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Queensland
Coroners (Domestic and
Family Violence Death Review
and Advisory Board)
Amendment Bill 2015
Queensland
Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence
Death Review and Advisory Board)
Amendment Bill 2015
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Amendment of s 3 (Object of Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Insertion of new pt 4A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 4A Domestic and Family Violence Death Review
and Advisory Board
Division 1 Preliminary
91A Purpose of pt 4A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
91B Definitions for pt 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Division 2 Establishment, functions and powers
91C Establishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
91D Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
91E Review function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
91F Relationship with coroners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
91G Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
91H Board must act independently and in public interest . 10
91I Administrative support for board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
Bill 2015
Contents
Division 3 Membership
91J Members of board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
91K Chairperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
91L Appointment of other members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
91M Deputy chairperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
91N Conditions of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
91O Term of appointment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
91P Vacation of office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Division 4 Criminal history reports
91Q Criminal history report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
91R New convictions must be disclosed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Division 5 Proceedings of the board
91S Time and place of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
91T Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
91U Presiding at meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
91V Conduct of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
91W Minutes and other records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Division 6 Disclosure of conflict of interests
91X Disclosure of conflict of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Division 7 Accessing information
91Y Right to information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
91Z Board may enter into arrangement with State Coroner 20
91ZA Information sharing arrangements with other jurisdictions 21
Division 8 Reporting
91ZB Annual report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
91ZC Report about systemic matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Division 9 Miscellaneous
91ZD Confidentiality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
91ZE Protection from liability for members and persons helping
board perform functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
91ZF Protection from liability for providing information . . . . 26
6 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Page 2
2015
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Coroners Act 2003 to establish the
Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory
Board and for other particular purposes
Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
Bill 2015
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Clause 1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Coroners (Domestic and Family 4
Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment Act 5
2015. 6
Clause 2 Commencement 7
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 8
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 9
2003 10
Clause 3 Act amended 11
This part amends the Coroners Act 2003. 12
Clause 4 Amendment of s 3 (Object of Act) 13
Section 3-- 14
insert-- 15
(e) establish the Domestic and Family Violence 16
Death Review and Advisory Board to 17
review deaths related to domestic and family 18
violence to prevent or reduce the likelihood 19
of those deaths. 20
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
Bill 2015
Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
Clause 5 Insertion of new pt 4A 1
After section 91-- 2
insert-- 3
Part 4A Domestic and Family 4
Violence Death Review 5
and Advisory Board 6
Division 1 Preliminary 7
91A Purpose of pt 4A 8
The purpose of this part is to establish the Domestic 9
and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory 10
Board to-- 11
(a) identify preventative measures to reduce the 12
likelihood of domestic and family violence 13
deaths in Queensland; and 14
(b) increase recognition of the impact of, and 15
circumstances surrounding, domestic and 16
family violence and gain a greater 17
understanding of the context in which 18
domestic and family violence deaths occur; 19
and 20
(c) make recommendations to the Minister for 21
implementation by government entities and 22
non-government entities to prevent or 23
reduce the likelihood of domestic and 24
family violence deaths. 25
91B Definitions for pt 4A 26
In this part-- 27
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
board means the Domestic and Family Violence 1
Death Review and Advisory Board established 2
under section 91C. 3
chairperson means the State Coroner or Deputy 4
State Coroner holding office as chairperson under 5
section 91K. 6
deputy chairperson means the person appointed 7
as deputy chairperson of the board under section 8
91M. 9
domestic and family violence means domestic 10
