
Division
of temporary assessment orders 6
Explanation
32. Immediately after a temporary assessment order is made for a child, 7
the applicant for the order must-- 8
(a) give a copy of the order, or facsimile order or order form under 9
section 30(6), to at least 1 of the child's parents; and 10
(b) explain the terms and effect of the order; and 11
(c) inform the parent-- 12
(i) about the right of appeal; and 13
(ii) that, because of the duration of the order, if the parent wishes 14
to appeal against the order, an appeal should be started 15
immediately;9 and 16
(iii) how to appeal; and 17
(d) tell the child about the order.10 18
officers to notify chief executive of certain orders 19
Police
33. If a temporary assessment order is made on the application of a 20
police officer, the officer must immediately give copies of the application 21
and order to the chief executive. 22
8 For a police officer, see the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 1997,
section 112 (Supplying police officer's details etc.)
9 Under section 29, the duration of a temporary assessment order must be not more
than 3 days.
10 Section 189 deals with compliance with provisions about giving information.
s 34 33 s 36
Child Protection
of temporary assessment orders 1
Extension
34.(1) An authorised officer or police officer may apply to a magistrate 2
for an order to extend the term of a temporary assessment order for a child. 3
(2) The application must be made before the order ends. 4
(3) This part applies, with all necessary changes, to the application as if it 5
were an application for a temporary assessment order. 6
(4) The magistrate may, by order, extend the order until the end of the 7
next business day after it would have otherwise ended if the magistrate is 8
satisfied-- 9
(a) the order has not ended; and 10
(b) the officer intends to apply for a court assessment order or child 11
protection order for the child before the order ends. 12
(5) A temporary assessment order may not be extended more than once. 13
of temporary assessment order on existing child protection 14
Effect
orders 15
35. If a temporary assessment order is made for a child for whom a child 16
protection order is already in force, the temporary assessment order prevails 17
to the extent of any inconsistency between the orders. 18
ART 3--COURT ASSESSMENT ORDERS 19
P
1--Preliminary 20
Division
of "parent" in pt 3 21
Meaning
36. In this part-- 22
"parent", of a child, means the child's guardian, and if the child is in a 23
person's custody or guardianship under this Act, includes anyone else 24
who would be the child's guardian if the person did not have custody 25
or guardianship of the child. 26
s 37 34 s 39
Child Protection
of pt 3 1
Purpose
37.(1) This part provides for the making of court assessment orders. 2
(2) A court assessment order is made to authorise actions necessary as 3
part of an investigation to assess whether a child is a child in need of 4
protection if-- 5
(a) the consent of a parent of the child to the actions has not been able 6
to be obtained or it is not practicable to take steps to obtain the 7
parent's consent; and 8
(b) more than 3 days is necessary to complete the investigation and 9
assessment. 11 10
Division 2--Application for, and making and effect of, court assessment 11
orders 12
for court assessment order 13
Application
38.(1) An authorised officer or police officer may apply to the Childrens 14
Court for a court assessment order for a child. 15
(2) The application must-- 16
(a) be sworn; and 17
(b) state the grounds on which it is made; and 18
(c) state the nature of the order sought; and 19
(d) comply with applicable rules of court; and 20
(e) be filed in the court. 21
to fix time and place for hearing 22
Registrar
39. When the application is filed, the registrar of the Childrens Court 23
must immediately fix a time and place for hearing the application having 24
11 Under part 2, a temporary assessment order may be obtained for not more than
3 days.
s 40 35 s 42
Child Protection
regard to the principle that it is in the best interests of the child for the 1
application to be heard as soon as possible. 2
of application 3
Notice
40.(1) As soon as practicable after the application is filed, the applicant 4
must-- 5
(a) personally serve a copy of it on each of the child's parents; and 6
(b) tell the child about the application.12 7
(2) However, if it is not practicable to serve the copy personally, a copy 8
of the application may be served on a parent by leaving it at, or by sending it 9
by post to, the parent's residential address last known to the applicant. 10
(3) The copy of the application served under this section must state-- 11
(a) when and where the application is to be heard; and 12
(b) the application may be heard and decided even though the parent 13
does not appear in court. 14
to application 15
Respondents
41. The child's parents are respondents to the application. 16
of application in absence of parents 17
Hearing
42.(1) The Childrens Court may hear and decide the application in the 18
absence of the child's parents only if-- 19
(a) the parents have been given reasonable notice of the hearing and 20
fail to attend or continue to attend the hearing; or 21
(b) it is satisfied it was not practicable to give the parents notice of the 22
hearing. 23
(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the jurisdiction of the court to exclude a 24
person from a proceeding. 25
12 Section 189 deals with compliance with provisions about giving information.
s 43 36 s 44
Child Protection
of court assessment order 1
Making
43. The Childrens Court may make a court assessment order only if the 2
court is satisfied an investigation is necessary to assess whether the child is 3
a child in need of protection and the investigation can not be properly carried 4
out unless the order is made. 5
of court assessment order 6
Provisions
44.(1) The order may provide for any 1 or more of the following the 7
court considers to be appropriate in the circumstances-- 8
(a) authorising an authorised officer or police officer to have contact 9
with the child; 10
(b) authorising the medical examination or treatment of the child; 11
(c) if the court is satisfied it is necessary to provide interim protection 12
for the child while the investigation is carried out-- 13
(i) granting temporary custody of the child to the chief 14
executive; and 15
(ii) authorising an authorised officer or police officer to take the 16
child into, or keep the child in, the chief executive's custody 17
while the order is in force; 18
(d) making provision about the child's contact with the child's family 19
during the chief executive's custody or guardianship of the child; 20
(e) directing a parent not to have contact (direct or indirect)-- 21
(i) with the child; or 22
(ii) with the child other than when a stated person or a person of 23
a stated category is present. 24
(2) Also, the order may be made subject to the reasonable conditions the 25
court considers appropriate. 26
(3) In addition, the order may also authorise an authorised officer or 27
police officer to enter and search any place the officer reasonably believes 28
the child is, to find the child, if the court is satisfied-- 29
(a) entry to a place has been, or is likely to be, refused, or it is 30
otherwise justified in particular circumstances, including, for 31
s 45 37 s 45
Child Protection
example, because the child's whereabouts are not known; and 1
(b) the entry is necessary for the effective enforcement of the order. 2
(4) On entering a place, an authorised officer or police officer may 3
remain in the place for as long as the officer considers necessary for 4
exercising the officer's powers under this section. 5
(5) An authorised officer or police officer may exercise the officer's 6
powers under the order with the help, and using the force, that is reasonable 7
in the circumstances. 8
before entry 9
Order--procedure
45.(1) This section applies if an authorised officer or police officer is 10
intending to enter a place under an authority under a court assessment order. 11
(2) Before entering the place, the officer must do or make a reasonable 12
attempt to do the following things-- 13
(a) identify himself or herself to a person present at the place who is 14
an occupier of the place; 15
(b) give the person a copy of the order so far as it relates to the entry 16
and searching of the place; 17
(c) tell the person the officer is permitted by the order to enter and 18
search the place to find the child; 19
(d) give the person an opportunity to allow the officer immediate 20
entry to the place without using force. 21
(2) For subsection (2)(a), an authorised officer must produce the 22
officer's identity card to the person for inspection.13 23
(3) However, the officer need not comply with subsection (2) if the 24
officer reasonably believes that immediate entry to the place is required to 25
ensure the effective exercise of powers under the order is not frustrated. 26
13 For a police officer, see the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 1997,
section 112 (Supplying police officer's details etc.)
s 46 38 s 48
Child Protection
of court assessment orders 1
Duration
46.(1) A court assessment order for a child must state the time when it 2
ends. 3
(2) The stated time must not be more than 4 weeks after the day the 4
hearing of the application for the order is first brought before the court.14 5
(3) The order ends at the stated time unless it is extended or earlier 6
revoked. 7
(4) Regardless of subsections (1) to (3), the order ends when the child 8
turns 18 years. 9
Division 3--Other provisions about court assessment orders 10
executive's obligations after making of court assessment order 11
Chief
47. As soon as practicable after a court assessment order for a child is 12
made, the chief executive must give to the parties to the application for the 13
order-- 14
(a) a copy of the order; and 15
(b) a written notice-- 16
(i) explaining the terms and effect of the order; and 17
(ii) stating that a party may appeal against the decision to make 18
the order within 28 days after the order is made; and 19
(iii) stating how to appeal. 20
of court assessment orders 21
Extension
48.(1) An authorised officer may apply to the Childrens Court for an 22
order to extend the term of a court assessment order for not more than 23
4 weeks. 24
(2) The application must be made before the order ends. 25
14 Under section 39, the registrar fixes the time and place for hearing the
application.
s 49 39 s 51
Child Protection
(3) This part applies, with all necessary changes, to the application as if it 1
were an application for a court assessment order. 2
(4) The court may extend the term of the order only if the court is 3
satisfied it is in the child's best interests. 4
(5) A court assessment order may not be extended more than once. 5
and revocation of court assessment orders 6
Variation
49.(1) An authorised officer may apply to the Childrens Court for an 7
order to vary or revoke a court assessment order. 8
(2) This part applies, with all necessary changes, to the application as if it 9
were an application for a court assessment order. 10
(3) Without limiting the things to which the court may have regard in 11
deciding the application, the court may have regard to a contravention of the 12
court assessment order or this Act. 13
ART 4--CHILD PROTECTION ORDERS 14
P
1--Preliminary 15
Division
of "parent" in pt 4 16
Meaning
50. In this part-- 17
"parent", of a child, means the child's guardian, and if the child is in a 18
person's custody or guardianship under this Act, includes anyone else 19
who would be the child's guardian if the person did not have custody 20
or guardianship of the child. 21
of pt 4 22
Purpose
51.(1) This part provides for the making of child protection orders. 23
s 52 40 s 54
Child Protection
(2) A child protection order is made to ensure the protection of a child the 1
Childrens Court decides is a child in need of protection.15 2
Division 2--Applications for, and making and effect of, child protection 3
orders 4
for child protection order 5
Application
52.(1) An authorised officer may apply to the Childrens Court for a child 6
protection order for a child. 7
(2) The application must-- 8
(a) state the grounds on which it is made; and 9
(b) state the nature of the order sought; and 10
(c) comply with applicable rules of court; and 11
(d) be filed in the court. 12
to fix time and place for hearing 13
Registrar
53. When the application is filed, the registrar of the Childrens Court 14
must immediately fix the time and place for hearing the application having 15
regard to the principle that it is in the best interests of the child for the 16
application to be heard as early as possible. 17
of application 18
Notice
54.(1) As soon as practicable after the application is filed, the applicant 19
must-- 20
(a) personally serve a copy of it on each of the child's parents; and 21
(b) tell the child about the application.16 22
(2) However, if it is not practicable to serve the copy personally, a copy 23
of the application may be served on a parent by leaving it at, or by sending it 24
15 See section 10 (Who is a "child in need of protection").
16 Section 189 deals with compliance with provisions about giving information.
s 55 41 s 57
Child Protection
by post to, the parent's residential address last known to the applicant. 1
(3) The copy of the application served under this section must state-- 2
(a) when and where the application is to be heard; and 3
(b) the application may be heard and decided even though the parent 4
does not appear in court. 5
to hearing 6
Respondents
55. The child's parents are respondents to the application. 7
of application in absence of parents 8
Hearing
56.(1) The Childrens Court may hear and decide the application in the 9
absence of the child's parents only if-- 10
(a) the parents have been given reasonable notice of the hearing and 11
fail to attend or continue to attend the hearing; or 12
(b) it is satisfied it was not practicable to give the parents notice of the 13
hearing. 14
(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the jurisdiction of the court to exclude a 15
person from a proceeding. 16
of child protection order 17
Making
57.(1) The Childrens Court may make a child protection order only if it 18
is satisfied-- 19
(a) the child is a child in need of protection and the order is 20
appropriate and desirable for the child's protection; and 21
(b) a family meeting has been held or reasonable attempts to hold a 22
family meeting have been made; and 23
(c) if the making of the order has been contested, a conference 24
between the parties has been held or reasonable attempts to hold a 25
conference have been made; and 26
(d) the child's wishes or views, if able to be ascertained, have been 27
made known to the court; and 28
s 58 42 s 58
Child Protection
(e) the child's protection is unlikely to be ensured by an order under 1
this part on less intrusive terms. 2
(2) Also, before making a child protection order granting custody or 3
guardianship of a child to a person other than the chief executive, the court 4
must have regard to any report given, or recommendation made, to the 5
court by the chief executive about the person, including a report about the 6
person's criminal history, domestic violence history and traffic history.17 7
(3) In addition, before making a child protection order granting long-term 8
guardianship of a child, the court must be satisfied-- 9
(a) there is no parent able and willing to protect the child within the 10
foreseeable future; or 11
(b) the child's need for emotional security will be best met in the 12
long-term by making the order. 13
(4) Further, the court must not grant long-term guardianship of a child 14
to-- 15
(a) a person who is not a member of the child's family unless the 16
child is already in custody or guardianship under a child 17
protection order; or 18
(b) the chief executive if the court can properly grant guardianship to 19
another suitable person. 20
of child protection orders 21
Provisions
58.(1) A child protection order may provide for any 1 or more of the 22
following the court considers to be appropriate in the circumstances-- 23
(a) directing a parent of the child to do or refrain from doing 24
something directly related to the child's protection; 25
(b) directing a parent not to have contact (direct or indirect)-- 26
(i) with the child; or 27
(ii) with the child other than when a stated person or a person of 28
a stated category is present; 29
17 Section 92 deals with reports about the person's criminal history, domestic
violence history and traffic history.
