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Queensland
CHILD SAFETY
LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
BILL 2004
Queensland
CHILD SAFETY LEGISLATION
AMENDMENT BILL 2004
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 Commencement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND
MARRIAGES REGISTRATION ACT 2003
3 Act amended in pt 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4 Insertion of new ss 48A and 48B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
48A Registrar to give notice of registration of child death to
commissioner ...................................... 12
48B Registrar may enter into arrangement with commissioner . . . . . . . . 13
5 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION ACT 1999
6 Act amended in pt 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7 Amendment of s 5 (Principles for administration of Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
8 Amendment of s 7 (Chief executive's functions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
9 Insertion of new s 21A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
21A Unborn children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10 Amendment of s 22 (Protection from liability for notification of, or
information given about, alleged harm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
11 Amendment of s 74 (Charter of rights for a child in care) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
12 Amendment of s 148 (Obligation to report harm to children in
residential care) ........................................... 17
13 Amendment of s 186 (Confidentiality of notifiers of harm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
14 Amendment of s 188 (Confidentiality of information given by persons
involved in administration of Act to other persons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
15 Replacement of s 194 (Release of information by health service
employees) ............................................. 18
194 Release of information by health service employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
16 Insertion of new ch 7A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
CHAPTER 7A--CHILD DEATHS
246A Chief executive to review department's involvement with
particular children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
246B Terms of reference and extent of review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
246C Chief executive may seek information from entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
246D Report to be prepared and given to CDCRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
246E Protection from liability for giving information to chief executive . . 21
246F No liability for defamation if report made in good faith . . . . . . . . . . 21
246G Preparation of supplementary report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
246H Chief executive to give reports to State Coroner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
17 Insertion of new ss 248 and 248A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
248 Annual reporting about child protection matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
248A Acting in support of the Commissioner for Children and Young
People and Child Guardian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
18 Amendment of ch 9, pt 2, hdg (Savings and transitional provisions) . . . . . . 24
19 Insertion of new ch 9, pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
PART 3--SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISION FOR CHILD
SAFETY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 2004
261 First reports under s 248(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
20 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
PART 4--AMENDMENT OF CHILDREN SERVICES TRIBUNAL
ACT 2000
21 Act amended in pt 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
22 Amendment of s 7 (Principles underlying this Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
23 Amendment of s 57 (Reviewable decisions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
24 Amendment of s 58 (How to start a review) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
25 Amendment of s 60 (Registrar to give notice of review application) . . . . . . 26
26 Amendment of s 62 (Certain persons may elect to become parties) . . . . . . . 27
27 Amendment of s 70 (Stay of reviewable decision's operation). . . . . . . . . . . 27
28 Amendment of s 73 (President or presiding member may constitute
tribunal for ss 74, 75 and 76). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
29 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
PART 5--AMENDMENT OF COMMISSION FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000
30 Act amended in pt 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
31 Amendment of title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
32 Amendment of s 1 (Short title) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
33 Insertion of new s 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4A Notes in text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
34 Amendment of s 5 (Object of Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
35 Amendment of s 6 (Principles underlying this Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
36 Insertion of new s 7A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7A Scope of Act relating to children in the child safety system . . . . . . . 30
37 Insertion of new pt 1, div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Division 4--Children in the child safety system
11A When is a child "in the child safety system" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
38 Replacement of pt 2, hdg (Commissioner and Commission for
Children and Young People) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
39 Replacement of s 12 (Establishment of commissioner and commission) . . . 31
12 Establishment of commissioner, assistant commissioner and
commission ......................................... 31
40 Amendment of s 15 (Commissioner's functions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
41 Insertion of new s 15A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
15A Role of assistant commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
42 Amendment of s 16 (Commissioner's powers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
43 Insertion of new s 16A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
16A Assistant commissioner's powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
44 Amendment of s 18 (Way in which commissioner is to perform
commissioner's functions). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
45 Amendment of s 20 (Referral of matters or offences to other persons) . . . . 35
46 Insertion of new pt 2, div 3A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Division 3A--Appointment of assistant commissioner
28A Appointment of assistant commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
47 Insertion of new pt 2A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
PART 2A--POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS RELATING TO THE
COMMISSIONER'S MONITORING FUNCTIONS
Division 1--Operation of part 2A
31A Powers relate to monitoring functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
31B Service providers to which this part applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Division 2--Powers and obligations
31C Power to require information or documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
31D Access to documents of the child safety department . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
31E Help to obtain information or documents from a licensee. . . . . . . . . 38
31F Periodic reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
31G Review of service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
31H Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
31I Report to Minister about noncompliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
31J Noncompliance not an offence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
48 Amendment of pt 3, hdg (Complaints) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
49 Insertion of new pt 3, div 1AA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Division 1AA--Preliminary
31K Operation of pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
50 Amendment of s 32 (Subject matter of complaints) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
51 Replacement of pt 3, div 3, hdg (Investigating complaints) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
