1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Child Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020.

2 Commencement

Part 3 commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

3 Act amended

This part amends the Adoption Act 2009.

4 Amendment of s 152 (Application of div 1 when further selection required)

Section 152 (2) (a), ‘responsible Minister under’—

omit, insert—

Minister responsible for administering

5 Amendment of s 198 (Chief executive to supervise child’s wellbeing and interests)

(1) Section 198 (1) (c), ‘responsible Minister under’—omit, insert—Minister responsible for administering

(2) Section 198 (1) —insert—

(d) because the Minister responsible for administering the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 (Cwlth), as the child’s guardian under that Act, placed the child in their custody between 30 April 2018 and 1 July 2019, both dates inclusive.

6 Amendment of s 312 (Evidentiary provisions for proceedings under this Act)

Section 312 (2) (d), ‘responsible Minister under’—

omit, insert—

Minister responsible for administering

7 Act amended

This part amends the Child Protection Act 1999.

8 Amendment of s 5BA (Principles for achieving permanency for a child)

Section 5BA (4) —

omit, insert—

(4) For deciding whether an action or order best achieves permanency for a child, the following principles also apply, in order of priority—

(a) the first preference is for the child to be cared for by the child’s family;

(b) the second preference is for the child to be cared for under the guardianship of a person who is a member of the child’s family, other than a parent of the child, or another suitable person;

(c) if the child is not an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child—the next preference is for the child to be adopted under the Adoption Act 2009;

(d) the next preference is for the child to be cared for under the guardianship of the chief executive;

(e) if the child is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child—the last preference is for the child to be adopted under the Adoption Act 2009.

[Note:

1 See also section 5C for the additional principles that apply for administering this Act in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, including the child placement principles.

2 For the principles that apply for administering the Adoption Act 2009, including the additional principles applying in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, see sections 6 and 7 of that Act.

]

9 Insertion of new s 51VAA

After section 51V —

insert—

51VAA Particular review requirements for children under long-term guardianship of chief executive

(1) This section applies if a long-term guardianship order, granting long-term guardianship of the child to the chief executive, is in force for the child.

(2) If the long-term guardianship order was made before the commencement, at least 1 review of the case plan that is carried out under section 51V within the period of 2.5 years after the commencement must comply with subsection (4).

(3) If subsection (2) does not apply—

(a) the chief executive must review the case plan under section 51V within the period of 6 months starting on the day that is 2 years after the day the long-term guardianship order was made; and

(b) the review must comply with subsection (4).

(4) For subsections (2) and (3)(b), the review must consider whether permanency for the child would be best achieved by an alternative arrangement mentioned in section 5BA(4)(a), (b) or (c).
[Note: See also chapter 1, part 2, division 1 for the principles that apply in administering this Act, including—

• section 5BA(4) for the principles that apply in deciding whether an action or order best achieves permanency for a child; and

• section 5C for the additional principles that apply in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

]

(5) This section does not limit section 51V.

10 Amendment of s 51X (Report about the review)

Section 51X (1) —

insert—

(g) if section 51VAA applies in relation to the review and the review considered the matter mentioned in section 51VAA(4)—the review’s findings in relation to the matter.