s 59 43 s 59
Child Protection
(c) requiring the chief executive to supervise the child's protection in 1
relation to the matters stated in the order; 2
(d) granting custody of the child to-- 3
(i) a suitable person, other than a parent of the child, who is a 4
member of the child's family; or 5
(ii) the chief executive; 6
(e) granting short-term guardianship of the child to the chief 7
executive; 8
(f) granting long-term guardianship of the child to-- 9
(i) a suitable person, other than a parent of the child, who is a 10
member of the child's family; or 11
(ii) another suitable person, other than a member of the child's 12
family, nominated by the chief executive; or 13
(iii) the chief executive. 14
(2) Also, the order may be made subject to the reasonable conditions the 15
court considers appropriate. 16
of child protection orders 17
Duration
59.(1) A child protection order for a child must state the time when it 18
ends. 19
(2) The stated time for the order-- 20
(a) if it does not grant custody or guardianship of the child--must 21
not be more than 1 year after the day it is made; or 22
(b) if it grants custody or short-term guardianship of the child--must 23
not be more than 2 years after the day it is made; or 24
(c) if it grants long-term guardianship of the child--must be the end 25
of the day before the child turns 18 years. 26
(3) The order ends at the stated time unless it is extended or earlier 27
revoked. 28
(4) Regardless of subsections (1) to (3), the order ends when the child 29
turns 18. 30
s 60 44 s 62
Child Protection
3--Other provisions about child protection orders 1
Division
executive's obligations after making of child protection order 2
Chief
60. As soon as practicable after a child protection order for a child is 3
made, the chief executive must give to the parties to the application for the 4
order-- 5
(a) a copy of the order; and 6
(b) a written notice-- 7
(i) explaining the terms and effect of the order; and 8
(ii) stating that a party may appeal against the decision to make 9
the order within 28 days after the order is made; and 10
(iii) stating how to appeal. 11
of certain child protection orders 12
Extension
61.(1) An authorised officer may apply to the Childrens Court for an 13
order to extend a child protection order for a child other than an order 14
granting long-term guardianship of a child. 15
(2) The application must be made before the order ends. 16
(3) This part applies, with all necessary changes, to the application as if it 17
were an application for a child protection order. 18
and revocation of child protection orders 19
Variation
62.(1) An authorised officer, interested person for a child or the child 20
may apply to the Childrens Court for an order to-- 21
(a) vary or revoke a child protection order; or 22
(b) revoke a child protection order and make another child protection 23
order in its place. 24
(2) However, an interested person can not-- 25
(a) apply for an order to revoke an order and make another child 26
protection order in its place that grants guardianship of a child; or 27
s 62 45 s 62
Child Protection
(b) apply for an order to revoke an order that grants custody of the 1
child to an interested person and make another child protection 2
order in its place that grants custody of the child to the first 3
interested person; or 4
(c) without the leave of the court, apply for an order to vary or revoke 5
a child protection order if another application for an order by an 6
interested person to vary or revoke the order has been decided by 7
the court. 8
(3) The court may grant leave only if it is satisfied the interested person 9
has new evidence to give to the court. 10
(4) This part applies, with the changes prescribed in subsection (5) and 11
all other necessary changes, to the application as if it were an application for 12
a child protection order. 13
(5) If the application is made by an interested person or the child-- 14
(a) other interested persons and the chief executive become 15
respondents to the application; and 16
(b) immediately after the application is made, the registrar must give 17
written notice to the chief executive of the time and place for 18
hearing the application; and 19
(c) as soon as practicable after receiving the registrar's notice, the 20
chief executive must comply with section 54 except so far as it 21
relates to the applicant. 22
(6) The court may revoke a child protection order under subsection (1)(a) 23
only if it is satisfied the order is no longer necessary to protect the child. 24
(7) Without limiting the things to which the court may have regard in 25
deciding the application, the court may have regard to a contravention of the 26
child protection order or this Act. 27
(8) In this section-- 28
"interested person", for a child, means a parent of the child or a person 29
(other than the chief executive) having custody or guardianship of the 30
child. 31
s 63 46 s 64
Child Protection
PART 5--ADJOURNMENTS OF PROCEEDINGS AND 1
COURT ORDERED CONFERENCES 2
Division 1--Adjournments of proceedings 3
may adjourn proceedings 4
Court
63.(1) The Childrens Court may adjourn a proceeding for a court 5
assessment order or child protection order for a child for a period decided 6
by the court. 7
(2) However, for a court assessment order the total period of 8
adjournments must not be longer than 4 weeks. 9
(3) In deciding the period, the court must take into account the principle 10
that it is in the child's best interests for the application for the order to be 11
decided as soon as possible. 12
(4) The court must state the reasons for the adjournment and may give 13
directions to the parties to the proceeding about the things to be done by 14
them during the adjournment. 15
powers to make interim orders on adjournment 16
Court's
64.(1) On the adjournment of a proceeding for a court assessment order 17
or child protection order, the Childrens Court may make an interim order-- 18
(a) granting temporary custody of the child-- 19
(i) for a court assessment order--to the chief executive; or 20
(ii) for a child protection order--to the chief executive or a 21
suitable person who is a member of the child's family; or 22
(b) directing a parent not to have contact (direct or indirect)-- 23
(i) with the child; or 24
(ii) with the child other than when a stated person or a person of 25
a stated category is present. 26
(2) The order has effect for the period of the adjournment. 27
s 65 47 s 65
Child Protection
other powers on adjournment of proceedings for child 1
Court's
protection orders 2
65.(1) On the adjournment of a proceeding for a child protection order, 3
the Childrens Court may also make 1 or more of the following orders-- 4
(a) an order requiring a written social assessment report about the 5
child and the child's family be prepared and filed in the court; 6
(b) an order authorising a medical examination of the child and 7
requiring a report of the examination be filed in the court;18 8
(c) subject to subsection (5), an order about the child's contact with 9
the child's family during the adjournment; 10
(d) an order requiring an authorised officer to convene a family 11
meeting; 12
(e) an order that a conference between the parties be held before the 13
proceeding continues to decide the matters in dispute or to try to 14
resolve the matters; 15
(f) an order that the child be separately legally represented. 16
(2) If the court makes an order under subsection (1)(a) or (b), the court 17
must state the particular issues the report must address. 18
(3) Subsection (2) does not limit the issues that may be addressed in the 19
report. 20
(4) Without limiting subsection (1)(c) an order mentioned in the 21
paragraph may limit or otherwise effect the child contact with the child's 22
family. 23
(5) The court must not make an order under subsection (1)(c) requiring 24
the chief executive to supervise family contact with the child unless the chief 25
executive agrees to supervise the contact. 26
18 Section 94 (Carrying out medical examinations or treatment) applies to the
medical examination or treatment.
s 66 48 s 69
Child Protection
2--Court ordered conferences 1
Division
to appoint chairperson and convene conference 2
Registrar
66.(1) If the Childrens Court orders a conference be held between the 3
parties to a proceeding, the registrar of the court must-- 4
(a) appoint a chairperson for the conference; and 5
(b) convene the conference to be held as soon as practicable after the 6
order is made. 7
(2) The chairperson must have the qualifications or experience prescribed 8
under rules of court made under the Childrens Court Act 1992. 9
of parties 10
Attendance
67.(1) The chairperson and parties must attend the conference. 11
(2) However, subsection (1) does not require the child to attend the 12
conference. 13
(3) The parties may be represented by their legal representatives at the 14
conference. 15
(4) If the child is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, a member 16
of the recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander agency for the child 17
may attend the conference. 18
(5) However, no one else can attend the conference without the 19
chairperson's approval. 20
inadmissible in evidence without consent 21
Communications
68. Anything said at the conference is inadmissible in a proceeding 22
before any court other than with the consent of all the parties. 23
of conference 24
Report
69.(1) As soon as practicable after the conference is finished, the 25
chairperson must file in the court a report of the conference containing the 26
particulars prescribed under rules of court made under the Childrens Court 27
s 70 49 s 71
Child Protection
Act 1992. 1
(2) If the report states the parties have reached an agreement in relation to 2
the application the subject of the proceeding and it is practicable for the 3
application to be heard earlier than the adjournment date, the registrar must 4
immediately-- 5
(a) fix a new time and place for the hearing of the application; and 6
(b) advise the chairperson and the parties of the time and place for the 7
hearing of the application. 8
(3) If the new time and place for the hearing of the application is not the 9
same day the conference finished, the registrar must confirm the advice by 10
written notice. 11
PART 6--OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS UNDER 12
ORDERS 13
Division 1--Chief executive's obligations under child protection orders 14
executive's obligations about meeting child's protection needs 15
Chief
under certain orders 16
70.(1) If a child protection order is made for a child, other than an order 17
granting long-term guardianship of the child, the chief executive must take 18
steps that are reasonable and practicable to help the child's family meet the 19
child's protection needs. 20
(2) For subsection (1), the chief executive must have regular contact with 21
the child and the child's parents or other appropriate members of the child's 22
family. 23
of rights for a child in care 24
Charter
71.(1) This section applies if, under a child protection order, the chief 25
executive is granted custody or guardianship of a child. 26
s 72 50 s 74
Child Protection
(2) As far as reasonably practicable, the chief executive must ensure the 1
charter of rights for a child in care in schedule 1 is complied with in relation 2
to the child. 3
(3) Subsection (2) does not limit another provision of this Act. 4
(4) The chief executive must ensure the child-- 5
(a) is told about the charter of rights and its effect; and 6
(b) is given written information about the charter of rights unless, 7
having regard to the child's age or ability to understand, the chief 8
executive reasonably believes the child would not be able to 9
understand the information. 10
from care 11
Transition
72.(1) This section applies to a child or person who is or has been a child 12
in the custody or under the guardianship of the chief executive. 13
(2) As far as practicable, the chief executive must ensure the child or 14
person is provided with help in the transition from being a child in care to 15
independence. 16
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the help may include financial 17
assistance provided under section 158.19 18
Division 2--Orders for supervision 19
of div 2 20
Application
73. This division applies if, under a child protection order for a child, the 21
chief executive is required to supervise the child's protection in relation to 22
matters stated in the order. 23
of child's parents and powers of authorised officers 24
Obligations
74.(1) The child's parents or other person with whom the child is living 25
must-- 26
19 Section 158 (Payments for care and maintenance)
s 75 51 s 75
Child Protection
(a) keep the chief executive informed about where the child is living; 1
and 2
(b) allow authorised officers to have reasonable contact with the 3
child. 4
(2) For subsection (1)(b), an authorised officer may enter the place where 5
the child is living at any reasonable time to have contact with the child and 6
to inquire about the child's care. 7
(3) The officer may exercise the officer's powers under subsection (2) 8
with the help, and using the force, that is reasonable in the circumstances. 9
executive's powers 10
Chief
75.(1) For giving effect to the child protection order, the chief executive 11
may, by written notice given to a parent of the child, direct the parent to do 12
or refrain from doing something specifically relating to the supervision 13
matters stated in the order. 14
(2) The notice must state the following-- 15
(a) the reasons for the decision; 16
(b) that the parent may appeal to a tribunal against the decision only 17
on the ground mentioned in subsection (3); 18
(c) the appeal must be made within 28 days after the person receives 19
the notice; 20
(d) how to appeal. 21
(3) The parent may appeal against the decision to give the direction only 22
on the ground that the direction does not specifically relate to the 23
supervision matters. 24
(4) Despite the Children's Commissioner and Children's Services 25
Appeals Tribunals Act 1996, section 50(1),20 a tribunal can not grant a stay 26
of the decision. 27
20 Children's Commissioner and Children's Services Appeals Tribunals Act 1996,
section 50(1) (Operation and implementation of decisions pending appeal)
s 76 52 s 77
Child Protection
Division 3--Obligations under orders granting custody or guardianship 1
to member of family or other suitable person 2
of family members to department under orders 3
Obligations
76.(1) If, under a child protection order, a member of a child's family is 4
granted custody of the child, the family member must help the chief 5
executive achieve the child's future protection, including, for example, by 6
taking part in meetings with the child's family. 7
(2) The family member must-- 8
(a) keep the chief executive informed about where the child is living; 9
and 10
(b) allow authorised officers to have reasonable contact with the 11
child. 12
of family members and other persons to child's parents 13
Obligations
77.(1) If, under a child protection order for a child, a member of the 14
child's family or another suitable person is granted custody or guardianship 15
of the child, the family member or person must-- 16
(a) tell the parents where the child is living; and 17
(b) give them information about the child's care; and 18
(c) provide opportunity for contact between the child and the child's 19
parents and appropriate members of the child's family as often as 20
is appropriate in the circumstances. 21
(2) However, if the Childrens Court is satisfied compliance with the 22
requirements of subsection (1) would constitute a significant risk to the 23
safety of the child or anyone else with whom the child is living, the court 24
may order that all or part of the requirements do not apply, or apply with 25
stated modifications or apply to a stated extent. 26
s 78 53 s 80
Child Protection
4--Placing child in care 1
Division
of div 4 2
Application
78. This division applies if, under an assessment order or child protection 3
order for a child, the chief executive is granted custody or guardianship of 4
the child. 5
child in care 6
Placing
79. The chief executive may place the child in the care of a licensed care 7
service, approved care provider or other person the chief executive 8
considers appropriate.21 9
provisions for placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait 10
Additional
Islander children in care 11
80.(1) This section applies if the child is an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait 12