52 Amendment of s 41 (Commissioner may investigate complaint) . . . . . . . . . 41
53 Amendment of s 42 (Notice to service provider) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
54 Insertion of new s 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
42 Other investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
55 Amendment of s 43 (Access to child) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
56 Amendment of s 56 (Ending an investigation in child's best interests) . . . . 43
57 Amendment of s 57 (Notice of investigation result) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
58 Amendment of s 58 (Report after investigation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
59 Replacement of s 64 (Purpose of pt 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
64 Purpose of pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
64A Meaning of "visitable site" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
64B Meaning of "visitable home" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
60 Amendment of pt 4, div 2, hdg (Visits to visitable sites) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
61 Amendment of s 65 (Commissioner must arrange regular and
frequent visits) ........................................... 45
62 Amendment of s 66 (Requirement to visit or communicate if asked). . . . . . 45
63 Insertion of new s 66A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
66A Requirement to visit visitable home or communicate if asked . . . . . 45
64 Amendment of s 67 (Report after each visit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
65 Amendment of s 68 (Functions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
66 Amendment of pt 4, div 3, sdiv 2, hdg (Power of entry to visitable sites) . . 48
67 Amendment of s 69 (Power of entry) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
68 Amendment of s 70 (Consent to entry) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
69 Amendment of s 71 (Application for warrant) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
70 Amendment of s 72 (Issue of warrant) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
71 Replacement of s 73 (Warrants--procedure before entry) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
73 Warrants--procedure before entry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
72 Amendment of s 74 (Related powers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
73 Amendment of s 75 (Powers in relation to staff of sites) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
74 Amendment of s 76 (Power to require documents to be produced) . . . . . . . 51
75 Insertion of new s 76A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
76A Powers relating to visitable homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
76 Amendment of s 77 (Child's views and wishes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
77 Amendment of s 78 (Community visitor to respect privacy of children
residing at a site) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
78 Amendment of s 81 (Appointment). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
79 Omission of s 89 (Annual report by commissioner) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
80 Insertion of new pt 4A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
PART 4A--CHILD DEATHS
Division 1--Child Death Case Review Committee
Subdivision 1--Preliminary
89A Definitions for div 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Subdivision 2--Establishment and functions
89B Establishment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
89C Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
89D CDCRC must act independently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
89E CDCRC may use expert advisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Subdivision 3--Membership
89F Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
89G Provision relating to appointment of State Coroner as appointed
member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
89H Minister may obtain report from police commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . 56
89I Application of Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders)
Act 1986 ........................................ 57
89J Conditions of appointment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
89K Vacation of office of appointed member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
89L Removal from office of appointed members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Subdivision 4--Chairperson
89M Chairperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Subdivision 5--Conduct of business
89N Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
89O Conduct of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
89P Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
89Q Disclosure of interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
89R Conduct of business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Subdivision 6--Reviews and reports
89S Criteria to be used in carrying out review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
89T Carrying out review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
89U CDCRC to give copy of its report to certain persons . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Subdivision 7--Recommendations
89V Request to chief executive (child safety) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
89W CDCRC may give report to Minister in certain circumstances . . . . . 62
Subdivision 8--Other provisions
89X Confidentiality of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
89Y No liability for defamation if report made in good faith . . . . . . . . . . 63
89Z Information not to be given in evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
89ZA Annual report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
89ZB Administrative support for CDCRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Division 2--Commissioner's functions relating to child deaths
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
89ZC Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
89ZD Access to information in the register for research purposes . . . . . . . 64
89ZE Other functions relating to information about child deaths . . . . . . . . 65
89ZF Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
89ZG Government entity may enter into arrangement with commissioner. 67
89ZH Disclosure of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
81 Insertion of new pt 7A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
PART 7A--COMMISSIONER MAY APPLY FOR REVIEW OF
PARTICULAR DECISIONS
140A Meaning of "reviewable decision" for pt 7A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
140B Commissioner may apply for review of reviewable decisions . . . . . 70
82 Amendment of s 159 (Relationship with complaints agencies) . . . . . . . . . . 70
83 Amendment of s 161 (Protection from liability) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
84 Insertion of new s 163A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
163A Annual report by commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
85 Amendment of s 165 (Delegation by commissioner) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
86 Insertion of new pt 9, div 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Division 6--Transitional provisions for Child Safety Legislation
Amendment Act 2004
183 Commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
184 Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
185 Child deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
186 References to child safety department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
187 First report under s 89ZA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
87 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PART 6--AMENDMENT OF CORONERS ACT 2003
88 Act amended in pt 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
89 Amendment of s 9 ("Death in care" defined) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
90 Insertion of new s 10A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
10A State Coroner to notify children's commissioner of deaths . . . . . . . . 76
91 Amendment of s 45 (Coroner's findings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
92 Amendment of s 46 (Coroner's comments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
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Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
93 Amendment of s 47 (Coroner's comments and findings for deaths