violence within the meaning of the Domestic and 11
Family Violence Protection Act 2012, section 8. 12
domestic and family violence death means the 13
death of a person (the deceased person)-- 14
(a) caused by another person (the second 15
person) if-- 16
(i) the deceased person was or had been in 17
a relevant relationship with the second 18
person that involved domestic and 19
family violence; or 20
(ii) at the time of death, the deceased 21
person was in a relevant relationship 22
with a person who was or had been in a 23
relevant relationship with the second 24
person that involved domestic and 25
family violence; or 26
(iii) at the time of death, the second person 27
mistakenly believed the deceased 28
person was in a relevant relationship 29
with a person who was or had been in a 30
relevant relationship with the second 31
person that involved domestic and 32
family violence; or 33
(iv) at the time of death, the deceased 34
person was a witness to or present at, 35
or attempted to intervene in, domestic 36
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
and family violence between the 1
second person and a person who was or 2
had been in a relevant relationship with 3
the second person; or 4
(v) at the time of death, the deceased 5
person was a witness to or present at, 6
or attempted to intervene in violence 7
between the second person and a 8
person who the second person 9
mistakenly believed was in a relevant 10
relationship with a person who was or 11
had been in a relevant relationship with 12
the second person that involved 13
domestic and family violence; or 14
(b) by suicide or suspected suicide if the person 15
was or had been in a relevant relationship 16
with another person that involved domestic 17
and family violence. 18
expert reports see section 91G(2)(b). 19
member means-- 20
(a) the chairperson; or 21
(b) a member of the board appointed under 22
section 91J(b). 23
relevant relationship see the Domestic and 24
Family Violence Protection Act 2012, section 13. 25
Note-- 26
Under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 27
2012, section 13, a relevant relationship means an 28
intimate personal relationship, a family relationship or 29
an informal care relationship, as defined under that Act. 30
State employee means a person who is a State 31
employee within the meaning of the Public 32
Service Act 2008, section 26B(4). 33
Division 2 Establishment, functions 34
and powers 35
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
91C Establishment 1
The Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and 2
Advisory Board is established. 3
91D Functions 4
(1) The board has the following functions-- 5
(a) to review domestic and family violence 6
deaths in Queensland, including-- 7
(i) deaths that occurred before the board 8
was established; and 9
(ii) deaths that are still being investigated 10
under this Act; 11
(b) to analyse data and apply research to 12
identify patterns, trends and risk factors 13
relating to domestic and family violence 14
deaths in Queensland; 15
(c) to carry out, or engage other persons to 16
carry out, research to prevent or reduce the 17
likelihood of domestic and family violence 18
deaths; 19
(d) to use data, research findings and expert 20
reports to compile systemic reports into 21
domestic and family violence deaths, 22
including identifying key learnings and 23
elements of good practice in the prevention 24
and reduction in the likelihood of domestic 25
and family violence deaths in Queensland; 26
(e) to make recommendations to the Minister 27
about improvements to legislation, policies, 28
practices, services, training, resources and 29
communication for implementation by 30
government entities and non-government 31
entities to prevent or reduce the likelihood 32
of domestic and family violence deaths in 33
Queensland; 34
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
(f) to monitor the implementation of 1
recommendations made under paragraph 2
(e). 3
(2) The board may perform its functions in relation 4
to the death of a person who dies outside 5
Queensland if it is a reportable death mentioned 6
in section 8(2)(b). 7
(3) It is not a function of the board to carry out an 8
investigation of a death. 9
91E Review function 10
Without limiting the matters to which the board may 11
have regard in reviewing a domestic and family 12
violence death, the board must consider the following 13
matters-- 14
(a) the events leading up to the death; 15
(b) any interaction with, and the effectiveness 16
of, any support or other services provided to 17
the deceased person and the person who 18
caused the death; 19
(c) the general availability of services 20
mentioned in paragraph (b); 21
(d) failures in systems or services that may have 22
contributed to, or failed to prevent, the 23
death. 24
91F Relationship with coroners 25
(1) The board may review a domestic and family 26
violence death even though the death is or may be 27
the subject of investigation by a coroner. 28
(2) The review is independent of, and separate to, the 29
investigation by the coroner. 30
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
91G Powers 1
(1) The board may do all things necessary or 2
convenient to be done for or in connection with 3
the performance of its functions. 4
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the board may 5
engage persons with appropriate qualifications 6
and experience to-- 7
(a) conduct research relevant to the board's 8
functions; and 9
(b) prepare reports (expert reports) to help the 10
board perform its functions. 11
91H Board must act independently and in public 12
interest 13
(1) In performing its functions, the board must act 14
independently and in the public interest. 15
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the board is not 16