Islander child. 13
(2) The chief executive must ensure the recognised Aboriginal or Torres 14
Strait Islander agency for the child is consulted before a decision is made 15
about where or with whom the child will live. 16
(3) However, if because of urgent circumstances it is not practicable to 17
consult the agency before the decision is made, the chief executive must 18
consult with the agency as soon as practicable after making the decision. 19
(4) In making a decision about the person in whose care the child should 20
be placed, the chief executive must give proper consideration to placing the 21
child, in order of priority, with-- 22
(a) a member of the child's family; or 23
(b) a member of the child's community or language group; or 24
(c) another Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander who is 25
compatible with the child's community or language group; or 26
(d) another Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander. 27
21 See also paragraph (b) of the charter of rights for a child in care in schedule 1.
s 81 54 s 82
Child Protection
(5) Also, the chief executive must give proper consideration to-- 1
(a) the views of the recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 2
agency for the child; and 3
(b) ensuring the decision provides for the optimal retention of the 4
child's relationships with parents, siblings and other people of 5
significance under Aboriginal tradition or Island custom. 6
to provide care for children 7
Agreements
81.(1) If an approved care provider agrees to care for the child, the chief 8
executive and care provider must enter into a written agreement for the 9
child's care. 10
(2) The agreement must contain terms about-- 11
(a) allowing an authorised officer to have contact with the child at any 12
reasonable time; and 13
(b) allowing an authorised officer to enter, at any reasonable time, the 14
premises where the child is living to make inquiries about the 15
child's care. 16
executive to tell parents of placing child in care--assessment 17
Chief
order 18
82.(1) This section applies if the order granting custody of the child to the 19
chief executive is an assessment order. 20
(2) As soon as practicable after deciding in whose care to place the child, 21
the chief executive must tell the child's parents in whose care the child is 22
placed and where the child is living. 23
(3) However, the chief executive need not comply with subsection (2) if 24
the chief executive reasonably suspects compliance with the subsection 25
could constitute a significant risk to the safety of the child or anyone else 26
with whom the child is living. 27
s 83 55 s 83
Child Protection
executive to notify parents of placing child in care--child 1
Chief
protection order 2
83.(1) This section applies if the order granting custody or guardianship 3
of the child to the chief executive is a child protection order. 4
(2) As soon as practicable after deciding in whose care to place the child, 5
the chief executive must give written notice of the decision to the child and 6
the child's parents stating the following-- 7
(a) the person in whose care the child is placed and where the child is 8
living; 9
(b) the reasons for the decision; 10
(c) that the child and child's parents may appeal to a tribunal against 11
the decision within 28 days after the notice is received; 12
(d) how to appeal. 13
(3) However, the chief executive may decide not to give a notice under 14
subsection (2) if the chief executive is satisfied giving the notice would 15
constitute a significant risk to the safety of the child or anyone else with 16
whom the child is living. 17
(4) If the chief executive makes a decision under subsection (3), the chief 18
executive must give written notice of the decision to the child and the child's 19
parents stating the following-- 20
(a) that the chief executive has decided not to tell the child's parents 21
the person in whose care the child is placed and where the child is 22
living; 23
(b) the reasons for the decision; 24
(c) that the child and child's parents may appeal to a tribunal against 25
the decision within 28 days after the notice is received; 26
(d) how to appeal. 27
(5) Subsection (2) does not apply if the chief executive is satisfied it is 28
not reasonably practicable for the chief executive to give the notice because 29
the child is placed in the person's care for less than 7 days. 30
s 84 56 s 86
Child Protection
executive to provide contact between child and child's parents 1
Chief
84.(1) The chief executive must provide opportunity for contact between 2
the child and the child's parents and appropriate members of the child's 3
family as often as is appropriate in the circumstances. 4
(2) However, the chief executive may refuse to allow, or restrict or 5
impose conditions on, contact between the child and the child's parents or 6
members of the child's family, if the chief executive is satisfied it is in the 7
child's best interests to do so or it is not reasonably practicable in the 8
circumstances for the parents or family member to have the contact. 9
(3) If the chief executive refuses to allow, or restricts or imposes 10
conditions on contact between the child and a person, the chief executive 11
must give written notice of the decision to each person affected by the 12
decision. 13
(4) The notice must-- 14
(a) be given as soon as practicable after the decision is made; and 15
(b) state the reasons for the decision; and 16
(c) state that the person may appeal to a tribunal against the decision 17
within 28 days after the person receives the notice; and 18
(d) state how to appeal. 19
executive to regularly review arrangements for child's protection 20
Chief
85.(1) This section applies if the order granting custody or guardianship 21
of the child to the chief executive is a child protection order. 22
(2) The chief executive must review the arrangements in place for the 23
child's protection to ensure the arrangements are in the child's best interests. 24
(3) The reviews must be conducted at least every 6 months. 25
from carer's care 26
Removal
86. The chief executive may decide to remove the child from the care of 27
the child's carer if the chief executive is satisfied it is in the child's best 28
interests. 29
s 87 57 s 88
Child Protection
of removal from care 1
Notice
87.(1) This section applies if the order granting custody or guardianship 2
of the child is a child protection order. 3
(2) As soon as practicable after making the decision to remove the child 4
from the care of the child's carer, the chief executive must give written 5
notice of the decision to the carer and the child unless-- 6
(a) the child is placed in the carer's care for less than 7 days; or 7
(b) if the child is in the care of an approved care provider--the child 8
is removed under a provision of the agreement under section 81 9
relating to the duration of the child's care. 10
(3) The notice to the carer must state the following-- 11
(a) the reasons for the decision; 12
(b) if, under section 88, the carer is entitled to appeal against the 13
decision-- 14
(i) that the carer may appeal to a tribunal against the decision; 15
and 16
(ii) the appeal must be made within 28 days after the carer 17
receives the notice; and 18
(iii) how to appeal. 19
(4) The notice to the child must state-- 20
(a) the reasons for the decision; and 21
(b) that the child may appeal to a tribunal against the decision; and 22
(c) the appeal must be made within 28 days after the child receives 23
the notice; 24
(d) how to appeal. 25
carers entitled to appeal against removal from carer's care 26
Child
88. The child's carer is entitled to appeal against the decision to remove 27
the child from the carer's care if-- 28
(a) the carer is a relative of the child or was regarded by the child as a 29
member of the child's family before the child was placed in the 30
s 89 58 s 90
Child Protection
carer's care; or 1
(b) the carer is an approved care provider and-- 2
(i) the child protection order for the child grants the chief 3
executive long-term guardianship of the child; or 4
(ii) the stated reason for the decision is the carer is no longer a 5
suitable person to have the care of the child or the carer is no 6
longer able to meet the standards of care in the statement of 7
standards for the child. 8
Division 5--Property of child 9
of div 5 10
Application
89. This division applies if, under a child protection order, the chief 11
executive is granted custody or guardianship of a child. 12
of child's property by public trustee 13
Management
90.(1) This section applies if-- 14
(a) the child has an entitlement to property; and 15
(b) the chief executive has powers and duties in relation to the 16
property; and 17
(c) the chief executive is satisfied it is in the child's best interests for 18
the public trustee to manage the property. 19
(2) The chief executive may give written notice to the public trustee 20
requiring the public trustee to manage the property for the child. 21
(3) On receipt of the notice, the public trustee becomes the manager of 22
the property and has the powers and duties in relation to it under the Public 23
Trustee Act 1978, part 6,22 as if the child were an incapacitated person. 24
22 Public Trustee Act 1978, part 6 (Management of estates of incapacitated
persons)
s 91 59 s 92
Child Protection
of trust by public trustee 1
Audit
91.(1) This section applies if the child is a beneficiary under a trust. 2
(2) For the Public Trustee Act 1978, section 60,23 the chief executive is a 3
person interested in the trust. 4
PART 7--GENERAL 5
about person's criminal history etc. 6
Report
92.(1) This section applies if-- 7
(a) the chief executive intends to give a report or make a 8
recommendation to the Childrens Court, or is asked or required 9
by the court to give a report or make a recommendation to the 10
court, about-- 11
(i) a child's parents; or 12
(ii) a person to whom the court is considering granting custody 13
or guardianship of a child; or 14
(b) the chief executive proposes to place a child who is in the chief 15
executive's custody or guardianship in the care of a person, other 16
than an approved care provider, who has agreed to be the child's 17
carer (the "proposed carer"). 18
(2) For ensuring the chief executive or court has all relevant information 19
the chief executive or court needs for assessing the suitability of a person to 20
have the custody, guardianship or care of a child who is found to be a child 21
in need of protection, the chief executive may ask-- 22
(a) the commissioner of the police service to give the chief executive 23
a written report about the criminal history and domestic violence 24
history of-- 25
(i) the parents, person to whom the court is considering 26
granting custody or guardianship or an adult member of the 27
23 Public Trustee Act 1978, section 60 (Public trustee may direct audit of trusts)
s 92 60 s 92
Child Protection
parents' or person's household; or 1
(ii) the proposed carer or an adult member of the proposed 2
carer's household; and 3
(b) the chief executive for transport to give the chief executive a 4
written report about the traffic history of the parents, person to 5
whom the court is considering granting custody or guardianship 6
of the child or proposed carer. 7
(3) The commissioner of the police service or chief executive for 8
transport must comply with the request. 9
(4) Subsection (2)(a) applies to the criminal history or domestic violence 10
history in the commissioner's possession or to which the commissioner 11
has access. 12
(5) Subsection (3) applies despite the Traffic Act 1949, section 14A.24 13
(6) Subsection (7) applies to a person in relation to whom the 14
commissioner of the police service must give a report mentioned in 15
subsection (2). 16
(7) Also, the commissioner may give the chief executive a copy of, or 17
extract from, the commissioner's records in relation to-- 18
(a) the commission or alleged commission of the following offences 19
by the person-- 20
(i) a personal offence against anyone; 21
(ii) an offence against the Drugs Misuse Act 1986; 22
(iii) an offence against section 161, 162, 163, 164 or 165;25 or 23
(b) an application for a protection order under the Domestic Violence 24
(Family Protection) Act 1989 in which the person is an aggrieved 25
or respondent spouse under that Act. 26
24 Traffic Act 1949, section 14A (Release of driver licence and traffic history)
25 Section 161 (Offence to remove child from carer), 162 (Offence to remove child
from custody or guardianship), 163 (Offence to refuse contact with child in
custody or guardianship), 164 (Offence for person to take child out of State) or
165 (Offence not to comply with certain orders)
s 93 61 s 94
Child Protection
meetings 1
Family
93.(1) This section applies if-- 2
(a) the chief executive is satisfied a child is a child in need of 3
protection and action should be taken to ensure the child's 4
protection; or 5
(b) the Childrens Court orders a family meeting be convened. 6
(2) An authorised officer must-- 7
(a) take reasonable steps to convene a meeting with the child's 8
parents and, if the officer considers it is in the child's best 9
interests, the child and other family members, to provide an 10
opportunity for decisions to be made to ensure, or contribute 11
towards ensuring, the child's protection; and 12
(b) give the child's parents a written statement of the reasons the 13
chief executive considers the child is a child in need of protection; 14
and 15
(c) tell the child why the officer considers the child is a child in need 16
of protection.26 17
(3) If the child is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, a member 18
of the recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander agency for the child 19
may also attend the meeting. 20
(4) The officer must record in writing the decisions made at the meeting 21
about the child's protection and, as soon as practicable after the meeting, 22
give a copy of the record to the child's parents, the child and anyone else the 23
officer considers appropriate. 24
(5) If the meeting is convened under a court order, the officer must file 25
the record in the court. 26
out medical examinations or treatment 27
Carrying
94.(1) This section applies if-- 28
(a) an authorised officer or police officer-- 29
26 Section 189 deals with compliance with provisions about giving information.
s 95 62 s 95
Child Protection
(i) takes a child into the chief executive's custody; and 1
(ii) seeks medical examination of, or treatment for, the child;27 2
or 3
(b) an order for a child authorises the child's medical examination or 4
treatment.28 5
(2) A doctor may medically examine or treat the child. 6
(3) Subsection (2) applies even though the child's parents have not 7
consented to the examination or treatment. 8
(4) However, subsection (2) is subject to the rights the child has in 9
relation to the examination or treatment. 10
(5) Also, the doctor may only carry out medical treatment that is 11
reasonable in the circumstances. 12
(6) If this section applies because of subsection (1)(a), the doctor must 13
give the chief executive or commissioner of the police service a report about 14
the medical examination or treatment. 15
(7) For the purpose of deciding any liability in relation to the carrying out 16
of the examination or treatment, the doctor is taken to have the consent of 17
the child's parents to the examination or treatment. 18
out social assessments 19
Carrying
95.(1) If, on an application for a child protection order, the Childrens 20
Court makes an order requiring a social assessment of the child and the 21
child's family, an appropriately qualified practitioner may carry out the 22
social assessment.29 23
(2) The practitioner does not incur liability for an act or omission done or 24
27 Under section 18(6), an authorised officer or police officer may arrange for a
child's medical examination or treatment.
28 Under section 28(1)(b) a temporary assessment order may authorise the medical
examination or treatment of the child. Also, under section 44(1)(b) a court
assessment order may authorise the medical examination or treatment of the
child.
29 See section 65(1)(a) (Court's other powers on adjournment of proceedings for
child protection orders).
s 96 63 s 98
Child Protection
omitted to be done honestly and without negligence in carrying out the 1
social assessment. 2
executive's custody or guardianship of child continues pending 3
Chief
decision on application for order 4
96.(1) This section applies if a child is in the chief executive's custody or 5
guardianship under an order and before the order ends an application is 6
made for the extension or variation of the order or for another order. 7
(2) The custody or guardianship continues until the application is decided 8
unless the Childrens Court orders an earlier end to the custody or 9
guardianship. 10
CHAPTER 3--CHILDRENS COURT 11
PROCEEDINGS 12
PART 1--PRELIMINARY 13
of ch 3 14
Application
97. This chapter applies to a proceeding under this Act. 15
for ch 3 16
Definition
98. In this chapter-- 17
"order" means a court assessment order or child protection order. 18
s 99 64 s 100
Child Protection
PART 2--JURISDICTION 1
jurisdiction and constitution 2
Court's
99.(1) The Childrens Court must be constituted by a judge when 3
exercising its jurisdiction to hear appeals against decisions of the court 4
constituted in another way. 5
(2) The Childrens Court must be constituted by a judge or magistrate 6
when exercising its jurisdiction to decide applications for child protection 7
orders. 8
(3) The Childrens Court must be constituted by a judge or magistrate or 9
2 justices of the peace (magistrates court) when exercising its jurisdiction 10
to-- 11
(a) decide applications for court assessment orders; or 12
(b) make interim orders on applications for court assessment orders 13
or child protection orders or adjourn the hearing of the 14
applications.30 15
(4) Subsection (3) has effect despite the Justices of the Peace and 16
Commissioners for Declaration Act 1991, section 29(4).31 17
jurisdiction unaffected by pending criminal proceeding 18
Court's
100.(1) The Childrens Court's jurisdiction is not affected merely because 19
a criminal proceeding is pending against-- 20
(a) the child concerned; or 21
(b) a parent of the child; or 22
(c) another party to the proceeding in the court; or 23
30 Under the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 24AA, the court has power to
amend or repeal an instrument or decision it is authorised or required to make.
The power is exercisable in the same way, and subject to the same conditions,
as the power to make the instrument or decision.
31 Under the Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Declarations Act 1991,
section 29(4), the exercise of powers of justices of the peace (magistrates court)
constituting a court are limited unless expressly provided in the Act conferring
powers on the justices.
s 101 65 s 103
Child Protection
(d) anyone else. 1
(2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not the criminal proceeding has 2
arisen out of the same or similar facts as those out of which the proceeding 3
in the court has arisen. 4
PART 3--PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS 5
1--Court's procedures 6
Division
paramount consideration 7
Court's
101. In exercising its jurisdiction or powers, the Childrens Court must 8
regard the welfare and best interests of the child as paramount. 9
10
Evidence
102.(1) In a proceeding, the Childrens Court is not bound by the rules of 11
evidence, but may inform itself in any way it thinks appropriate. 12
(2) If, on an application for an order, the Childrens Court is to be 13
satisfied of a matter, the court need only be satisfied of the matter on the 14
balance of probabilities. 15
to ensure parties understand proceeding 16
Court
103.(1) In a proceeding for a child, the Childrens Court must, as far as 17
practicable, ensure the child's parents and other parties to the proceeding 18
(including the child if present) understand the nature, purpose and legal 19
implications of the proceeding and of any order or ruling made by the court. 20
(2) If the child, parent of a child or other party to a proceeding has a 21
difficulty communicating in English or a disability that prevents him or her 22
from understanding or taking part in the proceeding, the Childrens Court 23
must not hear the proceeding without an interpreter to translate things said 24
in the proceeding or a person to facilitate his or her taking part in the 25
proceeding. 26
s 104 66 s 107
Child Protection
help 1
Expert
104.(1) In a proceeding on an application for an order, the Childrens 2
Court may appoint a person having a special knowledge or skill to help the 3
court. 4
(2) The court may act under subsection (1) on the court's own initiative 5
or on the application of a party to the proceeding. 6
2--Right of appearance and representation at hearing 7
Division
of appearance and representation 8
Right
105.(1) In a proceeding on an application for an order for a child, the 9
child, the child's parents and the other parties may appear in person or be 10
represented by a lawyer. 11
(2) Also, if the child's parents are for any reason can not appear in 12
person, another person appointed in writing by the parents may, with the 13
leave of the court, present their views and wishes. 14
representation of child's parents 15
Legal
106.(1) If, in a proceeding on an application for an order for a child, a 16
parent of the child appears in the Childrens Court but is not represented by a 17