in care or custody) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
94 Insertion of new ss 54A-54C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
54A Access to investigation documents by the children's commissioner . 77
54B Limitations on access under s 54A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
54C Fees for access under s 54A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
95 Amendment of s 71 (Functions and powers of State Coroner) . . . . . . . . . . . 79
96 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
PART 7--AMENDMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES ACT 1991
97 Act amended in pt 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
98 Amendment of s 57 (Duty of confidentiality of officials) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
99 Amendment of s 63 (Confidentiality) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
PART 8--AMENDMENT OF OMBUDSMAN ACT 2001
100 Act amended in pt 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
101 Insertion of new ss 57A and 57B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
57A Copy of report may be given to particular persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
57B Report may be given to CDCRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
PART 9--AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS
102 Consequential amendments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
SCHEDULE 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
MINOR AMENDMENTS OF COMMISSION FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000
SCHEDULE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
AMENDMENT OF REFERENCES TO COMMISSION FOR
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000, COMMISSIONER
AND COMMISSION
PART 1--REFERENCES TO COMMISSION FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000
1 Child Care Act 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
2 Child Protection Act 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3 Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4 Education (Teacher Registration) Act 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5 Grammar Schools Act 1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6 Juvenile Justice Act 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
9
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
7 Mental Health Act 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8 Ombudsman Act 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
PART 2--REFERENCES TO COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG PEOPLE
9 Child Care Act 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
10 Crime and Misconduct Act 2001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
11 Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
12 Education (Teacher Registration) Act 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
13 Juvenile Justice Act 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
14 Mental Health Act 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
15 Ombudsman Act 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
16 Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
17 Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
18 Public Service Act 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
PART 3--REFERENCES TO COMMISSION FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG PEOPLE
19 Public Service Act 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
2004
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend particular Acts to increase child safety, and for other
purposes
s1 12 s4
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
PART 1--PRELIMINARY 2
1 Short title
Clause 3
This Act may be cited as the Child Safety Legislation Amendment 4
Act 2004. 5
2 Commencement
Clause 6
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 7
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND 8
MARRIAGES REGISTRATION ACT 2003 9
3 Act amended in pt 2
Clause 10
This part amends the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration 11
Act 2003. 12
4 Insertion of new ss 48A and 48B
Clause 13
Part 7, after section 48-- 14
insert-- 15
`48A Registrar to give notice of registration of child death to 16
commissioner 17
`(1) This section applies if the registrar registers the death of a child, 18
other than a stillborn child. 19
`(2) The registrar must give notice of the registration to-- 20
(a) the commissioner; and 21
(b) the chief executive (child safety). 22
s4 13 s4
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(3) The notice must include the following information, to the extent it is 1
known to the registrar-- 2
(a) for the notice to the commissioner-- 3
(i) the registration number for the registration; and 4
(ii) the child's name; and 5
(iii) the child's place of birth; and 6
(iv) the child's usual place of residence; and 7
(v) the child's age; and 8
(vi) the child's sex; and 9
(vii) the child's occupation, if any; 10
(viii)the duration of the last illness, if any, had by the child; and 11
(ix) the date and place of death; and 12
(x) the cause of death; 13
(b) for the notice to the chief executive (child safety)-- 14
(i) the child's name; and 15
(ii) the child's place of birth; and 16
(iii) the child's usual place of residence; and 17
(iv) the date and place of death. 18
`(4) To the extent that it is practicable to do so, the registrar must give the 19
notice within 30 days after registering the death. 20
`(5) In this section-- 21
"chief executive (child safety)" means the chief executive of the 22
department in which the Child Protection Act 1999 is administered. 23
`48B Registrar may enter into arrangement with commissioner 24
`(1) The registrar may enter into an arrangement with the commissioner 25
about providing to the commissioner information from a register or a 26
source document, or providing to the commissioner a copy of a source 27
document, about-- 28
(a) the births of children, whether particular children, children of a 29
class or children generally; or 30
s5 14 s6
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) the deaths of children, whether particular children, children of a 1
class or children generally. 2
`(2) The registrar may provide information or a copy of a source 3
document to the commissioner under the arrangement. 4
`(3) The registrar and the commissioner must, as far as practicable 5
having regard to the commissioner's child death research functions, protect 6
the persons to whom the information or source document relates from 7
unjustified intrusion on their privacy. 8
`(4) If the registrar enters into an arrangement with the commissioner, 9
the registrar may charge a fee for the service that is not more than the actual 10
cost of providing the service. 11
`(5) This section applies despite sections 44 to 46 and 48. 12
`(6) In this section-- 13
"child death research functions", for the commissioner, means the 14
functions set out in the Commission for Children and Young People 15
and Child Guardian Act 2000, part 4A, division 2. 16
"source document" has the same meaning as in section 44(1)(b) but does 17
not include a source document prescribed under a regulation for that 18
paragraph.'. 19
5 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary)
Clause 20
Schedule 2-- 21
insert-- 22
` "commissioner" means the Commissioner for Children and Young 23
People and Child Guardian appointed under the Commission for 24
Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000.'. 25
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION 26
ACT 1999 27
6 Act amended in pt 3
Clause 28
This part amends the Child Protection Act 1999. 29
s7 15 s8
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
7 Amendment of s 5 (Principles for administration of Act)
Clause 1
(1) Section 5(b)-- 2
omit. 3
(2) Section 5(c) to (g)-- 4
renumber as section 5(b) to (f). 5
(3) Section 5-- 6
insert-- 7
`(g) a child should be kept informed of matters affecting him or her in 8
a way and to an extent that is appropriate, having regard to the 9
child's age and ability to understand;'. 10
(4) Section 5, from `This Act' to `principles--'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`(1) This Act is to be administered under the principle that the welfare 13
and best interests of a child are paramount. 14
15
Example--
16
The chief executive is making a decision under this Act, concerning a child, in
17
circumstances where there is a conflict between the child's welfare and best interests
18
and the interests of an adult caring for the child. The conflict must be resolved in favour
19
of the child's welfare and best interests.