subject to direction by anyone, including the 17
Minister, about how it performs its functions. 18
91I Administrative support for board 19
The chief executive must ensure the board has the 20
administrative support services reasonably required 21
for the board to perform its functions effectively and 22
efficiently. 23
Division 3 Membership 24
91J Members of board 25
The board consists of-- 26
(a) the chairperson; and 27
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
(b) not more than 11 other persons appointed by 1
the Minister that the Minister considers 2
appropriate. 3
91K Chairperson 4
(1) The Minister must appoint the State Coroner or 5
the Deputy State Coroner as the chairperson of 6
the board. 7
(2) The chairperson holds office for the term stated 8
in the person's instrument of appointment as 9
chairperson. 10
(3) The chairperson is responsible for leading and 11
directing the activities of the board to ensure the 12
board performs its functions appropriately. 13
91L Appointment of other members 14
(1) In making an appointment of a member other 15
than the chairperson, the Minister must ensure-- 16
(a) the membership of the board reflects the 17
diversity of the Queensland community and 18
includes at least one member who is an 19
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and 20
(b) the membership of the board includes 21
representatives of government entities and 22
non-government entities; and 23
(c) that members have experience, knowledge 24
or skills the Minister considers relevant to 25
the board's functions, for example, 26
experience, knowledge or skills in relation 27
to domestic and family violence, the justice 28
system and health. 29
(2) A person may not be appointed as a member if 30
the person-- 31
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
[s 5]
(a) is an insolvent under administration under 1
the Corporations Act, section 9; or 2
(b) has a conviction, other than a spent 3
conviction, for an indictable offence; or 4
(c) is a member of the Legislative Assembly. 5
(3) In this section-- 6
spent conviction means a conviction-- 7
(a) for which the rehabilitation period under the 8
Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) 9
Act 1986 has expired under that Act; and 10
(b) that is not revived as prescribed by section 11
11 of that Act. 12
91M Deputy chairperson 13
(1) The Minister may appoint a member of the board 14
to be the deputy chairperson of the board. 15
(2) A member may be appointed as the deputy 16
chairperson at the same time as the person is 17
appointed as a member. 18
(3) A vacancy arises in the office of deputy 19
chairperson if the person holding the office-- 20
(a) resigns office by signed notice given to the 21
Minister; or 22
(b) ceases to be a member. 23
(4) A person resigning the office of deputy 24
chairperson may continue to be a member. 25
(5) The deputy chairperson is to act as chairperson-- 26
(a) during a vacancy in the office of the 27
chairperson; and 28
(b) during all periods when the chairperson is 29
absent from duty or for another reason can 30
not perform the duties of the office. 31
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
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91N Conditions of appointment 1
(1) A member is to be paid the remuneration and 2
allowances decided by the Minister. 3
(2) A member who is a State employee is not entitled 4
to be paid remuneration for holding office as a 5
member. 6
(3) For matters not provided for by this Act, a 7
member holds office on the terms and conditions 8
decided by the Minister. 9
91O Term of appointment 10
(1) A member is appointed for the term, of not more 11
than 3 years, stated in the member's instrument 12
of appointment. 13
(2) A member may be reappointed. 14
91P Vacation of office 15
(1) The office of a member becomes vacant if the 16
member-- 17
(a) completes the member's term of office and 18
is not reappointed; or 19
(b) resigns from office by signed notice given to 20
the Minister; or 21
(c) is an insolvent under administration under 22
the Corporations Act, section 9; or 23
(d) is convicted of an indictable offence; or 24
(e) becomes a member of the Legislative 25
Assembly; or 26
(f) is absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the 27
board-- 28
(i) without the board's permission; and 29
(ii) without reasonable excuse; or 30
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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[s 5]
(g) is removed from office by the Minister 1
under subsection (2). 2
(2) The Minister may end the appointment of a 3
member if the Minister is satisfied the member is 4
incapable of satisfactorily performing the 5
member's duties. 6
Division 4 Criminal history reports 7
91Q Criminal history report 8
(1) To decide if a person can not be appointed or 9
continue as a member, the Minister may ask the 10
commissioner of the police service for-- 11
(a) a written report about the criminal history of 12
the person; and 13
(b) a brief description of the circumstances of a 14
conviction mentioned in the criminal 15
history. 16
(2) However, the Minister may make the request 17
only if the person has given the Minister written 18
consent for the request. 19
(3) The commissioner of the police service must 20
comply with the request. 21
(4) However, the duty to comply applies only to 22
information in the commissioner's possession or 23
to which the commissioner has access. 24
(5) The Minister must ensure the report is destroyed 25
as soon as practicable after it is no longer needed 26
for the purpose for which it was requested. 27
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
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91R New convictions must be disclosed 1