lawyer, the court may continue with the proceeding only if it is satisfied the 18
parent has had reasonable opportunity to obtain legal representation. 19
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the court exercising powers under 20
chapter 2, part 5, division 1.32 21
legal representation of child 22
Separate
107.(1) If, in a proceeding on an application for an order for a child, the 23
Childrens Court considers it is necessary in the child's best interests for the 24
child to be separately represented by a lawyer, the court may-- 25
32 Chapter 2 (Protection of children), part 5 (Adjournments of proceedings and
court ordered conferences), division 1 (Adjournments of proceedings)
s 108 67 s 109
Child Protection
(a) order that the child be separately represented by a lawyer; and 1
(b) make the other orders it considers necessary to secure the child's 2
separate legal representation. 3
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the court must consider making 4
orders about the child's separate legal representation if-- 5
(a) the application for the order is contested by the child's parents; or 6
(b) the child opposes the application. 7
(3) The lawyer must-- 8
(a) act in the child's best interests regardless of any instructions from 9
the child; and 10
(b) as far as possible, present the child's views and wishes to the 11
court. 12
representation of more than 1 child 13
Legal
108.(1) A lawyer may represent more than 1 child in the same 14
proceeding. 15
(2) However, if the court considers a lawyer should not represent more 16
than 1 child because of a conflict of interest, or a possible conflict of 17
interest, the court may order that a child be represented by another lawyer. 18
can not be compelled to give evidence 19
Child
109.(1) In a proceeding on an application for an order for a child, the 20
child may only be called to give evidence with the leave of the Childrens 21
Court. 22
(2) The court may grant leave only if the child-- 23
(a) is at least 12 years; and 24
(b) is represented by a lawyer; and 25
(c) agrees to give evidence. 26
(3) If the child gives evidence, he or she may be cross examined only 27
with the leave of the court. 28
s 110 68 s 113
Child Protection
may hear submissions from non-parties to proceeding 1
Court
110.(1) In a proceeding on an application for an order for a child, the 2
Childrens Court may hear submissions from the following persons-- 3
(a) a member of the child's family; 4
(b) anyone else the court considers is able to inform it on any matter 5
relevant to the proceeding. 6
(2) A submission may be made by a person's lawyer. 7
3--General 8
Division
of proceedings 9
Transfer
111.(1) If a magistrate constituting the Childrens Court is of the opinion 10
a proceeding before the magistrate should be heard by the court constituted 11
by a magistrate at another place, the magistrate may order that the 12
proceeding be transferred to the court constituted by a magistrate at the other 13
place. 14
(2) A magistrate may act under subsection (1) on the magistrate's own 15
initiative or on the application of a party to the proceeding. 16
of applications together 17
Hearing
112.(1) The Childrens Court may hear 2 or more applications for orders 18
together if, before any of the applications are decided, a party to the 19
proceeding for any of the applications asks that the applications be heard 20
together and the court considers it is in the interests of justice that the 21
applications be heard together. 22
(2) Subsection (1) applies even though the parties, or all of the parties, to 23
the proceedings are not the same. 24
osts 25
C
113. The parties to a proceeding in the Childrens Court for an order must 26
pay their own costs of the proceeding. 27
s 114 69 s 116
Child Protection
PART 4--COURT APPEALS 1
may appeal 2
Who
114.(1) The following persons may appeal to the appellate court against a 3
decision on an application for a temporary assessment order for a child-- 4
(a) the applicant; 5
(b) the child; 6
(c) the child's parents. 7
(2) A party to the proceeding for an application for a court assessment 8
order or child protection order for a child may appeal to the appellate court 9
against a decision on the application. 10
to start appeal 11
How
115.(1) The appeal is started by filing a written notice of appeal with the 12
registrar of the appellate court. 13
(2) The registrar must give the decision-maker a copy of the notice. 14
(3) The appellant must serve a copy of the notice on the other persons 15
entitled to appeal against the decision. 16
(4) The notice of appeal must be filed within 28 days after the decision is 17
made. 18
(5) The court may at any time extend the period for filing the notice of 19
appeal. 20
(6) The notice of appeal must state fully the grounds of the appeal and the 21
facts relied on. 22
of operation of decisions 23
Stay
116.(1) The appellate court may stay a decision appealed against to 24
secure the effectiveness of the appeal. 25
(2) A stay-- 26
(a) may be given on the reasonable conditions the court considers 27
appropriate; and 28
s 117 70 s 119
Child Protection
(b) operates for the period fixed by the court; and 1
(c) may be revoked or amended by the court. 2
(3) However, the period of a stay must not extend past the time when the 3
court decides the appeal. 4
(4) An appeal against a decision affects the decision, or carrying out of 5
the decision, only if the decision is stayed. 6
procedures 7
Hearing
117.(1) An appeal against a decision of a magistrate on an application for 8
a temporary assessment order is not restricted to the material before the 9
magistrate. 10
(2) An appeal against another decision must be decided on the evidence 11
and proceedings before the Childrens Court. 12
(3) However, the appellate court may order that the appeal be heard 13
afresh, in whole or part. 14
of appellate court 15
Powers
118. In deciding an appeal, the appellate court may-- 16
(a) confirm the decision appealed against; or 17
(b) vary the decision appealed against; or 18
(c) set aside the decision and substitute another decision. 19
HAPTER 4--INTERSTATE TRANSFERS OF 20
C
GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY OF CHILDREN 21
of "parent" in ch 4 22
Meaning
119. In this chapter-- 23
"parent", of a child, means the person who would be the child's guardian 24
if an order or interstate order was not in force for the child. 25
s 120 71 s 121
Child Protection
from other States 1
Transfers
120.(1) This section applies if-- 2
(a) an interstate welfare authority has custody or guardianship of a 3
child under an interstate order; and 4
(b) the child has entered, or is about to enter, Queensland; and 5
(c) the authority asks the chief executive to make a declaration under 6
this section. 7
(2) The chief executive may, by written declaration, assume custody or 8
guardianship of the child-- 9
(a) if the interstate order is effective for less than 2 years--for not 10
more than the remainder of the period stated in it; or 11
(b) if the interstate order is effective for 2 years or more but is not 12
effective until the child turns 18 years--for the lesser of-- 13
(i) the remainder of the period stated in it; or 14
(ii) 2 years; or 15
(c) if the interstate order is effective until the child turns 16
18 years--until the child turns 18 years. 17
(3) On the making of the declaration, the interstate order is taken to be a 18
child protection order under the terms stated in the declaration. 19
(4) For subsection (3), the chief executive may declare the interstate order 20
applies to the chief executive's custody or guardianship to and only to the 21
stated extent, or with the stated changes necessary, to make it consistent 22
with this Act. 23
of declaration 24
Notice
121. As soon as practicable after making the declaration about assuming 25
the custody or guardianship of a child, the chief executive must-- 26
(a) give a copy of the declaration to the child and the child's parents; 27
and 28
(b) explain the terms and effects of the declaration to them. 29
s 122 72 s 122
Child Protection
to other States 1
Transfer
122.(1) The chief executive may arrange for an interstate welfare 2
authority to assume the custody or guardianship of a child who is under the 3
chief executive's custody or guardianship under this Act. 4
(2) Before making the arrangement, the chief executive must give written 5
notice of the arrangement to-- 6
(a) the child and the child's parents; and 7
(b) if the child has a carer--the carer. 8
(3) The notice must state the following-- 9
(a) the grounds for the arrangement; 10
(b) the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the grounds; 11
(c) that the child, child's parents and, if applicable, the carer, may 12
make, within a stated period of at least 14 days, written 13
submissions to the chief executive about why the arrangement 14
should not be made. 15
(4) If, after considering all written submissions made within the stated 16
time, the chief executive still considers grounds exist to make the 17
arrangement, the chief executive may make the arrangement. 18
(5) The arrangement can not take effect until-- 19
(a) the end of the time to appeal against the decision to make the 20
arrangement; or 21
(b) if an appeal is made against the decision--the appeal is decided. 22
(6) The chief executive must give written notice of the chief executive's 23
decision to the child, the child's parents and, if applicable, the carer. 24
(7) The notice must-- 25
(a) be given as soon as practicable after the decision is made; and 26
(b) state the reasons for the decision; and 27
(c) state that the child, child's parents and, if applicable, the carer may 28
appeal to a tribunal against the decision to make the arrangement 29
within 28 days after the notice is received. 30
s 123 73 s 123
Child Protection
HAPTER 5--REGULATION OF CARE 1
C
ART 1--STANDARDS OF CARE 2
P
of standards 3
Statement
123.(1) The chief executive must take reasonable steps to ensure a child 4
who, for the purposes of this Act, is placed in the care of an approved care 5
provider, licensed care service or departmental care service, is cared for in a 6
way that meets the following standards (the "statement of standards")-- 7
(a) the child's dignity and rights will be respected at all times; 8
(b) the child's needs for physical care will be met, including adequate 9
food, clothing and shelter; 10
(c) the child will receive emotional care that allows him or her to 11
experience being cared about and valued and that contributes to 12
the child's positive self-regard; 13
(d) the child's needs relating to his or her culture and ethnic grouping 14
will be met; 15
(e) the child's material needs relating to his or her schooling, physical 16
and mental stimulation, recreation and general living will be met; 17
(f) the child will receive education, training or employment 18
opportunities relevant to the child's age and ability; 19
(g) the child will receive positive guidance when necessary to help 20
him or her to change inappropriate behaviour; 21
(h) the child will receive dental, medical and therapeutic services 22
necessary to meet his or her needs; 23
(i) the child will be given the opportunity to participate in positive 24
social and recreational activities appropriate to his or her 25
developmental level and age; 26
(j) the child will be encouraged to maintain family and other 27
significant personal relationships; 28
(k) if the child has a disability--the child will receive care and help 29
appropriate to the child's special needs. 30
s 124 74 s 125
Child Protection
(2) For subsection (1)(g), techniques for managing the child's behaviour 1
must not include corporal punishment or punishment that humiliates, 2
frightens or threatens the child in a way that is likely to cause emotional 3
harm. 4
(3) For subsection (1)(j), if the chief executive has custody or 5
guardianship of the child, the child's carer must act in accordance with the 6
chief executive's reasonable directions. 7
(4) The application of the standards to the child's care must take into 8
account what is reasonable having regard to-- 9
(a) the length of time the child is in the care of the carer or care 10
service; and 11
(b) the child's age and development. 12
ART 2--LICENSING OF CARE SERVICES AND 13
P
APPROVAL OF CARE PROVIDERS 14
1--Preliminary 15
Division
of pt 2 16
Purpose
124. The purpose of this part is to provide a system of licensing services, 17
and approving individuals, to provide care for children to enable the chief 18
executive to ensure the care of children in the chief executive's custody or 19
guardianship meets the standards of care in the statement of standards. 20
Division 2--Licensing of care services 21
can not hold licences 22
Individuals
125. An individual is not eligible to hold a licence. 23
s 126 75 s 128
Child Protection
for, or renewal of, licence 1
Application
126.(1) An application for, or renewal of, a licence to provide care 2
services must-- 3
(a) be made by a corporation; and 4
(b) be made to the chief executive in the approved form; and 5
(c) nominate an adult to be nominee for the licence; and 6
(d) if the application is for renewal of a licence--be made at least 7
30 days before the licence ends. 8
(2) The application form approved by the chief executive may require the 9
disclosure of the criminal history, domestic violence history and traffic 10
history of a person to whom section 143 applies.33 11
on granting application 12
Restrictions
127. The chief executive must not grant the application unless the chief 13
executive is satisfied-- 14
(a) the applicant is a suitable entity to provide care services; and 15
(b) the persons who will be responsible for directly managing the 16
service are suitable persons; and 17
(c) the standard of care provided or to be provided complies or will 18
comply with the statement of standards; and 19
(d) methods for the selection, training and management of people 20
engaged in providing the services are suitable. 21
of application 22
Grant
128.(1) If the chief executive decides to grant the application, the chief 23
executive must issue and give to the applicant a licence. 24
(2) The licence must state the licensed premises. 25
(3) The licence may be issued subject to the reasonable conditions the 26
chief executive considers appropriate. 27
33 Section 143 (Inquiries about certain persons' suitability)
s 129 76 s 132
Child Protection
of licence 1
Duration
129. The licence or its renewal has effect for 3 years. 2
of application 3
Refusal
130.(1) If the chief executive decides to refuse the application, the chief 4
executive must give written notice of the decision to the applicant. 5
(2) The notice must-- 6
(a) be given within 10 days after the decision is made; and 7
(b) state the reasons for the decision; and 8
(c) state that the person may appeal to a tribunal against the decision 9
within 28 days after the notice is received; and 10
(d) state how to appeal. 11
12
Nominees
131.(1) The nominee for a licence is responsible for ensuring-- 13
(a) the standard of care provided by the service complies with the 14
statement of standards; and 15
(b) the persons engaged in the direct care of children for the service 16
are suitable persons. 17
(2) An adult may be a nominee for more than 1 licence. 18
Division 3--Approval of care providers 19
individuals may hold certificates of approval 20
Only
132.(1) Only an individual is eligible to hold a certificate of approval as 21
an approved care provider. 22
(2) Two or more individuals may hold a certificate jointly. 23
(3) A person living with another person as husband and wife on a 24
genuine domestic basis may only hold a certificate jointly with the other 25
person. 26
s 133 77 s 135
Child Protection
for approval or renewal of approval 1
Application
133.(1) An application for, or renewal of, a certificate of approval as an 2
approved care provider-- 3
(a) must be made to the chief executive in the approved form; and 4
(b) if the application is for renewal of a certificate of approval--must 5
be made at least 30 days before the certificate ends. 6
(2) The application form approved by the chief executive may require the 7
disclosure of the criminal history, domestic violence history and traffic 8
history of a person to whom section 143 applies.34 9
on granting application 10
Restrictions
134. The chief executive must not grant the application unless the chief 11
executive is satisfied the applicant-- 12
(a) is a suitable person to be an approved care provider, and all 13
members of the applicant's household are suitable persons to 14
associate on a daily basis with children; and 15
(b) is able to meet the standards of care in the statement of standards; 16
and 17
(c) is able to help in appropriate ways towards achieving plans for the 18
child's protection. 19
of application 20
Grant
135.(1) If the chief executive decides to grant the application, the chief 21
executive must issue and give to the applicant a certificate of approval as an 22
approved care provider. 23
(2) The certificate must state the type of care approved to be provided. 24
(3) The certificate may be issued subject to the reasonable conditions the 25
chief executive considers appropriate. 26
34 Section 143 (Inquiries about certain persons' suitability)
s 136 78 s 138
Child Protection
of approval 1
Duration
136. The certificate of approval has effect for-- 2
(a) 1 year for an initial certificate; or 3
(b) 2 years for the renewal of a certificate. 4
of application 5
Refusal
137.(1) If the chief executive decides to refuse the application, the chief 6
executive must give written notice of the decision to the applicant. 7
(2) The notice must-- 8
(a) be given within 10 days after the decision is made; and 9
(b) state the reasons for the decision; and 10
(c) state that the person may appeal to a tribunal against the decision 11
within 28 days after the notice is given; and 12
(d) state how to appeal. 13
4--Amendment, suspension and cancellation of authorities 14
Division
of authority on application of holder 15
Amendment
138.(1) The holder of an authority may apply to the chief executive for an 16
amendment of the authority. 17
(2) The chief executive must consider the application and decide whether 18
to grant or refuse it within 28 days after receiving it. 19
(3) If the chief executive is satisfied the amendment is necessary or 20
desirable, the chief executive must grant the application. 21
(4) If the chief executive is not satisfied the amendment is necessary or 22
desirable, the chief executive must-- 23
(a) refuse the application; and 24
(b) give written notice to the applicant of the decision. 25
(5) The notice must-- 26
s 139 79 s 139
Child Protection
(a) be given within 10 days after the chief executive decides to refuse 1
the application; and 2
(b) state the reasons for the decision; and 3
(c) state that the applicant may appeal to a tribunal against the 4
decision within 28 days after the notice is received; and 5
(d) state how to appeal. 6
of authority by the chief executive 7
Amendment
139.(1) The chief executive may amend an authority at any time if-- 8
(a) the holder agrees to the amendment; or 9
(b) the chief executive considers it is necessary or desirable 10
because-- 11
(i) the holder is not meeting the standards required under the 12
authority or a condition of the authority; or 13
(ii) the holder has contravened a provision of this Act; or 14
(iii) the authority was issued because of a materially false or 15
misleading representation or declaration (made either orally 16
or in writing); or 17
(iv) of another circumstance prescribed under a regulation. 18
(2) If the chief executive considers it necessary or desirable to amend an 19
authority under subsection (1)(b), the chief executive must give the holder a 20
written notice under this section. 21
(3) The notice must state the following-- 22
(a) the proposed amendment and the grounds for the amendment; 23
(b) the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the grounds; 24
(c) that the holder may make written representations to the chief 25
executive to show why the authority should not be amended; 26
(d) the term, at least 28 days after the notice is given to the holder, 27
within which the representations may be made. 28
(4) After the end of the term stated in the notice, the chief executive must 29
consider the representations properly made by the holder. 30
s 140 80 s 141
Child Protection
(5) If the chief executive is satisfied the amendment is necessary or 1
desirable, the chief executive must give written notice to the holder of the 2
decision. 3
(6) The notice must-- 4
(a) be given within 10 days after the decision is made; and 5
(b) state the reasons for the decision; and 6
(c) state that the holder may appeal to a tribunal against the decision 7
within 28 days after the notice is received; and 8
(d) state how to appeal. 9
(7) If the chief executive is not satisfied the amendment is necessary or 10
desirable, the chief executive must, as soon as practicable, give written 11
notice to the holder of the decision. 12
may be suspended or cancelled 13
Authority
140. The chief executive may suspend or cancel an authority on the 14
following grounds-- 15
(a) the holder is not meeting the standards required under the 16
authority or another condition of the authority; 17
(b) the holder has contravened a provision of this Act; 18
(c) the authority was issued because of a materially false or 19
misleading representation or declaration (made either orally or in 20
writing); 21
(d) it is inappropriate for the holder to continue to hold the authority 22