`(2) Subject to subsection (1), this Act is also to be administered under 20
the following principles--'. 21
8 Amendment of s 7 (Chief executive's functions)
Clause 22
(1) Section 7(p) to (s)-- 23
renumber as section 7(q) to (t). 24
(2) Section 7-- 25
insert-- 26
`(p) reviewing, under chapter 7A, the department's involvement with 27
certain children who have since died-- 28
(i) to facilitate ongoing learning and improvement in the 29
provision of services by the department; and 30
(ii) to promote the accountability of the department; and'. 31
s9 16 s 10
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
9 Insertion of new s 21A
Clause 1
After section 21-- 2
insert-- 3
`21A Unborn children 4
`(1) This section applies if, before the birth of a child, the chief executive 5
reasonably suspects the child may be in need of protection after he or she is 6
born. 7
`(2) The chief executive must take the action the chief executive 8
considers appropriate including, for example-- 9
(a) having an authorised officer investigate the circumstances and 10
assess the likelihood that the child will need protection after he 11
or she is born; or 12
(b) offering help and support to the pregnant woman. 13
`(3) The purpose of this section is to reduce the likelihood that the child 14
will need protection after he or she is born (as opposed to interfering with 15
the pregnant woman's rights or liberties).'. 16
10 Amendment of s 22 (Protection from liability for notification of, or
Clause 17
information given about, alleged harm) 18
(1) Section 22, heading, after `harm'-- 19
insert-- 20
`or risk of harm'. 21
(2) Section 22(1)-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`(1) This section applies if a person, acting honestly-- 24
(a) notifies the chief executive or another officer of the department 25
that the person suspects-- 26
(i) a child has been, is being or is likely to be, harmed; or 27
(ii) an unborn child may be at risk of harm after he or she is 28
born; or 29
(b) gives the chief executive, an authorised officer or a police 30
officer-- 31
s 11 17 s 13
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(i) information about alleged harm or alleged risk of harm to a 1
child; or 2
(ii) information, relating to an unborn child, about a suspected 3
risk of harm to the child after he or she is born.'. 4
11 Amendment of s 74 (Charter of rights for a child in care)
Clause 5
Section 74(4)-- 6
insert-- 7
`(c) is told about the Commission for Children and Young People and 8
Child Guardian and other entities known to the chief executive 9
that can help the child if the child considers that the charter of 10
rights is not being complied with in relation to the child.'. 11
12 Amendment of s 148 (Obligation to report harm to children in
Clause 12
residential care) 13
(1) Section 148(5)-- 14
renumber as section 148(6). 15
(2) Section 148-- 16
insert-- 17
`(5) As soon as practicable after receiving a report under this section, the 18
chief executive must give a copy to the Commissioner for Children and 19
Young People and Child Guardian, to help the commissioner to perform the 20
commissioner's monitoring functions under the Commission for Children 21
and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000.'. 22
13 Amendment of s 186 (Confidentiality of notifiers of harm)
Clause 23
(1) Section 186, heading, after `harm'-- 24
insert-- 25
`or risk of harm'. 26
(2) Section 186(1)-- 27
omit, insert-- 28
s 14 18 s 15
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(1) This section applies if a person (the "notifier") notifies the chief 1
executive, an authorised officer or a police officer that the notifier 2
suspects-- 3
(a) a child has been, is being or is likely to be, harmed; or 4
(b) an unborn child may be at risk of harm after he or she is born.'. 5
14 Amendment of s 188 (Confidentiality of information given by
Clause 6
persons involved in administration of Act to other persons) 7
(1) Section 188(3)(b)-- 8
renumber as section 188(3)(c). 9
(2) Section 188(3)-- 10
insert-- 11
`(b) if the disclosure is for purposes directly related to obtaining 12
information requested by the chief executive under 13
section 246C;1 or'. 14
15 Replacement of s 194 (Release of information by health service
Clause 15
employees) 16
Section 194-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`194 Release of information by health service employees 19
`(1) A health service employee may, for this Act, give a relevant person 20
or the Childrens Court confidential information if-- 21
(a) for a relevant person or the Children's Court--the information is 22
relevant to the protection or welfare of a child; or 23
(b) for a relevant person who is the chief executive and without 24
limiting paragraph (a)--the information is relevant to the chief 25
executive's review, or the preparation of a supplementary report, 26
under chapter 7A.2 27
1 Section 246C (Chief executive may seek information from entities)
2 Chapter 7A (Child deaths)
s 16 19 s 16
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) Subsection (1)(a) includes the giving of information, before a child 1
is born, that is relevant to the protection or welfare of the child after he or 2
she is born. 3
`(3) In this section-- 4
"confidential information" means information mentioned in the Health 5
Services Act 1991, section 63(1). 6
"health service employee" means an officer, employee or agent of the 7