(1) This section applies if a person who is a member 2
is convicted of an indictable offence during the 3
term of the member's appointment. 4
(2) The person must, unless the person has a 5
reasonable excuse, immediately give notice of 6
the conviction to the Minister. 7
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 8
(3) The notice must include all of the following-- 9
(a) the existence of the conviction; 10
(b) when the offence was committed; 11
(c) details adequate to identify the offence; 12
(d) the sentence imposed on the person. 13
Division 5 Proceedings of the board 14
91S Time and place of meetings 15
(1) The board may hold its meetings when and where 16
it decides. 17
(2) The chairperson-- 18
(a) may at any time call a meeting of the board; 19
and 20
(b) must call a meeting if asked by at least 3 21
other members. 22
91T Quorum 23
A quorum for a meeting of the board is at least half of 24
the members. 25
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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Part 2 Amendment of Coroners Act 2003
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91U Presiding at meetings 1
(1) The chairperson presides at all meetings of the 2
board at which the chairperson is present. 3
(2) If the chairperson is not present at a meeting, the 4
deputy chairperson is to preside. 5
(3) If neither the chairperson nor the deputy 6
chairperson is present at a meeting, the member 7
chosen by the members present is to preside. 8
91V Conduct of meetings 9
(1) Subject to this division, the board may conduct 10
its proceedings, including its meetings, as it 11
considers appropriate. 12
(2) The board may hold meetings, or allow members 13
to take part in meetings, by using any technology 14
allowing reasonably contemporaneous and 15
continuous communication between persons 16
taking part in the meeting. 17
(3) A member who takes part in a meeting of the 18
board under subsection (2) is taken to be present 19
at the meeting. 20
(4) A question at a meeting of the board is to be 21
decided by a majority of the votes of the 22
members present at the meeting. 23
(5) If the votes are equal, the member presiding has a 24
casting vote. 25
(6) A resolution is a valid resolution of the board, 26
even though it is not passed at a meeting of the 27
board, if-- 28
(a) at least half the members give written 29
agreement to the resolution; and 30
(b) notice of the resolution is given under 31
procedures approved by the board. 32
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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91W Minutes and other records 1
The board must keep-- 2
(a) minutes of its meetings; and 3
(b) a record of any decisions and resolutions of 4
the board. 5
Division 6 Disclosure of conflict of 6
interests 7
91X Disclosure of conflict of interest 8
(1) If-- 9
(a) a member has a direct or indirect pecuniary 10
or other interest in a matter being considered 11
or about to be considered at a meeting of the 12
board; and 13
(b) the interest appears to raise a conflict with 14
the proper performance of the member's 15
duties in relation to the consideration of the 16
matter; 17
the member must, as soon as practicable after the 18
relevant facts have come to the member's 19
knowledge, disclose the nature of the interest at a 20
meeting of the board. 21
(2) Particulars of a disclosure made under this 22
section must be recorded by the board in a 23
register of interests kept for the purpose. 24
(3) After a member has disclosed the nature of an 25
interest in a matter, the member must not be 26
present during a deliberation of the board about 27
the matter, unless the board otherwise decides. 28
(4) For the making of a decision by the board under 29
subsection (3), a member who has a direct or 30
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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[s 5]
indirect pecuniary or other interest in a matter to 1
which the disclosure relates must not-- 2
(a) be present during the deliberation of the 3
board for the purpose of making the 4
decision; or 5
(b) take part in the making of the decision by 6
the board. 7
(5) A contravention of this section does not 8
invalidate a decision of the board. 9
(6) However, if the board becomes aware a member 10
contravened this section, the board must 11
reconsider a decision made by the board in which 12
the member took part in contravention of this 13
section. 14
Division 7 Accessing information 15
91Y Right to information 16
(1) To perform its functions, the board has a right to 17
all information in the custody or under the 18
control of a prescribed entity. 19
(2) The board may, by written notice given to a 20
prescribed entity, require the entity, within a 21
stated reasonable period-- 22
(a) to give the information to the board; and 23
(b) if the information is contained in a 24
document--to allow the board to inspect the 25
document and take a copy of it. 26
(3) The notice must state the purpose for making the 27
requirement. 28
(4) The prescribed entity must comply with the 29
notice, unless the entity has a reasonable excuse. 30
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 31
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(5) Without limiting subsection (4), it is a reasonable 1
excuse for a prescribed entity to fail to comply 2
with the notice because complying with the 3
notice-- 4
(a) if the entity is an individual--might tend to 5
incriminate the individual; or 6
(b) would require the entity to disclose 7
information that is the subject of legal 8
professional privilege; or 9
(c) would prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful 10
method or procedure for preventing, 11