because of a circumstance prescribed under a regulation. 23
for suspension or cancellation 24
Procedure
141.(1) If the chief executive considers a ground exists to suspend or 25
cancel the authority (the "proposed action"), the chief executive must give 26
the holder written notice that states the following-- 27
(a) the proposed action; 28
(b) the grounds for the proposed action; 29
s 142 81 s 142
Child Protection
(c) the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the grounds; 1
(d) if the proposed action is suspension of the authority, the proposed 2
suspension period; 3
(e) that the holder may make, within a stated time of at least 28 days, 4
written representations to show why the proposed action should 5
not be taken. 6
(2) If, after considering all written representations made within the stated 7
time, the chief executive still considers a ground to take the proposed action 8
exists, the chief executive may-- 9
(a) if the proposed action was to suspend the authority for a stated 10
period--suspend the authority for not longer than the proposed 11
suspension period; or 12
(b) if the proposed action was to cancel the authority--either cancel 13
the authority or suspend it for a period. 14
(3) The chief executive must inform the holder of the decision by written 15
notice. 16
(4) The notice must be given within 10 days after the chief executive 17
makes the decision. 18
(5) If the chief executive decides to suspend or cancel the authority, the 19
notice must state-- 20
(a) the reasons for the decision; and 21
(b) that the holder may appeal to a tribunal against the decision within 22
28 days after the notice is received; and 23
(c) how to appeal. 24
(6) The chief executive must record particulars of the suspension or 25
cancellation on the authority. 26
suspension and cancellation of authorities 27
Amendment,
142.(1) This section applies if the chief executive-- 28
(a) grants an application to amend an authority or decides to amend 29
an authority; or 30
(b) decides to suspend or cancel an authority. 31
s 143 82 s 143
Child Protection
(2) The holder of the authority must, on receipt of written notice by the 1
chief executive, give the authority to the chief executive within the period, 2
not less than 7 days, stated in the notice. 3
(3) If a suspended authority is returned to the chief executive, the chief 4
executive must return it to the holder at the end of the suspension. 5
(4) A suspension or cancellation takes effect on the later of-- 6
(a) the day on which the notice is given; or 7
(b) if a later day is stated in the notice--the later day. 8
(5) If an authority is returned to the chief executive for amendment, the 9
chief executive must-- 10
(a) cancel the existing authority; and 11
(b) issue and give to the holder a new authority containing the 12
amendment; and 13
(c) give the holder written notice stating-- 14
(i) the old authority has been cancelled; and 15
(ii) the way in which the new authority is different from the old 16
authority. 17
(6) The new authority-- 18
(a) takes effect on the later of-- 19
(i) the day on which the notice is given to the holder; or 20
(ii) if a later day is stated in the notice--the later day; and 21
(b) has effect for the remainder of the term of the old authority. 22
(7) In this section-- 23
"holder", of an authority, includes a former holder of an authority. 24
5--General 25
Division
about certain persons' suitability 26
Inquiries
143.(1) This section applies-- 27
s 143 83 s 143
Child Protection
(a) for a licence-- 1
(i) to the person who will be or is responsible for directly 2
managing the service under the licence; and 3
(ii) to anyone else directly engaged in the care of children for the 4
service; and 5
(b) for a certificate of approval-- 6
(i) to an applicant for, or holder of, the certificate; and 7
(ii) to another adult member of the household of an applicant 8
for, or holder of, the certificate. 9
(2) Without limiting the matters to which the chief executive may have 10
regard in considering the suitability of a person to which this section 11
applies, the chief executive may-- 12
(a) ask the commissioner of the police service for a written report 13
about the person's criminal history and domestic violence history; 14
and 15
(b) ask the chief executive for transport for a written report about the 16
person's traffic history. 17
(3) If asked by the chief executive-- 18
(a) the commissioner of the police service must give the chief 19
executive a written report about the person's criminal history and 20
domestic violence history; and 21
(b) the chief executive for transport must give the chief executive a 22
written report about the person's traffic history. 23
(4) Subsection (3)(a) applies to the criminal history or domestic violence 24
history in the commissioner's possession or to which the commissioner 25
has access. 26
(5) Subsection (3)(b) applies despite the Traffic Act 1949, section 14A.35 27
35 Traffic Act 1949, section 14A (Release of driver licence and traffic history)
s 144 84 s 147
Child Protection
to decide applications taken to be refusal 1
Failure
144. If the chief executive fails to decide an application under this chapter 2
within 90 days after it is properly made-- 3
(a) the chief executive is taken to have decided to refuse the 4
application; and 5
(b) the applicant is taken to have received notice of the decision at the 6
end of the time. 7
to contravene condition of licence or approval 8
Offence
145. A licensee, or holder of a certificate of approval, must not 9
contravene a condition of the licence or approval. 10
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 11
officer may require production of licence, approval etc. 12
Authorised
146.(1) An authorised officer may-- 13
(a) require a licensee or holder of a certificate of approval to produce 14
to the officer-- 15
(i) the person's licence or certificate of approval; or 16
(ii) a document required to be kept by the person under this Act; 17
and 18
(b) inspect, take extracts from, make copies of or keep a document 19
produced to the officer under paragraph (a). 20
(2) An authorised officer-- 21
(a) may keep a document under subsection (1)(b) only to take copies 22
of it; and 23
(b) must, as soon as practicable after taking the copies, return it to the 24
person who produced it. 25
officer may enter and inspect licensed premises 26
Authorised
147.(1) An authorised officer may, at any reasonable time, enter and 27
inspect licensed premises to ensure this Act is being complied with. 28
s 148 85 s 149
Child Protection
(2) The officer may be accompanied by a police officer and may talk to 1
anyone involved in providing the care service. 2
CHAPTER 6--ADMINISTRATION 3
PART 1--AUTHORISED OFFICERS 4
5
Appointment
148.(1) The chief executive may appoint any of the following persons to 6
be an authorised officer-- 7
(a) an officer or employee of the department; 8
(b) a person included in a class of persons declared by regulation to 9
be eligible for appointment as an authorised officer. 10
(2) However, the chief executive may appoint a person to be an 11
authorised officer only if-- 12
(a) in the chief executive's opinion, the person has the necessary 13
expertise or experience to be an authorised officer; or 14
(b) the person has satisfactorily finished training approved by the 15
chief executive. 16
of powers 17
Limitation
149.(1) The powers of an authorised officer may be limited-- 18
(a) under a regulation; or 19
(b) under a condition of appointment; or 20
(c) by written notice of the chief executive given to the officer. 21
(2) Notice under subsection (1)(c) may be given orally, but must be 22
confirmed in writing as soon as practicable after it is given. 23
s 150 86 s 152
Child Protection
of appointment 1
Conditions
150.(1) An authorised officer holds office on the conditions stated in the 2
officer's instrument of appointment. 3
(2) An authorised officer-- 4
(a) if the appointment provides for a term of appointment--ceases 5
holding office at the end of the term; and 6
(b) may resign by signed notice of resignation given to the chief 7
executive. 8
card 9
Identity
151.(1) The chief executive must give each authorised officer an identity 10
card. 11
(2) The identity card must-- 12
(a) contain a recent photograph of the officer; and 13
(b) be signed by the officer; and 14
(c) identify the person as an authorised officer under this Act; and 15
(d) include an expiry date. 16
(3) A person who ceases to be an authorised officer must return his or 17
her identity card to the chief executive within 21 days after the person ceases 18
to be an authorised officer, unless the person has a reasonable excuse for 19
not returning it. 20
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 21
(4) This section does not prevent the giving of a single identity card to a 22
person for this Act and other Acts. 23
of identity card 24
Production
152.(1) An authorised officer may exercise a power under this Act in 25
relation to someone else (the "other person") only if the officer first 26
produces his or her identity card for the other person's inspection. 27
(2) If, for any reason, it is not practicable to comply with subsection (1), 28
s 153 87 s 154
Child Protection
the officer must produce the identity card for the other person's inspection 1
at the first reasonable opportunity. 2
officer to give notice of damage 3
Authorised
153.(1) This section applies if an authorised officer damages property in 4
the exercise of a power under this Act. 5
(2) The authorised officer must immediately give written notice of the 6
particulars of the damage to the person who appears to the authorised 7
officer to be the property's owner. 8
(3) If the authorised officer believes the damage was caused by a latent 9
defect in the property or other circumstances beyond the authorised 10
person's control, the authorised officer may state this in the notice. 11
(4) If, for any reason, it is not practicable to comply with subsection (2), 12
the authorised officer must-- 13
(a) leave the notice at the place where the damage happened; and 14
(b) ensure the notice is left in a reasonably secured way in a 15
conspicuous position. 16
(5) This section does not apply to damage the authorised officer believes, 17
on reasonable grounds, is trivial. 18
19
Compensation
154.(1) A person may claim from the State the cost of repairing or 20
replacing property damaged in the exercise or purported exercise of a power 21
under this Act. 22
(2) The cost may be claimed and ordered to be paid in a proceeding-- 23
(a) brought in a court of competent jurisdiction for the recovery of 24
the amount claimed; or 25
(b) for an offence against this Act brought against the person 26
claiming the amount. 27
(3) A court may order an amount be paid only if it is satisfied it is just to 28
make the order in the circumstances of the particular case. 29
s 155 88 s 157
Child Protection
(4) A regulation may prescribe matters that may, or must, be taken into 1
account by the court when considering whether it is just to make the order. 2
PART 2--GENERAL 3
by chief executive 4
Delegation
155. The chief executive may delegate the chief executive's powers under 5
this Act to an appropriately qualified officer or employee of the department. 6
forms 7
Approved
156. The chief executive may approve forms for use under this Act. 8
9
Coordination
157.(1) Each service provider should take all reasonable steps to 10
coordinate decision-making and delivery of services to children and 11
families. 12
(2) The chief executive is responsible for-- 13
(a) ensuring ways exist to coordinate the roles and responsibilities of 14
service providers in promoting the protection of children and 15
child protection services; and 16
(b) establishing ways to coordinate the roles and responsibilities of 17
service providers to investigate particular cases of harm to 18
children and to take action to secure the protection of children. 19
(3) In this section-- 20
"service provider" means-- 21
(a) the chief executive of a department or an organisation involved in 22
the administration of this Act; or 23
(b) the chief executive of a department or an organisation involved in 24
providing services relating to the purpose of this Act. 25
s 158 89 s 160
Child Protection
for care and maintenance 1
Payments
158.(1) The chief executive may pay the allowance prescribed under a 2
regulation to a child's carer for the child's care and maintenance. 3
(2) Also, the chief executive may pay the amount decided by the chief 4
executive towards expenses incurred in the care and maintenance of a 5
person who has been a child in the custody or under the guardianship of the 6
chief executive to the person or the person's carer to help the person with 7
the transition from being a child in care to independence. 8
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) have effect subject to appropriation by 9
Parliament of an amount for the purposes. 10
HAPTER 7--ENFORCEMENT AND LEGAL 11
C
PROCEEDINGS 12
ART 1--OFFENCES 13
P
of authorised officer etc. 14
Obstruction
159.(1) A person must not obstruct an authorised officer or police officer 15
in the exercise of a power under this Act, unless the person has a reasonable 16
excuse. 17
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 18
(2) However, a child does not commit an offence against subsection (1) 19
merely because the child resists being taken into custody under this Act for 20
the child's protection. 21
of authorised officer 22
Impersonation
160. A person must not pretend to be an authorised officer. 23
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 24
s 161 90 s 163
Child Protection
to remove child from carer 1
Offence
161.(1) In this section-- 2
"child" means a child in the chief executive's custody or guardianship 3
under an assessment order or child protection order. 4
(2) A person must not unlawfully remove a child from the care of the 5
child's carer. 6
Maximum penalty--150 penalty units or 18 months imprisonment. 7
(3) A person must not keep a child who has been taken in contravention 8
of subsection (2). 9
Maximum penalty for subsection (3)--150 penalty units or 18 months 10
imprisonment. 11
to remove child from custody or guardianship 12
Offence
162.(1) A person must not unlawfully remove a child from the custody 13
or guardianship of another person who has the custody or guardianship 14
under this Act. 15
Maximum penalty--150 penalty units or 18 months imprisonment. 16
(2) A person must not keep a child who has been taken in contravention 17
of subsection (1). 18
Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--150 penalty units or 18 months 19
imprisonment. 20
to refuse contact with child in custody or guardianship 21
Offence
163.(1) In this section-- 22
"child" means a child in the chief executive's custody or guardianship 23
under an assessment order or child protection order. 24
(2) This section applies if an authorised officer reasonably asks a person 25
for permission to enter premises for the purpose of having contact with a 26
child in the premises to ensure the child's protection. 27
(3) The person must not refuse the officer's request unless the person 28
s 164 91 s 166
Child Protection
has a reasonable excuse. 1
Maximum penalty for subsection (3)--50 penalty units. 2
for person to take child out of State 3
Offence
164. A person who has the care of a child in the chief executive's 4
custody or guardianship must not take the child out of the State with the 5
intention of obstructing, preventing or defeating the administration or 6
enforcement of this Act. 7
Maximum penalty--150 penalty units or 18 months imprisonment. 8
not to comply with certain orders 9
Offence
165.(1) A child's parent must not knowingly contravene a provision of 10
an order directing the parent not to have contact (direct or indirect)-- 11
(a) with the child; or 12
(b) with the child other than when a stated person or a person of a 13
stated category is present. 14
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or 1 year's imprisonment. 15
(2) For subsection (1), a person who is in the Childrens Court when the 16
order is made or is given notice of the order is taken to know the contents of 17
the order. 18
ART 2--WARRANT FOR APPREHENSION OF 19
P
CHILD 20
for warrant for apprehension of child 21
Application
166.(1) An authorised officer or police officer may apply to a magistrate 22
for a warrant for apprehension of a child if-- 23
(a) under an order, the chief executive has been granted custody or 24
guardianship of the child but has not been able to take the child 25
into custody; or 26
s 167 92 s 167
Child Protection
(b) the child has been unlawfully removed from a person's custody 1
or guardianship under this Act. 2
(2) The application must be sworn and state the grounds on which it is 3
made. 4
(3) The magistrate may refuse to consider the application until the 5
applicant gives the magistrate all the information the magistrate requires 6
about the application in the way the magistrate requires. 7
8
Example--
9
The magistrate may require additional information supporting the application be
10
given by statutory declaration.
of warrant 11
Issue
167.(1) A magistrate may issue a warrant for apprehension of the child if 12
the magistrate is satisfied-- 13
(a) the warrant is necessary to enable an authorised officer or police 14
officer to take the child into the chief executive's custody; or 15
(b) the child has been unlawfully removed from a person's custody 16
or guardianship under this Act. 17
(2) The warrant authorises an authorised officer or police officer-- 18
(a) to enter any 1 or more places the officer reasonably believes the 19
child is; and 20
(b) to search the places to find the child; and 21
(c) to remain in the places for as long as the officer considers is 22
reasonably necessary to find the child; and 23
(d) to take the child to a safe place. 24
(3) The warrant must state the day, within 14 days after the warrant's 25
issue, when it ends. 26
(4) An authorised officer or police officer may exercise powers under the 27
warrant with the help, and using the force, that is reasonable in the 28
circumstances. 29
s 168 93 s 168
Child Protection
warrants 1
Special
168.(1) An authorised officer or police officer may apply for a warrant 2
for apprehension of a child (a "special warrant") by phone, fax, radio or 3
another form of communication because of-- 4
(a) urgent circumstances; or 5
(b) other special circumstances, including, for example, the officer's 6
remote location. 7
(2) Before applying for the warrant, the officer must prepare an 8
application stating the grounds on which the warrant is sought. 9
(3) The officer may apply for the warrant before the application is sworn. 10
(4) After issuing the warrant, the magistrate must immediately fax a 11
copy of it to the officer if it is reasonably practicable to fax the copy. 12
(5) If it is not reasonably practicable to fax a copy of the warrant to the 13
officer-- 14
(a) the magistrate must tell the officer-- 15
(i) what the terms of the warrant are; and 16
(ii) the date and time the warrant was issued; and 17
(b) the officer must complete a form of warrant ("warrant form") 18
and write on it-- 19
(i) the magistrate's name; and 20
(ii) the date and time the magistrate issued the warrant; and 21
(iii) the warrant's terms. 22
(6) The facsimile warrant, or the warrant form properly completed by the 23
officer, authorises the exercise of powers under the warrant made by the 24
magistrate. 25
(7) The officer must, at the first reasonable opportunity, send to the 26
magistrate-- 27
(a) the sworn application; and 28
(b) if the officer completed a warrant form--the completed warrant 29
form. 30
(8) On receiving the documents, the magistrate must attach them to the 31
s 169 94 s 169
Child Protection
warrant. 1
(9) A court must find the exercise of the power by an authorised officer 2
or police officer was not authorised by a special warrant if-- 3
(a) an issue arises in a proceeding before the court whether the 4
exercise of the power was authorised by a special warrant; and 5
(b) the warrant is not produced in evidence; and 6
(c) it is not proved by the person relying on the lawfulness of the 7
entry that the officer obtained the warrant. 8
before entry 9
Warrants--procedure
169.(1) This section applies if an authorised officer or police officer is 10
intending to enter a place under a warrant for apprehension of a child. 11
(2) Before entering the place, the officer must do or make a reasonable 12
attempt to do the following things-- 13
(a) identify himself or herself to a person present at the place who is 14
an occupier of the place; 15
(b) give the person a copy of the warrant, or if the entry is authorised 16
by a facsimile warrant or warrant form mentioned in 17
section 168(6), a copy of the facsimile warrant or warrant form; 18
(c) tell the person the officer is permitted by the warrant to enter and 19
search the place to find the child; 20
(d) give the person an opportunity to allow the officer immediate 21
entry to the place without using force. 22
(3) For subsection (2)(a), an authorised officer must produce the 23
officer's identity card to the person for inspection.36 24
(4) However, the officer need not comply with subsection (2) if the 25
officer reasonably believes immediate entry to the place is required to 26
ensure the effective execution of the warrant is not frustrated. 27
36 For a police officer, see the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 1997,
section 112 (Supplying police officer's details etc.)