department in which the Health Services Act 1991 is administered. 8
"relevant person" means-- 9
(a) the chief executive; or 10
(b) an authorised officer; or 11
(c) a police officer.'. 12
16 Insertion of new ch 7A
Clause 13
Before chapter 8-- 14
insert-- 15
`CHAPTER 7A--CHILD DEATHS 16
`246A Chief executive to review department's involvement with 17
particular children 18
`(1) This section applies if-- 19
(a) a child dies; and 20
(b) within 3 years before the child's death-- 21
(i) the chief executive-- 22
(A) became aware of alleged harm or alleged risk of harm 23
to the child; or 24
(B) took action under this Act in relation to the child; or 25
(ii) the child was born and, before the child was born, the chief 26
executive reasonably suspected that the child might be in 27
need of protection after he or she was born. 28
`(2) The chief executive must carry out a review about the department's 29
involvement with the child. 30
s 16 20 s 16
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`246B Terms of reference and extent of review 1
`(1) The chief executive must decide-- 2
(a) the extent of the review; and 3
(b) the terms of reference for the review. 4
`(2) Without limiting subsection (1)(b), the terms of reference may 5
include any of the following-- 6
(a) finding out whether the department's involvement with the child 7
and the child's family complied with legislative requirements and 8
the department's policies; 9
(b) considering the adequacy and appropriateness of the 10
department's involvement with the child and the child's family; 11
(c) commenting on the sufficiency of the department's involvement 12
with other entities in the delivery of services to the child and the 13
child's family; 14
(d) commenting on the adequacy of legislative requirements and the 15
department's policies relating to the child; 16
(e) making recommendations relating to matters mentioned in 17
paragraphs (a) to (d) and suggesting strategies to put into effect 18
the recommendations. 19
`(3) In this section-- 20
"policies" includes guidelines, procedures, protocols, standards and 21
systems. 22
`246C Chief executive may seek information from entities 23
`For the review, the chief executive may ask another entity who the chief 24
executive reasonably considers has information about the child for 25
information about the child that was relevant to the child's protection or 26
welfare while the child was alive. 27
`246D Report to be prepared and given to CDCRC 28
`(1) The chief executive must complete the review, and a report about the 29
review, as soon as practicable and, in any case, so that the chief executive 30
can comply with subsection (2). 31
s 16 21 s 16
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) The chief executive must give a copy of the report, and of any 1
documents obtained by the chief executive and used for the review, to the 2
CDCRC within 6 months after the chief executive becomes aware of the 3
child's death. 4
`246E Protection from liability for giving information to chief 5
executive 6
`(1) This section applies if a person, acting honestly, gives the chief 7
executive information for the review. 8
`(2) The person does not incur liability for giving the information. 9
`(3) Also, merely because the person gives the information, the person 10
can not be held to have-- 11
(a) breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics; or 12
(b) departed from accepted standards of professional conduct. 13
`(4) To remove doubt, it is declared that this section applies despite any 14
other Act. 15
`246F No liability for defamation if report made in good faith 16
`It is a lawful excuse for the publication of a defamatory statement made 17
in a report under this part, including a supplementary report, that the 18
publication is made in good faith and is, or purports to be, made for this 19
Act. 20
`246G Preparation of supplementary report 21
`(1) This section applies if the chief executive is given a notice under the 22
Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, 23
section 89T(3), requiring the chief executive to give the CDCRC a 24
supplementary report about a review. 25
`(2) The chief executive must comply with the requirement as soon as 26
practicable but, in any case, so that the CDCRC can comply with the 27
Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, 28
section 89U(1). 29
`(3) Sections 246C and 246E apply for the preparation of the 30
supplementary report in the same way that they apply to the carrying out of 31
the review. 32
s 17 22 s 17
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`246H Chief executive to give reports to State Coroner 1
`(1) This section applies if-- 2
(a) the chief executive-- 3
(i) completes a report under section 246D; or 4
(ii) gives the CDCRC a supplementary report under 5
section 246G; or 6
(iii) is given, under the Commission for Children and Young 7
People and Child Guardian Act 2000, section 89U, a copy 8
of a report by the CDCRC; and 9
(b) the report concerns the department's involvement with a child 10
whose death is a reportable death under the Coroners Act 2003. 11
`(2) The chief executive must, as soon as practicable, give a copy of the 12
report to the State Coroner for use by a coroner to help in an investigation 13
under the Coroners Act 2003. 14
`(3) If the report does not identify the child to whom it relates, the copy 15