detecting, investigating or dealing with a 12
contravention or possible contravention of a 13
law; or 14
(d) would enable the existence or identity of a 15
confidential source of information, in 16
relation to the enforcement or 17
administration of a law, to be ascertained; or 18
(e) would endanger a person's life or physical 19
safety; or 20
(f) would prejudice a prosecution or another 21
matter before a court. 22
(6) For subsection (1), information is not taken to be 23
in the prescribed entity's control merely because 24
of an agreement between the prescribed entity 25
and another entity under which the other entity 26
must give the information to the prescribed 27
entity. 28
(7) For subsection (4), if the notice requires the 29
prescribed entity to allow the board to inspect a 30
document that contains exempt information, the 31
entity may comply with the notice by allowing 32
the board to inspect a copy of the document with 33
any exempt information obliterated. 34
(8) This section applies despite any other Act. 35
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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(9) In this section-- 1
exempt information, for a prescribed entity, 2
means information for which the entity considers 3
it would not be required to give because of a 4
reasonable excuse mentioned in subsection (5). 5
prescribed entity means any of the following-- 6
(a) the chief executive of a department; 7
(b) the Queensland Family and Child 8
Commission; 9
(c) the commissioner of the police service; 10
(d) an entity that provides services to persons in 11
relevant relationships if those persons are 12
affected by domestic and family violence 13
deaths; 14
(e) an entity prescribed by regulation. 15
91Z Board may enter into arrangement with State 16
Coroner 17
(1) The board may enter into an arrangement with 18
the State Coroner about the exchange of 19
information between a coroner and the board. 20
(2) Without limiting what may be included in an 21
arrangement, the arrangement may provide for-- 22
(a) the board to be notified by a coroner that a 23
reportable death is, or is likely to be, a 24
domestic and family violence death and how 25
and when the notification is to occur; and 26
(b) coroners giving the board access to the 27
following documents for performing the 28
board's functions-- 29
(i) an investigation document that relates 30
to the domestic and family violence 31
death of a particular person; 32
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(ii) all investigation documents that relate 1
to domestic and family violence 2
deaths; and 3
(c) the board to give coroners access to 4
documents in the board's possession or 5
control that are relevant to an investigation; 6
and 7
(d) how, when and where documents may be 8
accessed under the arrangement. 9
(3) The State Coroner may give the board access to 10
an investigation document under the 11
arrangement. 12
(4) Sections 52(1)(c), 53, 54 and 55 do not apply in 13
relation to access to an investigation document 14
under the arrangement. 15
(5) In this section-- 16
investigation document includes a document 17
obtained under the Coroners Act 1958 that is 18
similar in nature to an investigation document as 19
defined in schedule 2. 20
91ZA Information sharing arrangements with other 21
jurisdictions 22
(1) For its functions, the board may enter into an 23
arrangement with a corresponding entity about 24
sharing or exchanging information held by the 25
board or the corresponding agency. 26
(2) Under the arrangement, the board may disclose 27
information in its possession or under its control 28
unless the disclosure would prejudice the 29
investigation of a contravention or possible 30
contravention of a law or an investigation by a 31
coroner. 32
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(3) However, before disclosing coronial information 1
under the arrangement the board must consult the 2
State Coroner about the proposed disclosure. 3
(4) In this section-- 4
coronial information means information in the 5
board's possession or under the board's control 6
that was given to the board by the State coroner. 7
corresponding entity means an entity in another 8
State that performs the same functions, or 9
substantially the same functions, as the board 10
information includes a document. 11
Division 8 Reporting 12
91ZB Annual report 13
(1) The board must, within 3 months after the end of 14
each financial year, give the Minister a report (an 15
annual report) in relation to the performance of 16
the board's functions during the financial year. 17
(2) The annual report must include information 18
about the progress made during the financial year 19
to implement recommendations made by the 20
board during that year or previous financial 21
years. 22
(3) The Minister must table a copy of the report in 23
the Legislative Assembly within one month after 24
receiving it. 25
91ZC Report about systemic matter 26
(1) The board may prepare a report about a matter 27
arising from the performance of the board's 28
functions. 29
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(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the board may 1
prepare a report-- 2
(a) about its findings in relation to a review 3
carried out by the board; or 4
(b) making recommendations to the Minister 5
about any other matter likely to prevent or 6
reduce domestic and family violence deaths. 7
(3) If the board proposes to include information 8
adverse to a person in the report-- 9
(a) the board must not include the information 10
in the report unless, before the report is 11
prepared, the board gives the person an 12
opportunity to make submissions about the 13
information; and 14
(b) if the person makes submissions and the 15