s 170 95 s 171
Child Protection
ART 3--GENERAL POWERS OF AUTHORISED 1
P
OFFICERS 2
1--Preliminary 3
Division
of pt 3 4
Application
170. This division applies if an authorised officer enters a place under-- 5
(a) section 16 or 1837 in investigating an allegation of harm, or risk 6
of harm, to a child; or 7
(b) an assessment order in investigating whether a child is a child in 8
need of protection; or 9
(c) a warrant for apprehension of a child who, under section 162, has 10
been unlawfully removed from a person's custody or 11
guardianship.38 12
2--Power of seizure of authorised officers 13
Division
of seizure 14
Power
171. The authorised officer may seize a thing at the place if the officer 15
reasonably believes-- 16
(a) the thing is evidence of an offence in relation to the officer's 17
investigation or the child's unlawful removal from custody or 18
guardianship; and 19
(b) the seizure is necessary to prevent the thing being-- 20
(i) hidden, lost or destroyed; or 21
(ii) used to commit, continue or repeat the offence. 22
37 Section 16 (Contact with child at immediate risk of harm) or 18 (Child at
immediate risk may be taken into custody)
38 A warrant for apprehension of a child may be issued under part 2.
s 172 96 s 173
Child Protection
after seizure of thing 1
Procedure
172.(1) As soon as practicable after seizing the thing, the authorised 2
officer must give a receipt for it to the person from whom it was seized. 3
(2) If, for any reason, it is not practicable to comply with subsection (1), 4
the officer must-- 5
(a) leave the receipt at the place of seizure; and 6
(b) ensure the receipt is left in a reasonably secure way and in a 7
conspicuous position. 8
(3) The receipt must describe generally the seized thing and its condition. 9
(4) The officer must allow a person who would be entitled to the seized 10
thing if it were not in the officer's possession, at any reasonable time-- 11
(a) to inspect it; or 12
(b) if it is a document--to copy it. 13
(5) The officer must return the seized thing to the person-- 14
(a) at the end of 1 year; or 15
(b) if a prosecution for an offence involving it is started within 16
1 year--at the end of the prosecution and any appeal from the 17
prosecution. 18
(6) Despite subsection (5), the officer must return the seized thing to the 19
person if the officer is satisfied its retention as evidence is no longer 20
necessary. 21
of seized thing on conviction 22
Forfeiture
173.(1) On the conviction of a person of an offence involving the seized 23
thing, the court may order its forfeiture to the State. 24
(2) The court may make any order to enforce the forfeiture it considers 25
appropriate. 26
(3) This section does not limit the court's powers under the Penalties 27
and Sentences Act 1992 or another law. 28
s 174 97 s 176
Child Protection
with forfeited things etc. 1
Dealing
174.(1) On forfeiture, the thing becomes the State's property and may be 2
dealt with by the chief executive as the chief executive considers 3
appropriate. 4
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the chief executive may destroy the 5
thing. 6
3--Other powers of authorised officers on entry 7
Division
to photograph 8
Power
175. The authorised officer may photograph or film the place, or anyone 9
or anything in or on the place. 10
ART 4--EVIDENCE AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 11
P
provisions 12
Evidentiary
176.(1) This section applies to a proceeding under or in relation to this 13
Act. 14
(2) Unless a party, by reasonable notice, requires proof of-- 15
(a) the appointment of an authorised officer under this Act; or 16
(b) the authority of an authorised officer to do an act under this Act; 17
the appointment or authority must be presumed. 18
(3) A signature purporting to be the signature of the chief executive or an 19
authorised officer is evidence of the signature it purports to be. 20
(4) A certificate purporting to be signed by the chief executive stating any 21
of the following matters is evidence of the matter-- 22
(a) a stated document is a copy of a licence, certificate of approval, 23
notice, declaration or decision made, issued or given under this 24
Act; 25
s 177 98 s 178
Child Protection
(b) on a stated day, or during a stated period, a stated person was or 1
was not the holder of a licence or certificate of approval; 2
(c) a licence or certificate of approval-- 3
(i) was or was not issued or given for a stated term; or 4
(ii) was or was not in force on a stated day or during a stated 5
period; or 6
(iii) was or was not subject to a stated condition; 7
(d) on a stated day, a licence or certificate of approval was suspended 8
for a stated period or cancelled; 9
(e) on a stated day, a stated person was given a stated notice under 10
this Act; 11
(f) the whereabouts of a child's parents could not be ascertained after 12
stated reasonable inquiries; 13
(g) on a stated day, a family meeting or conference was held; 14
(h) a stated entity is a recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 15
agency for a particular Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child; 16
(i) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 17
for offences 18
Proceeding
177. A proceeding for an offence against this Act must be taken in a 19
summary way under the Justices Act 1886. 20
proceeding may start 21
When
178. A proceeding for an offence against this Act may be started 22
within-- 23
(a) 1 year after the offence is committed; or 24
(b) 1 year after the offence comes to the complainant's knowledge, 25
but within 2 years after the offence is committed. 26
s 179 99 s 180
Child Protection
PART 5--CONFIDENTIALITY 1
1--Preliminary 2
Division
for pt 5 3
Definitions
179. In this part-- 4
"publish", for information, means to publish it to the public by way of 5
television, newspaper, radio or other form of communication. 6
"this Act" includes the Children's Services Act 1965. 7
2--Confidentiality in relation to administration of Act 8
Division
of notifiers of harm 9
Confidentiality
180.(1) This section applies if a person (the "notifier") notifies the chief 10
executive, an authorised officer or police officer that the notifier suspects a 11
child has been, is being or is likely to be, harmed. 12
(2) The person who receives the notification, or a person who becomes 13
aware of the identity of the notifier, must not disclose the identity of the 14
notifier to another person unless the disclosure is made-- 15
(a) in the course of performing functions under this Act to another 16
person performing functions under this Act; or 17
(b) to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administrative 18
Investigations conducting an investigation under the 19
Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1974; or 20
(c) by way of evidence given in a legal proceeding under 21
subsections (3) and (4). 22
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 23
(3) Subject to subsection (4)-- 24
(a) evidence of the identity of the notifier or from which the identity 25
of the notifier could be deduced must not be given in a proceeding 26
before a court or tribunal without leave of the court or tribunal; 27
s 181 100 s 181
Child Protection
and 1
(b) unless leave is granted, a party or witness in the proceeding-- 2
(i) must not be asked, and, if asked, can not be required to 3
answer, any question that can not be answered without 4
disclosing the identity of, or leading to the identification of, 5
the notifier; and 6
(ii) must not be asked to produce, and, if asked, can not be 7
required to produce, any document that identifies, or may 8
lead to the identification of, the notifier. 9
(4) The court or tribunal must not grant leave unless-- 10
(a) it is satisfied-- 11
(i) the evidence is of critical importance in the proceeding; and 12
(ii) there is compelling reason in the public interest for 13
disclosure; or 14
(b) the notifier agrees to the evidence being given in the proceeding. 15
(5) In deciding whether to grant leave, the court or tribunal must take into 16
account-- 17
(a) the possible effects of disclosure on the safety or welfare of the 18
notifier and the notifier's family; and 19
(b) the public interest in maintaining confidentiality of notifiers. 20
(6) As far as practicable, an application for leave must be heard in a way 21
that protects the identity of the notifier pending a decision on the application. 22
of information obtained by persons involved in 23
Confidentiality
administration of Act 24
181.(1) This section applies to a person who-- 25
(a) is or has been-- 26
(i) a public service employee or other person engaged by the 27
chief executive, or a police officer, performing functions 28
under or in relation to the administration of this Act; or 29
(ii) a licensee, the executive officer of a corporation that is a 30
s 182 101 s 182
Child Protection
licensee or someone else employed or engaged by a licensee 1
to perform functions under or in relation to the 2
administration of this Act; or 3
(iii) the holder of a certificate of approval; or 4
(iv) a member of, or person employed or engaged by, a 5
recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander agency; and 6
(b) in that capacity acquired information about another person's 7
affairs or has access to, or custody of, a document about another 8
person's affairs. 9
(2) The person must not disclose the information, or give access to the 10
document, to anyone else. 11
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. 12
(3) However, the person may, subject to section 180, disclose the 13
information or give access to the document to someone else-- 14
(a) to the extent necessary to perform the person's functions under or 15
in relation to this Act; or 16
(b) if the disclosure is for purposes directly related to a child's 17
protection or welfare; or 18
(c) if the disclosure or giving of access-- 19
(i) relates to the chief executive's function of cooperating with 20
government entities that have a function relating to the 21
protection of children; or 22
(ii) is otherwise required or permitted by law. 23
(4) Also, a person may disclose the information or give access to the 24
document to another person if the information or document is about the 25
other person. 26
of information given by persons involved in 27
Confidentiality
administration of Act to other persons 28
182.(1) This section applies if the chief executive, an authorised officer, 29
police officer or anyone else in the course of performing duties under or in 30
relation to the administration of this Act, gives a person (the "receiver") 31
information or a document about another person's affairs. 32
s 183 102 s 183
Child Protection
(2) The receiver must not disclose the information, or give access to the 1
document, to anyone else. 2
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. 3
(3) However, the receiver may, subject to section 180, disclose the 4
information or give access to the document to someone else-- 5
(a) if the disclosure is for purposes directly related to a child's 6
protection or welfare; or 7
(b) if the disclosure or giving of access is otherwise required or 8
permitted by law. 9
of publication of information leading to identity of 10
Prohibition
children 11
183.(1) A person must not, without the chief executive's written 12
approval, publish information that identifies, or is likely to lead to the 13
identification of, a child as-- 14
(a) a child who is or has been the subject of an investigation under 15
this Act of an allegation of harm or risk of harm; or 16
(b) a child in the chief executive's custody or guardianship under this 17
Act; or 18
(c) a child for whom an order is in force. 19
Maximum penalty-- 20
(a) for an individual--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment; or 21
(b) for a corporation--1 000 penalty units. 22
(2) A person must not, without the chief executive's written approval, 23
publish information that identifies, or is likely to lead to the identification of, 24
a child living in Queensland as a child who-- 25
(a) has been harmed or allegedly harmed by a parent or step-parent 26
of the child or another member of the child's family; or 27
(b) is, or allegedly is, at risk of harm being caused by a parent or 28
step-parent of the child or another member of the child's family. 29
Maximum penalty for subsection (2)-- 30
s 184 103 s 184
Child Protection
(a) for an individual--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment; or 1
(b) for a corporation--1 000 penalty units. 2
3--Confidentiality in relation to proceedings 3
Division
of department's records 4
Production
184.(1) This section applies if a party to a proceeding in a court or 5
tribunal requires, under applicable rules-- 6
(a) the chief executive to produce to the court, tribunal or party a 7
document in the department's records under this Act in relation to 8
a child or a child's carer; or 9
(b) a government entity to produce to the court, tribunal or party a 10
document mentioned in paragraph (a) that has been given to the 11
entity under section 181. 12
(2) The requirement must describe the document to be produced-- 13
(a) by reference to the person or persons to whom it relates; and 14
(b) by general reference to the circumstances to which it relates; and 15
(c) the period to which the requirement relates. 16
(3) For subsection (2)(b), the requirement must show the circumstances 17
to be relevant to the proceeding. 18
(4) A person must not, directly or indirectly, disclose or make use of 19
information obtained under the requirement other than for a purpose 20
connected with the proceeding. 21
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. 22
(5) Despite any Act to the contrary, if a document in the department's 23
records under this Act in relation to a child or a child's carer is produced in 24
a proceeding in a court, an officer of the court must not make the document 25
available for inspection to any person other than a party to the proceeding or 26
a lawyer representing a party to the proceeding. 27
Maximum penalty for subsection (5)--50 penalty units or 1 year's 28
imprisonment. 29
s 185 104 s 185
Child Protection
of disclosure of certain information during proceeding 1
Refusal
185.(1) A person engaged in the administration of this Act may refuse to 2
disclose to a court or tribunal in a proceeding, or to a party to the 3
proceeding, information obtained under or in relation to the administration 4
of this Act, if-- 5
(a) its disclosure endangers, or is likely to endanger, a person's 6
safety or psychological health; or 7
(b) it identifies, or is likely to identify, the source of the information 8
and identification of the source is likely to prejudice the 9
achievement of the purpose of this Act; or 10
(c) it is a record of confidential therapeutic counselling with a child or 11
a member of the child's family and its disclosure would prejudice 12
the department's ability to provide counselling services; or 13
(d) it is personal information and the person reasonably believes it is 14
not materially relevant to the proceeding. 15
(2) However, on the application of a party to the proceeding, the court or 16
tribunal may order the disclosure of the information if it is satisfied-- 17
(a) it is materially relevant to the proceeding; and 18
(b) its disclosure is, on balance, in the public interest. 19
(3) To enable the court or tribunal to make a decision about the disclosure 20
of the information, the person must disclose the information to the judicial 21
officers of the court or tribunal. 22
(4) In deciding whether or not the information should be disclosed, the 23
judicial officers must deal with the information in a way that ensures it is 24
not disclosed to anyone else. 25
(5) If the court or tribunal refuses to order its disclosure, the judicial 26
officers must return any document containing the information produced to 27
them. 28
(6) In this section-- 29
"judicial officers", for a court or tribunal, means the person or persons 30
constituting the court or tribunal. 31
s 186 105 s 187
Child Protection
of publication of certain information for proceedings 1
Prohibition
186. A person must not publish-- 2
(a) information given in evidence in a proceeding under this Act in 3
the Childrens Court, or other Childrens Court records, without the 4
court's approval; or 5
(b) information that identifies, or is likely to lead to the identification 6
of, a person as a party to a proceeding under this Act. 7
Maximum penalty-- 8
(a) for an individual--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment; or 9
(b) for a corporation--1 000 penalty units. 10
on reporting certain court proceedings 11
Restrictions
187.(1) If, in a proceeding for an offence of a sexual nature, a child is a 12
witness or the person in relation to whom the offence is alleged to have 13
been committed is a child, a report of the proceeding must not disclose 14
prohibited matter relating to the child unless the court expressly authorises 15
the matter to be included in the report. 16
(2) If, in another proceeding, a child is a witness or the person in relation 17
to whom an offence is alleged to have been committed is a child, the court 18
or justice may order that a report of the proceeding must not disclose 19
prohibited matter relating to the child other than matter stated in the order. 20
(3) Also, a report of a proceeding to which subsection (1) or (2) relates 21
must not disclose the name of an authorised officer or police officer 22
involved in the proceeding unless the court or justice expressly authorises 23
the officer's name to be included in the report. 24
(4) A person who makes or publishes a report of a proceeding in 25
contravention of subsection (1), (2) or (3) commits an offence. 26
Maximum penalty-- 27
(a) for an individual--100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment; or 28
(b) for a corporation--1 000 penalty units. 29
(5) However, subsections (1), (2) and (3) do not apply to-- 30
(a) a record of evidence of the proceeding made under the Recording 31
s 188 106 s 188
Child Protection
of Evidence Act 1962; or 1
(b) a report made for the department or Queensland Police Service. 2
(6) In this section-- 3
"film" includes a slide, videotape, videodisc or other form of recording 4
from which a visual image can be produced. 5
"proceeding" means a proceeding before a court in relation to an offence or 6
before a justice taking an examination of witnesses for an indictable 7
offence, but does not include a proceeding for a charge of an offence 8
against a child. 9
"prohibited matter", for a child, means-- 10
(a) the child's name, address, school or place of employment, or 11
another particular likely to lead to the child's identification; or 12
(b) a photograph or film of the child or of someone else that is likely 13
to lead to the child's identification. 14
"report", of a proceeding, includes a report of part of the proceeding. 15
4--General 16
Division
of information by health service employees 17
Release
188. An officer, employee or agent of the department in which the 18
Health Services Act 1991 is administered may, for this Act, give the chief 19
executive or the Childrens Court or an authorised officer or police officer, 20
information that-- 21
(a) is subject to confidentiality under the Health Services Act 1991, 22
section 63; and 23
(b) is relevant to the protection or welfare of a child. 24
s 189 107 s 190
Child Protection
PART 6--GENERAL 1
with provisions about explaining and giving documents 2
Compliance
189.(1) This section applies if, under a provision of this Act, the chief 3
executive or an authorised officer or police officer is authorised or required 4
to explain the terms and effects of an order or declaration, or give 5
information or a notice to-- 6
(a) a child; or 7
(b) a child's parents, each of a child's parents or at least 1 of a child's 8
parents; or 9
(c) a child's carer. 10
(2) The chief executive or officer need only comply with the provision to 11
the extent that is reasonably practicable in the circumstances. 12
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), it is not, for example, reasonably 13
practicable to comply with the provision in relation to a child's parents if, 14
after reasonable inquiries, the parents or their whereabouts can not be 15
ascertained or, if ascertained, can not be contacted. 16
(4) Also, so far as compliance relates to telling the child about a matter, 17
the chief executive or officer need only comply with the provision to the 18
extent that the chief executive or officer reasonably considers is appropriate 19
in the circumstances having regard to the child's age or ability to understand 20
the matter. 21
(5) However, if under the provision an authorised officer is required to 22
give the child's parents a copy of a document or information in writing, the 23
officer must also give the child the information in writing the officer 24
considers is appropriate in the circumstances having regard to the child's 25
age or ability to understand the information. 26
of powers and compliance with obligations by others 27
Exercise
190. If, under a provision of this Act, an authorised officer or police 28
officer is authorised or required to exercise a power or perform a function-- 29
(a) the power may be exercised or the function performed by another 30
authorised officer or police officer who could exercise or perform 31
s 191 108 s 193
Child Protection
a power or function of the same type; and 1
(b) the officer is taken to have complied with the provision. 2
from liability 3
Protection
191.(1) An official, does not incur civil liability for an act done, or 4
omission made, honestly and without negligence under this Act. 5
(2) If subsection (1) prevents a civil liability attaching to an official, the 6
liability attaches instead to the State. 7
(3) In this section-- 8
"official" means-- 9
(a) the chief executive; or 10
(b) an authorised officer or police officer; or 11
(b) a person acting under the direction of a person mentioned in 12
paragraph (a) or (b). 13
CHAPTER 8--MISCELLANEOUS 14
against appealable decisions 15
Appeals
192. An aggrieved person for an appealable decision may appeal to a 16
tribunal against the decision.39 17
powers 18
Regulation-making
193.(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations under this Act. 19
(2) A regulation may be made for or about the following-- 20
(a) the suitability of persons involved in, and the use of premises for, 21
39 Aggrieved persons and appealable decisions are in schedule 2. Appeals are
dealt with in the Children's Commissioner and Children's Services Appeals
Tribunals Act 1996, part 5.