given to the State Coroner must be accompanied by a document that 16
states-- 17
(a) the child's name; and 18
(b) the child's date of birth; and 19
(c) the child's date of death.'. 20
17 Insertion of new ss 248 and 248A
Clause 21
After section 247-- 22
insert-- 23
`248 Annual reporting about child protection matters 24
`(1) By 31 October in each year, the chief executive of a prescribed 25
entity must give to the chief executive a report about the matters, relating to 26
the entity's operations during the previous financial year, that are relevant 27
to child protection. 28
`(2) A regulation may prescribe the matters that must be included in a 29
prescribed entity's report. 30
s 17 23 s 17
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(3) As soon as practicable after receiving the reports from all the 1
prescribed entities, the chief executive must consolidate them into a single 2
report and give the consolidated report to the Minister. 3
`(4) Within 14 sitting days after receiving the consolidated report, the 4
Minister must table it in the Legislative Assembly. 5
`(5) In this section-- 6
"prescribed entity" means-- 7
(a) a department that is mainly responsible for any of the following 8
matters-- 9
(i) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy; 10
(ii) administration of justice; 11
(iii) adult corrective services; 12
(iv) community services; 13
(v) disability services; 14
(vi) education; 15
(vii) housing services; 16
(viii)public health; 17
(ix) the State budget; 18
(x) youth justice; or 19
(b) the Queensland Police Service. 20
`248A Acting in support of the Commissioner for Children and Young 21
People and Child Guardian 22
`(1) A power under a prescribed provision may be exercised, and 23
information or a document obtained under a prescribed provision may be 24
given to the commissioner, for the purpose of supporting the commissioner 25
in the performance of the commissioner's monitoring functions. 26
`(2) In this section-- 27
"commissioner" means the Commissioner for Children and Young People 28
and Child Guardian. 29
s 18 24 s 19
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
"monitoring functions" means the monitoring functions under the 1
Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child Guardian 2
Act 2000. 3
"prescribed provision" means any of the following provisions-- 4
(a) sections 145 and 146;3 5
(b) a regulation under section 249(2)(c).4'. 6
18 Amendment of ch 9, pt 2, hdg (Savings and transitional
Clause 7
provisions) 8
Chapter 9, part 2, heading, after `PROVISIONS'-- 9
insert-- 10
`FOR ACT No. 10 OF 1999'. 11
19 Insertion of new ch 9, pt 3
Clause 12
Chapter 9, after part 2-- 13
insert-- 14
`PART 3--SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISION 15
FOR CHILD SAFETY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT 16
ACT 2004 17
`261 First reports under s 248(1) 18
`The first reports prepared under section 248(1)5 are due by 31 October 19
2005 and must relate to the period starting on the day section 248 20
commences and ending on 30 June 2005.'. 21
3 Sections 145 (Authorised officer may require production of licence, approval etc.)
and 146 (Authorised officer may enter and inspect licensed premises)
4 Section 249(2)(c)--
(2) A regulation may be made for or about the following--
(c) the records to be kept and returns to be made by persons and the inspection
of records;
5 Section 248 (Annual reporting about child protection matters)
s 20 25 s 22
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
20 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary)
Clause 1
Schedule 3-- 2
insert-- 3
` "CDCRC" means the Child Death Case Review Committee established 4
under the Commission for Children and Young People and Child 5
Guardian Act 2000, part 4A, division 1. 6
"woman" includes any female.'. 7
PART 4--AMENDMENT OF CHILDREN SERVICES 8
TRIBUNAL ACT 2000 9
21 Act amended in pt 4
Clause 10
This part amends the Children Services Tribunal Act 2000. 11
22 Amendment of s 7 (Principles underlying this Act)
Clause 12
(1) Section 7, heading-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`7 Principles for administering this Act'. 15
(2) Section 7, from `The following' to `child's age and maturity;'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`(1) This Act is to be administered under the principle that the welfare 18
and best interests of a child are paramount. 19
`(2) Subject to subsection (1), this Act is also to be administered under 20
the following principles-- 21
(a) in decisions involving a child, the child's views and wishes 22
should be taken into account in a way that has regard to the 23
child's age and ability to understand;'. 24
s 23 26 s 25
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
23 Amendment of s 57 (Reviewable decisions)
Clause 1
Section 57(1), `those Acts'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`Acts'. 4
24 Amendment of s 58 (How to start a review)
Clause 5
Section 58(3)-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`(3) The review application must be filed-- 8
(a) within 28 days after the applicant receives notice of the 9
reviewable decision; or 10
(b) if the applicant is the commissioner--within 28 days after the 11
commissioner gives notice, under the Commission for Children 12
and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, 13