board still proposes to include the 16
information in the report, the board must 17
ensure the person's submissions are fairly 18
stated in the report 19
(4) The board may, if it considers it appropriate, give 20
a copy of the report to the Minister. 21
(5) If the report includes information relating to a 22
death that is still being investigated by a coroner, 23
the board must-- 24
(a) give the coroner a copy of the report; and 25
(b) if the board intends to give a copy of the 26
report to the Minister--ensure the copy is 27
given to the coroner before giving the 28
Minister a copy. 29
(6) If the board gives a copy of the report to the 30
Minister, the board must make a recommendation 31
about whether the report should be tabled in the 32
Legislative Assembly. 33
(7) The board may make a recommendation that a 34
report be tabled in the Legislative Assembly only 35
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if the report does not contain information that is 1
in a form that identifies or may identify an 2
individual in the individual's private capacity. 3
(8) If the board recommends the report not be tabled 4
in the Legislative Assembly, the Minister may 5
table the report only if the Minister is satisfied 6
the public interest in tabling the report outweighs 7
any other considerations. 8
(9) If the board recommends the report be tabled in 9
the Legislative Assembly, the Minister must table 10
the report within 5 sitting days after receiving it. 11
Division 9 Miscellaneous 12
91ZD Confidentiality 13
(1) This section applies to a person who is or was-- 14
(a) a member; or 15
(b) a person engaged to help in the performance 16
of the board's functions. 17
(2) The person must not disclose confidential 18
information to anyone else other than to the 19
extent the disclosure is permitted under this 20
section. 21
Maximum penalty--200 penalty units. 22
(3) Confidential information may be disclosed-- 23
(a) in the performance of a function under this 24
Act; or 25
(b) to the commissioner of the police service in 26
connection with a possible criminal offence; 27
or 28
(c) to a coroner to the extent it may relate to a 29
reportable death; or 30
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(d) to the Crime and Corruption Commission; 1
or 2
(e) to the ombudsman about the death of a 3
person to the extent it is relevant to the 4
performance of the ombudsman's functions; 5
or 6
(f) to the extent otherwise required or permitted 7
under this Act or another Act. 8
Example-- 9
Confidential information may be disclosed under an 10
arrangement with a corresponding entity under section 11
91ZA. 12
(4) The person can not be compelled to disclose the 13
confidential information, including giving 14
evidence in relation to the confidential 15
information, in any proceeding. 16
(5) In this section-- 17
confidential information means information 18
that-- 19
(a) is not publicly available; and 20
(b) is in a form that identifies or may identify an 21
individual; and 22
(c) was acquired by, or may be accessed by, a 23
person in the person's capacity as mentioned 24
in subsection (1). 25
disclose includes give access to. 26
information includes a document. 27
91ZE Protection from liability for members and 28
persons helping board perform functions 29
(1) A member or a person engaged to help in the 30
performance of the board's functions is not 31
civilly liable for an act done, or omission made, 32
honestly and without negligence under this part. 33
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(2) If subsection (1) prevents a civil liability 1
attaching to a member or other person, the 2
liability attaches instead to the State. 3
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a member or 4
other person who is a State employee. 5
Note-- 6
For protection from civil liability in relation to State 7
employees--see the Public Service Act 2008, section 8
26C. 9
91ZF Protection from liability for providing 10
information 11
(1) This section applies to an entity that gives 12
information to the board as required by a notice 13
under section 91Y. 14
(2) The entity is not liable, civilly, criminally or 15
under an administrative process, for giving the 16
information. 17
(3) Without limiting subsection (2)-- 18
(a) the giving of the information does not 19
constitute a breach of professional etiquette 20
or ethics or a departure from accepted 21
standards of professional conduct; and 22
(b) no liability for defamation is incurred by the 23
entity because of the giving of the 24
information. 25
(4) The protection given to the entity by this section 26
extends to-- 27
(a) an entity that, in good faith, provided the 28
person with any information on the basis of 29
which the information was given; and 30
(b) an entity that was otherwise concerned in 31
the giving of the information. 32
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Coroners (Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board) Amendment
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[s 6]
Clause 6 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) 1
Schedule 2-- 2
insert-- 3
board, for part 4A, see section 91B. 4
chairperson, for part 4A, see section 91B. 5
deputy chairperson, for part 4A, see section 91B. 6
domestic and family violence, for part 4A, see 7
section 91B. 8
domestic and family violence death, for part 4A, 9
see section 91B. 10
expert reports, for part 4A, see section 11
91G(2)(b). 12
member, for part 4A, see section 91B. 13
relevant relationship, for part 4A, see section 14
91B. 15
State employee, for part 4A, see section 91B. 16
© State of Queensland 2015
Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
Page 27
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