s 194 109 s 196
Child Protection
providing care services; 1
(b) fees; 2
(c) the records to be kept and returns to be made by persons and the 3
inspection of records; 4
(d) the conduct of family meetings. 5
(3) A regulation may impose a penalty of not more than 20 penalty units 6
for contravention of a provision of a regulation. 7
CHAPTER 9--REPEALS, SAVINGS AND 8
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 9
PART 1--REPEALS 10
of Children's Services Act 1965 11
Repeal
194. The Children's Services Act 1965 is repealed. 12
to repealed Act 13
References
195. In an Act or document, a reference to the Children's Services Act 14
1965 may, if the context permits, be taken to be a reference to this Act. 15
ART 2--SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL 16
P
PROVISIONS 17
for pt 2 18
Definitions
196. In this part-- 19
"commencing day" means the day this part commences. 20
s 197 110 s 197
Child Protection
"director" means the director under the repealed Act. 1
"existing care and protection order", for a child, means an order in force 2
immediately before the commencing day-- 3
(a) under section 49(4)(a)(iii) of the repealed Act admitting the child 4
to the director's care and protection; or 5
(b) under section 61(4)(a)(iii) of the repealed Act admitting the child 6
to the director's care and control. 7
"existing supervision order", for a child, means an order in force 8
immediately before the commencing day-- 9
(a) under section 49(4)(a)(ii) of the repealed Act ordering that the 10
director have protective supervision over and in relation to the 11
child; or 12
(b) under section 61(4)(a)(ii) of the repealed Act ordering the director 13
to exercise supervision over and in relation to the child. 14
"existing section 47 declaration", for a child, means a declaration in force 15
immediately before the commencing day under section 47 of the 16
repealed Act admitting the child to the director's care and protection. 17
"existing section 134 declaration", for a child, means a declaration in 18
force immediately before the commencing day under section 134(4) of 19
the repealed Act admitting the child to the director's care and 20
protection. 21
"repealed Act" means the Children's Services Act 1965. 22
section 47 declarations and care and protection orders 23
Existing
197.(1) An existing section 47 declaration or existing care and protection 24
order continues in force under this Act as if it were a child protection order 25
granting the chief executive guardianship of the child. 26
(2) An existing section 47 declaration, or existing care and protection 27
order made under 49(4)(a)(iii) of the repealed Act, and continued in force 28
under subsection (1) ends-- 29
(a) if, immediately before the commencing day, the declaration or 30
order had been in force for more than 3 years--when the child 31
turns 18 years; or 32
s 198 111 s 199
Child Protection
(b) if, immediately before the commencing day, the declaration or 1
order had been in force for 1 or more years but not more than 2
3 years--3 years after it was originally made or, if the child 3
earlier turns 18 years, when the child turns 18 years; or 4
(c) if, immediately before the commencing day, the declaration or 5
order had been in force for less than 1 year--2 years after it was 6
originally made or, if the child earlier turns 18 years, when the 7
child turns 18 years. 8
(3) An existing care and protection order made under section 61(4)(a)(iii) 9
of the repealed Act and continued in force under subsection (1) ends 1 year 10
after the commencing day or, if the child earlier turns 18 years, when the 11
child turns 18 years. 12
supervision orders 13
Existing
198.(1) An existing supervision order continues in force under this Act 14
as if it were a child protection order requiring the chief executive to 15
supervise the child's protection in relation to the matters stated in the order. 16
(2) An existing supervision order continued in force under subsection (1) 17
ends 1 year after the commencing day or, if the child earlier turns 18 years, 18
when the child turns 18 years. 19
section 134 declarations 20
Existing
199.(1) On the day of the commencing day, the chief executive must, by 21
written declaration, assume guardianship of each child the subject of an 22
existing section 134 declaration. 23
(2) The declaration may assume guardianship of the child for-- 24
(a) if the interstate order for the child states it ends after a stated 25
period--the lesser of-- 26
(i) the remainder of the stated period; or 27
(ii) 2 years; or 28
(b) if the interstate order for the child states it ends when the child 29
turns 18 years--not more than 2 years or, if the child earlier turns 30
18 years, until the child turns 18 years. 31
s 200 112 s 201
Child Protection
(3) On the making of the declaration, the interstate order is taken to be a 1
child protection order under the terms stated in the declaration. 2
(4) For subsection (3), the chief executive may declare the interstate order 3
applies to the chief executive's guardianship to and only to the stated extent, 4
or with the stated changes necessary, to make it consistent with this Act. 5
(5) To remove any doubt, it is declared that the declaration may be made 6
even if the interstate order has ended before the commencing day. 7
(6) The declaration is taken-- 8
(a) to be a declaration under section 120;40 and 9
(b) to have had effect from the commencing day. 10
institutions under repealed Act 11
Licensed
200.(1) A licence issued by the Minister under part 4 of the repealed Act 12
for an institution, and in force immediately before the commencing day, 13
continues in force as if it were a licence to provide care services under this 14
Act. 15
(2) For this Act, the governing authority of the institution is taken to be 16
the licensee and the person in charge of the institution is taken to be the 17
nominee. 18
(3) A licence continued in force under subsection (1) ends on the 19
anniversary of its issue in the third year after the commencing day. 20
foster parents 21
Approved
201.(1) The holder of an approval to act as a foster parent under part 10 22
of the repealed Act, and in force immediately before the commencing day, 23
continues in force as if it were a certificate of approval as an approved care 24
provider under this Act. 25
(2) An approval continued in force under subsection (1) ends on the 26
anniversary of its issue in the second year after the commencing day. 27
40 Section 120 (Transfers from other States)
s 202 113 s 204
Child Protection
applications and proceedings for care and protection orders 1
Existing
202. An application under the repealed Act for an order that a child be 2
admitted to the chief executive's care and protection, and a proceeding in the 3
Childrens Court for the application, not finally dealt with at the commencing 4
day, may be continued and dealt with under this Act as if it were an 5
application for a child protection order. 6
to revoke or substitute certain orders under repealed Act 7
Applications
203.(1) In this section-- 8
"existing section 49 order", for a child, means an order in force 9
immediately before the commencing day under section 49(4)(a)(ii) or 10
(iii) of the repealed Act-- 11
(a) ordering the director have protective supervision over and in 12
relation to the child; or 13
(b) admitting the child to the director's care and protection. 14
(2) An application under the repealed Act to revoke or substitute an 15
existing section 49 order for a child not finally dealt with at the commencing 16
day may be continued and dealt with under this Act as if it were an 17
application to vary or revoke a child protection order for the child. 18
HAPTER 10--AMENDMENTS 19
C
amended 20
Acts
204. The Acts mentioned in schedule 3 are amended as shown in the 21
schedule. 22
23
24
25
114
Child Protection
CHEDULE 1 1
¡S
HARTER OF RIGHTS FOR A CHILD IN CARE 2
C
section 71 3
Because-- 4
The Parliament recognises the State has responsibilities for a child in need 5
of protection who is in the custody or under the guardianship of the chief 6
executive under this Act, 7
this Act establishes the following rights for the child-- 8
(a) to be provided with a safe living environment; 9
(b) to be placed in care that best meets the child's needs and is most 10
culturally appropriate; 11
(c) to maintain relationships with the child's family and community; 12
(d) to be consulted about, and to take part in making, decisions 13
affecting the child's life (having regard to the child's age or ability 14
to understand), particularly decisions about where the child is 15
living, contact with the child's family and the child's health and 16
schooling; 17
(e) to be given information about decisions and plans concerning the 18
child's future and personal history, having regard to the child's 19
age or ability to understand; 20
(f) to privacy, including, for example, in relation to the child's 21
personal information; 22
(g) if the child is under the long-term guardianship of the chief 23
executive, to regular review of the child's care arrangements; 24
(h) to have access to dental, medical and therapeutic services, 25
necessary to meet the child's needs; 26
(i) to have access to education appropriate to the child's age and 27
development; 28
115
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 1 (continued)
(j) to have access to job training opportunities and help in finding 1
appropriate employment; 2
(k) to receive appropriate help with the transition from being a child 3
in care to independence, including, for example, help about 4
housing, access to income support and training and education. 5
6
7
116
Child Protection
CHEDULE 2 1
¡S
PPEALABLE DECISIONS AND AGGRIEVED 2
A
PERSONS 3
section 192 and schedule 4, definitions "aggrieved person" and 4
"appealable decision" 5
Appealable decision Aggrieved person
Directing a parent in relation to a The parent given the direction 6
supervision matter stated in a child 7
protection order (section 75)
Deciding in whose care to place a The child's parents or the child 8
child under a child protection order 9
granting the chief executive custody 10
or guardianship (section 83(2))
Not informing a child's parents of A parent given the notice or the 11
person in whose care the child is child 12
and where the child is living 13
(section 83(3))
Refusing to allow, restricting, or A person affected by the decision 14
imposing conditions on, contact 15
between a child and the child's 16
parents or a member of the child's 17
family (section 84(2))
Removing child from carer's care A carer entitled to appeal under 18
(section 86) section 88 or the child
Arranging for an interstate welfare The child's parents, child or child's 19
authority to assume custody or carer 20
guardianship of a child 21
(section 122)
Refusing application for, or renewal The applicant or licensee 22
of, a licence (section 130)
117
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 2 (continued)
Refusing application for, or renewal The applicant or certificate holder 1
of, a certificate of approval 2
(section 137)
Refusing an application for an The authority holder 3
amendment of authority 4
(section 138)
Amending an authority The authority holder 5
(section 139)
Suspending or cancelling an The authority holder 6
authority (section 141)
7
118
Child Protection
CHEDULE 3 1
¡S
AMENDMENT OF ACTS 2
section 204 3
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1964 4
´
1. Section 6-- 5
insert-- 6
` "chief executive for child protection" means the chief executive of the 7
department in which the Child Protection Act 1998 is administered.'. 8
2. Section 19(7)-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(7) Despite section 23, if, under the Child Protection Act 1998, the chief 11
executive for child protection has custody or guardianship of a child, it is 12
not necessary for that chief executive's consent to the child's adoption to be 13
evidenced by an instrument of consent.'. 14
3. Section 20(3), from `Where' to `1965'-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`If the chief executive for child protection has custody or guardianship of 17
the child under a child protection order under the Child Protection Act 18
1998,'. 19
4. Section 27(3)(a)-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`(a) to a child in the custody or under the guardianship of the chief 22
119
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
executive for child protection under a child protection order under 1
the Child Protection Act 1998; or'. 2
5. Section 27(4), from `a child in care'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`in the custody or under the guardianship of the chief executive for child 5
protection under a child protection order under the Child Protection Act 6
1998.'. 7
6. After section 34-- 8
insert-- 9
`Effect of interim orders on child protection orders 10
`34A.(1) If an interim order is made for a child for whom a child 11
protection order is in force, the child protection order does not have effect 12
while the interim order is in force. 13
`(2) In this section-- 14
"child protection order", for a child, means a child protection order under 15
the Child Protection Act 1998 granting the chief executive for child 16
protection custody or guardianship of the child.'. 17
7. Section 35(1)-- 18
omit. 19
HILD CARE ACT 1991 20
´C
1. Section 13(1)(b)-- 21
omit. 22
120
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
2. Section 13(1)(c), `or (b)'-- 1
omit. 2
3. Section 13(1)(c)-- 3
renumber as section 13(1)(b). 4
4. Section 14(1)(g), after `1965,'-- 5
insert-- 6
`the Child Protection Act 1998,'. 7
5. Section 14(1)(h), after `1965'-- 8
insert-- 9
`, or an assessment order or child protection order under the Child 10
Protection Act 1998,'. 11
6. Section 32(2)(c), after `1965'-- 12
insert-- 13
`or an assessment order or child protection order has been made under 14
the Child Protection Act 1998'. 15
7. Section 32(3)(c), after `1965'-- 16
insert-- 17
`or an assessment order or child protection order has been made under 18
the Child Protection Act 1998'. 19
121
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER AND CHILDREN'S 1
´
SERVICES APPEALS TRIBUNALS ACT 1996 2
1. Part 2, division 1-- 3
insert-- 4
`Application of Financial Administration and Audit Act 1977 5
`7A. The commission is a statutory body under the Financial 6
Administration and Audit Act 1977.'. 7
2. Section 8(c), `foster homes'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`care services'. 10
3. Schedule, definition "children's services legislation", 11
paragraph (c)-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`(c) the Child Protection Act 1998; or'. 14
4. Schedule, definition "foster home"-- 15
omit. 16
5. Schedule, definition "reviewable decision", paragraph (c)'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`(c) an appealable decision under the Child Protection Act 1998.'. 19
122
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
HILDRENS COURT ACT 1992 1
´C
1. Section 3, definition "appellate court"-- 2
omit. 3
2. Section 20(1)(g)-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`(g) if the child is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander-- 6
(i) a representative of an entity whose principal purpose is to 7
provide welfare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait 8
Islander children and families; or 9
(ii) a representative of the recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait 10
Islander agency for the child under the Child Protection Act 11
1998; or'. 12
3. Section 20(2)(c), `Children's Services Act 1965, part 6 or 7'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`Child Protection Act 1998'. 15
4. Part 4A-- 16
omit. 17
5. After section 30-- 18
insert-- 19
`Transitional provision for Child Protection Act 1998 20
`31.(1) This section applies if, before the commencement of the Child 21
123
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
Protection Act 1998, chapter 3, part 441-- 1
(a) a person appealed, under part 4A, against a supervision order or 2
care order; and 3
(b) the appeal has not been finally decided. 4
`(2) The appeal may be dealt with under the Child Protection Act 1998. 5
`(3) In this section-- 6
"care order" means an order under the Children's Services Act 1965, 7
section 49(4)(a)(iii) or section 61(4)(a)(iii). 8
"supervision order" means an order under the Children's Services Act 9
1965, section 49(4)(a)(ii) or section 61(4)(a)(ii).'. 10
COMMONWEALTH POWERS (FAMILY 11
´
LAW--CHILDREN) ACT 1990 12
1. Schedule 1, `Children's Services Act 1965'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`Child Protection Act 1998'. 15
CRIMINAL CODE 16
´
1. Section 145A(b)-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`(b) the custody of a child under the Child Protection Act 1998;'. 19
41 Chapter 3 (Childrens court proceedings), part 4 (Court appeals)
124
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
CRIMINAL LAW (REHABILITATION OF 1
´
OFFENDERS) ACT 1986 2
1. Section 9A(1), table, column 1, item 6(1)-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`6.(1) A person registered, licensed 5
or approved under the Child Care 6
Act 1991 or the Child Protection 7
Act 1998; or'.
CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 1978 8
´
1. Section 8(1)(c), `Children's Services Act 1965'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`Child Protection Act 1998'. 11
DRUGS MISUSE ACT 1986 12
´
1. Section 48(7), `Children's Services Act 1965, section 138'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`Child Protection Act 1998, sections 186 and 18742'. 15
42 Child Protection Act 1998, sections 186 (Prohibition of publication of certain
information for proceedings) and 187 (Restrictions on reporting certain court
proceedings)
125
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
VIDENCE ACT 1977 1
´E
1. Schedule 2, entry for `Children's Services Act 1965'-- 2
omit. 3
FAMILY SERVICES ACT 1987 4
´
1. Section 2-- 5
omit. 6
2. Section 4, definitions "certificate of approval", "criminal history", 7
"foster care", "foster care agent", "foster parent", "licensee", 8
"parent", "premises" and "residential care"-- 9
omit. 10
3. Section 4-- 11
insert-- 12
` "agent" means an agent under a contract entered into under section 9. 13
"honorary officer" means a person holding appointment as an honorary 14
officer under section 8.'. 15
4. Sections 6 and 7-- 16
omit. 17
126
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
5. Section 10(1)(c) and (d)-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`(c) an honorary officer; or 3
(d) an agent.'. 4
6. Section 11-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`Advisory committees 7
`11.(1) The Minister may establish as many advisory committees as the 8
Minister considers appropriate for the administration of this Act. 9
`(2) An advisory committee has the functions the Minister decides. 10
`(3) A member of an advisory committee is entitled to be paid the fees 11
and allowances that may be decided by the Governor in Council.'. 12
7. Section 12(1)-- 13
insert-- 14
`Maximum penalty--40 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.'. 15
8. Section 12(2)(a) and (b), `, visiting justice'-- 16
omit. 17
9. Section 12(2), `, justice'-- 18
omit. 19
10. Section 12(2)-- 20
insert-- 21
`Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--40 penalty units or 2 years 22
imprisonment.'. 23
127
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
11. Sections 56 to 58-- 1
omit. 2
12. Section 59-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`Evidentiary provisions 5
`59.(1) This section applies to a proceeding under or in relation to this 6
Act. 7
`(2) Unless a party, by reasonable notice, requires proof of-- 8
(a) the appointment of an honorary officer under this Act; or 9
(b) the authority of an honorary officer to do an act under this Act; 10
the appointment or authority must be presumed. 11
`(3) A signature purporting to be the signature of the chief executive or 12
an honorary officer is evidence of the signature it purports to be. 13
`(4) A certificate purporting to be signed by the chief executive stating a 14
stated document is a copy of a notice or approval given under this Act is 15
evidence of the matter.'. 16
13. After section 68-- 17
insert-- 18
`Numbering and renumbering of Act 19
`69. In the next reprint of this Act produced under the Reprints Act 1992, 20
the provisions of this Act must be numbered and renumbered as permitted 21
by the Reprints Act 1992, section 43.'. 22
128
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
REEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1992 1
´F
1. Schedule 1, `Children's Services Act 1965, section 144'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`Child Protection Act 1998, sections 180 to 182'. 4
EALTH ACT 1937 5
´H
1. Section 31A(9), from `affect'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`affect the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1962.'. 8
2. Section 100H(3), from `affect'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`affect the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1962.'. 11
MAINTENANCE ACT 1965 12
´
1. Section 9(3), from `part--' to `under the Children's Services Act 13
1965;'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`part for a child in custody,'. 16
2. Section 9(3), from `such a'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`a child in custody.'. 19
129
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
3. Section 9-- 1
insert-- 2
`(4) In this section-- 3
"chief executive for child protection" means the chief executive of the 4
department in which the Child Protection Act 1998 is administered. 5
"child in custody" means a child in the custody or under the guardianship 6
of the chief executive for child protection under a court assessment 7
order or child protection order under the Child Protection Act 1998.'. 8
ENTAL HEALTH ACT 1974 9
´M
1. Section 52(1)(a), `, by virtue of a declaration made under section 47 10
of the Children's Services Act 1965,'-- 11
omit. 12
OLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 13
´P
1997 14
1. Schedule 1-- 15
insert-- 16
`Child Protection Act 1998'. 17
EGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND 18
´R
MARRIAGES ACT 1962 19
1. Section 5(1)-- 20
insert-- 21
` "chief executive for child protection" means the chief executive of the 22
130
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
department within which the Child Protection Act 1998 is 1
administered.'. 2
2. Section 28(1), from `director within' to `director,'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`chief executive for child protection is the guardian of the child under the 5
Adoption of Children Act 1964 or has custody or guardianship of the child 6
under the Child Protection Act 1998, that chief executive,'. 7
3. Section 28A(5)(c), from `director'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`chief executive for child protection;'. 10
4. Section 28A(5AA) and (6), `director'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`chief executive for child protection'. 13
5. Section 28A(5AA)(a)(i)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`(i) an authorised officer under the Child Protection Act 1998; 16
or'. 17
6. Section 28A(6), `director's consent'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`consent of the chief executive for child protection'. 20
131
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 3 (continued)
SUCCESSION ACT 1981 1
´
1. Section 41(7), `director within the meaning of the Children's 2
Services Act 1965'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`chief executive of the department in which the Child Protection Act 5
1998 is administered'. 6
OUNG OFFENDERS (INTERSTATE TRANSFER) 7
´Y
ACT 1987 8
1. Section 3, definition "guardian", from `who but' to `1965'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`who, apart from the operation of the Child Protection Act 1998,'. 11
2. Section 3, definition "permanent head"-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
` "permanent head" means the chief executive of the department in which 14
the Child Protection Act 1998 is administered.'. 15
16
17
132
Child Protection
CHEDULE 4 1
¡S
ICTIONARY 2
D
section 3 3
"aggrieved person", for an appealable decision, means a person stated 4
opposite the decision in schedule 2. 5
"appealable decision" means a decision stated in schedule 2. 6
"appellate court" means-- 7
(a) for a decision on an application for a court assessment order or 8
child protection order-- 9
(i) if the decision was made by the Childrens Court constituted 10
by a judge--the Court of Appeal; or 11
(ii) if the decision was made by the Childrens Court constituted 12
in another way--the Childrens Court constituted by a judge; 13
or 14
(b) for a decision on an application for a temporary assessment 15
order--the Childrens Court constituted by a judge. 16
"appropriately qualified", for an officer or employee of the department to 17
whom a power under this Act may be delegated, includes having 18
qualifications, experience or standing appropriate to exercise the 19
power. 20
21
Example of `standing'--
22
An officer's classification level in the public service.
"approved care provider" means a person who holds a certificate of 23
approval as an approved care provider. 24
"approved form" means a form approved under section 156. 25
"assessment order" means a temporary or court assessment order. 26
"authorised officer" means a person holding office as an authorised 27
officer under an appointment under this Act. 28
133
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 4 (continued)
"authority" means a licence or certificate of approval. 1
"carer", of a child, means the person in whose care the child has been 2
placed by the chief executive, and includes an approved care provider. 3
"certificate of approval" means a certificate of approval granted under 4
section 135. 5
"chief executive for transport" means the chief executive of the 6
department in which the Traffic Act 1949 is administered. 7
"child" see section 8. 8
"child in need of protection" see section 10. 9
"child protection order" means a child protection order under chapter 2, 10
part 4, and includes-- 11
(a) an order extending, varying or revoking a child protection order; 12
and 13
(b) an interim order in relation to a proceeding for a child protection 14
order. 15
"commission", of an offence, includes attempted commission of the 16
offence. 17
"contact", with a child, includes to see and talk to the child. 18
"court assessment order" means an order under chapter 2, part 3, and 19
includes-- 20
(a) an order extending, varying or revoking a court assessment order; 21
and 22
(b) an interim order in relation to a proceeding for a court assessment 23
order. 24
"criminal history", of a person, means the person's criminal history 25
within the meaning of the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) 26
Act 1986 and-- 27
(a) despite sections 6, 8 and 9 of that Act, includes a conviction of the 28
person to which any of the sections applies; and 29
(b) despite section 5 of that Act, includes a charge made against the 30
134
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 4 (continued)
person for an offence. 1
"departmental care service" means a care service established by the chief 2
executive to accommodate children in the chief executive's custody or 3
guardianship or other children in need of protection. 4
"domestic violence history" , of a person, means the history of domestic 5
violence orders made against the person under the Domestic Violence 6
(Family Protection) Act 1989. 7
"executive officer", of a corporation, means a person who is concerned 8
with, or takes part in, the corporation's management, whether or not 9
the person is a director or the person's position is given the name of 10
executive officer. 11
"family meeting" means a meeting under section 93. 12
"government entity" see Public Service Act 1996, section 21.43 13
"guardian" means a person who is recognised in law as having all the 14
duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that, by law, parents have 15
in relation to their children.44 16
"harm" see section 9. 17
"holder", of an authority, means-- 18
(a) for a licence--the licensee; or 19
(b) for a certificate of approval--the holder of the certificate. 20
"interim order" means an interim order under section 64.45 21
"interstate order", for a child, means an order made by a court in another 22
State for the child. 23
"interstate welfare authority" means a government authority in another 24
State that, under a law of that State about the care or protection of 25
children, may be the guardian, or have the custody, of children. 26
43 Section 21 (What is a "government entity")
44 See the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth), part 7 (Children), division 2 (Parental
responsibility).
45 Section 64 (Court's powers to make interim orders on adjournment)
135
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 4 (continued)
"judge" means a Childrens Court judge. 1
"licence" means a licence to provide care services. 2
"licensed care service" means a service, operated under a licence, to 3
provide care for children in the chief executive's custody or 4
guardianship. 5
"licensed premises" means premises to which a licence relates. 6
"long-term guardianship", of a child under a child protection order, 7
means guardianship until the child turns 18 years. 8
"medical examination" means a physical, psychiatric, psychological or 9
dental examination, assessment or procedure, and includes forensic 10
examination and an examination or assessment carried out by a 11
nursing or other health professional. 12
"obstruct" includes hinder, resist and attempt to obstruct. 13
"order" means an assessment order or child protection order. 14
"parent" for-- 15
(a) chapter 2, part 2--see section 23; 16
(b) chapter 2, part 3--see section 36; 17
(c) chapter 2, part 4--see section 50; 18
(d) chapter 4--see section 119; 19
(e) other provisions--see section 11.46 20
"party", to a proceeding on an application for an order for a child, means 21
the child, the applicant or a respondent to the application, and includes 22
the chief executive if the application is for a court assessment order 23
made by a police officer. 24
"place" includes-- 25
46 In chapter 2 (Protection of children), part 2 (Temporary assessment orders),
part 3 (Court assessment orders) and part 4 (Child protection orders) and
chapter 4 (Interstate transfers of guardianship and custody of children), "parent"
has a narrower meaning. The meaning given the term in the provisions is the
same.
136
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 4 (continued)
(a) land or premises; and 1
(b) a vehicle, boat or aircraft. 2
"premises" includes-- 3
(a) a building or structure, or part of a building or structure; and 4
(b) land on which a building or structure is situated. 5
"protection", of a child, includes care of the child. 6
"publish", for chapter 7, part 5, see section 179. 7
"reasonably believes" means believes on grounds that are reasonable in 8
the circumstances. 9
"reasonably suspects" means suspects on grounds that are reasonable in 10
the circumstances. 11
"recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander agency", for an 12
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, means an entity that, under 13
an agreement between the State and the entity, is the appropriate entity 14
to be consulted about the child's protection.47 15
"registrar", of the Childrens Court held at a place, includes the clerk of the 16
Magistrates Court at the place. 17
"short-term guardianship", of a child under a child protection order, 18
means guardianship of the child for not more than 2 years. 19
"statement of standards" see section 123. 20
"suitable person" means-- 21
(a) for having the custody or guardianship of a child--a person who 22
is a suitable person under a regulation and agrees to accept the 23
custody or guardianship of the child; or 24
(b) for having the daily care of a child--a person who is a suitable 25
person under a regulation; or 26
(c) for managing a licensed care service--a person who is a suitable 27
47 Under the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 36, "entity" can be an individual,
a corporation or an unincorporated body.
137
Child Protection
SCHEDULE 4 (continued)
person under a regulation. 1
"temporary assessment order" means an order under chapter 2, part 2, 2
and includes an order extending a temporary assessment order. 3
"this Act", for chapter 7, part 5, see section 179. 4
"traffic history", of a person, means the history of the person's 5
contraventions of section 16 of the Traffic Act 1949 or section 328A of 6
the Criminal Code, for which the person has been dealt with.48 7
"tribunal" means a children services appeals tribunal established under the 8
Children's Commissioner and Children's Services Appeals Tribunals 9
Act 1996. 10
11
© State of Queensland 1998
48 Traffic Act 1949, section 16 (Driving etc. whilst under influence of liquor or drugs
or with prescribed concentration of alcohol in blood) and section 328A of the
Criminal Code (Dangerous operation of a vehicle)
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