section 140B(4),6 to the chief executive (child safety) about the 14
reviewable decision.'. 15
25 Amendment of s 60 (Registrar to give notice of review application)
Clause 16
(1) After section 60(2)-- 17
insert-- 18
`(2A) The tribunal may shorten the period for giving the decision 19
maker's notice to the registrar. 20
`(2B) The tribunal may act under subsection (3) only if satisfied that not 21
to do so will result in a child's interests being adversely affected or another 22
party to the review suffering hardship.'. 23
(2) Section 60(5)(b), `within 7 days of receipt of the notice'-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`and the period within which the notice of election must be filed under 26
section 62'. 27
6 Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000,
section 140B (Commissioner may apply for review of reviewable decision)
s 26 27 s 28
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(3) Section 60(2A) to (5)-- 1
renumber as section 60(3) to (7). 2
26 Amendment of s 62 (Certain persons may elect to become parties)
Clause 3
(1) Section 62(1), `section 60(4)'-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`section 60(6)'. 6
(2) Section 62-- 7
insert-- 8
`(4) The tribunal may shorten the period for filing the notice of election. 9
`(5) The tribunal may act under subsection (4) only if satisfied that not to 10
do so will result in a child's interests being adversely affected or another 11
party to the review suffering hardship.'. 12
27 Amendment of s 70 (Stay of reviewable decision's operation)
Clause 13
Section 70(3)(a), `section 7(a)(i);8'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`section 7(1);7'. 16
28 Amendment of s 73 (President or presiding member may
Clause 17
constitute tribunal for ss 74, 75 and 76) 18
(1) Section 73, heading, `ss 74, 75 and 76'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`exercising particular powers'. 21
(2) Section 73(2), after `sections'-- 22
insert-- 23
`60, 62,'. 24
7 Section 7(1)--
(1) This Act is to be administered under the principle that the welfare and best
interests of a child are paramount.
s 29 28 s 32
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
29 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary)
Clause 1
(1) Schedule 2, definition "commissioner"-- 2
omit. 3
(2) Schedule 2-- 4
insert-- 5
` "chief executive (child safety)" means the chief executive of the 6
department in which the Child Protection Act 1999 is administered. 7
"commission" means the Commission for Children and Young People and 8
Child Guardian established under the Commission for Children and 9
Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, section 12. 10
"commissioner" means the Commissioner for Children and Young People 11
and Child Guardian established under the Commission for Children 12
and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000.'. 13
PART 5--AMENDMENT OF COMMISSION FOR 14
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000 15
30 Act amended in pt 5
Clause 16
This part and schedule 1 amend the Commission for Children and Young 17
People Act 2000. 18
31 Amendment of title
Clause 19
Title, after `People'-- 20
insert-- 21
`and Child Guardian'. 22
32 Amendment of s 1 (Short title)
Clause 23
Section 1, after `People'-- 24
insert-- 25
`and Child Guardian'. 26
s 33 29 s 35
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
33 Insertion of new s 4A
Clause 1
Part 1, division 1, after section 4-- 2
insert-- 3
`4A Notes in text 4
`A note in the text of this Act is part of this Act.'. 5
34 Amendment of s 5 (Object of Act)
Clause 6
Section 5, after `Young People'-- 7
insert-- 8
`and Child Guardian'. 9
35 Amendment of s 6 (Principles underlying this Act)
Clause 10
(1) Section 6, heading-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`6 Principles for administering this Act'. 13
(2) Section 6(1)(b)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`(b) in decisions involving a child, the child's views and wishes 16
should be taken into account in a way that has regard to the 17
child's age and ability to understand;'. 18
(4) Section 6(2)-- 19
omit. 20
(5) Section 6(1), `(1) The following principles underlie this Act--'-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`(1) This Act is to be administered under the principle that the welfare 23
and best interests of a child are paramount. 24
`(2) Subject to subsection (1), this Act is also to be administered under 25
the following principles--'. 26
s 36 30 s 37
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
36 Insertion of new s 7A
Clause 1
Part 1, division 2, after section 7-- 2
insert-- 3
`7A Scope of Act relating to children in the child safety system 4
`To remove any doubt, it is declared that this Act applies to matters 5
relating to children in the child safety system even if the children are no 6
longer in the child safety system when the matters are dealt with under this 7
Act. 8
9
Examples--
10
1. Under section 15(1)(c), the commissioner may review a particular service
11
provider's handling of cases of children in the child safety system, even though
12
some of the children are no longer in the child safety system at the time of the
13
review.
14
2. Under section 32(a), a complaint may be made about a service provided to a child
15
in the child safety system, even though the child is no longer in the child safety
16
system when the complaint is made.'.
37 Insertion of new pt 1, div 4
Clause 17
Part 1, after division 3-- 18
insert-- 19
`Division 4--Children in the child safety system 20
`11A When is a child "in the child safety system" 21
`(1) A child starts being "in the child safety system" if the chief 22
executive (child safety) becomes aware (whether because of receiving a 23
notification or otherwise) of alleged harm or alleged risk of harm to the 24
child. 25
`(2) A child stops being "in the child safety system" if-- 26
(a) the chief executive (child safety) decides there is no ground for 27
forming a reasonable suspicion that the child is in need of 28
protection; or 29
(b) otherwise-- 30
(i) the child is not the subject of an order under the Child 31
Protection Act 1999; and 32
s 38 31 s 40
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(ii) the chief executive (child safety) decides not to take action, 1
or further action, relating to the child.'. 2
38 Replacement of pt 2, hdg (Commissioner and Commission for
Clause 3
Children and Young People) 4
Part 2, heading-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`PART 2--COMMISSIONER, ASSISTANT 7
COMMISSIONER AND COMMISSION'. 8
39 Replacement of s 12 (Establishment of commissioner and
Clause 9
commission) 10
Section 12-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`12 Establishment of commissioner, assistant commissioner and 13
commission 14
`(1) There is to be a Commissioner for Children and Young People and 15
Child Guardian. 16
`(2) There is to be an Assistant Commissioner. 17
`(3) A commission called the `Commission for Children and Young 18
People and Child Guardian' is established. 19
`(4) The commission consists of the commissioner, the assistant 20
commissioner and the staff of the commission.'. 21
40 Amendment of s 15 (Commissioner's functions)
Clause 22
(1) Section 15-- 23
insert-- 24
`(ba)to monitor, audit and review-- 25
(i) the handling of cases of children in the child safety system 26
by the child safety department and other service providers; 27
and 28
s 40 32 s 40
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(ii) the systems, policies and practices of the child safety 1
department and other service providers that affect children 2
in the child safety system; 3
4
Note--
5
Part 2A includes powers of the commissioner that may be exercised to
6
perform the functions under this paragraph. The powers may be exercised
7
only in relation to the service providers specified in section 31B.
(bb) to investigate matters relating to services provided to children in 8
the child safety system; 9
(bc) to seek to resolve, with the chief executive (child safety), 10
disputes about reviewable decisions under part 7A; 11
(bd) to monitor compliance by the chief executive (child safety) with 12
the Child Protection Act 1999, section 83;8'. 13
(2) Section 15(k)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`(k) to administer a community visitor program; 16
(ka) to record, analyse, research and report on information about child 17
deaths;'. 18
(3) Section 15(ba) to (o)-- 19
renumber as section 15(c) to (t). 20
(4) Section 15-- 21
insert-- 22
`(2) The commissioner's "child guardian functions" are-- 23
(a) the functions under subsection (1)(c) to (f); and 24
(b) the other functions, so far as they relate to children in the child 25
safety system. 26
`(3) The commissioner's "monitoring functions" are the functions 27
under subsection (1)(c) and (f).'. 28
8 Child Protection Act 1999, section 83 (Additional provisions for placing Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander children in care)
s 41 33 s 44
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
41 Insertion of new s 15A
Clause 1
After section 15-- 2
insert-- 3
`15A Role of assistant commissioner 4
`The assistant commissioner is responsible to the commissioner for the 5
proper performance of the commissioner's child guardian functions.'. 6
42 Amendment of s 16 (Commissioner's powers)
Clause 7
Section 16, after `functions'-- 8
insert-- 9
`, including the powers under parts 2A and 39'. 10
43 Insertion of new s 16A
Clause 11
After section 16-- 12
insert-- 13
`16A Assistant commissioner's powers 14
`(1) The assistant commissioner has the powers of the commissioner 15
under this Act that are necessary or convenient to perform the assistant 16
commissioner's role. 17
`(2) For subsection (1), a provision of this Act about a power of the 18
commissioner applies, with necessary changes, as if a reference to the 19
commissioner were a reference to the assistant commissioner. 20
`(3) The assistant commissioner is subject to the directions of the 21
commissioner in the exercise of the powers.'. 22
44 Amendment of s 18 (Way in which commissioner is to perform
Clause 23
commissioner's functions) 24
Section 18-- 25
insert-- 26
9 Parts 2A (Powers and obligations relating to the commissioner's monitoring
functions) and 3 (Complaints and investigations)
s 44 34 s 44
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) Also, in performing the commissioner's monitoring functions, the 1
commissioner must-- 2
(a) to the greatest extent practicable-- 3
(i) work cooperatively with service providers; and 4
(ii) help build their capacity to meet the needs of children in the 5
child safety system; and 6
7
Example for subparagraph (ii)--
8
The commissioner may prepare, and issue to service providers,
9
guidelines about systems, policies or practices affecting children in
10
the child safety system.
(b) exercise the commissioner's powers in relation to service 11
providers in a way that is fair and reasonable, having regard to-- 12
(i) their capacity, and the resources available to them, to 13
comply with requests or requirements made by the 14
commissioner; and 15
(ii) for a service provider holding a licence to provide care 16
services under the Child Protection Act 1999--its licence 17
conditions and other requirements applying to it under that 18
Act; and 19
(c) respect and promote the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait 20
Islander service providers in supporting Aboriginal and Torres 21
Strait Islander families and communities to care for their 22
children; and 23
(d) to the greatest extent practicable, enter into arrangements with 24
service providers to facilitate the performance by the 25
commissioner of the functions. 26
27
Example for paragraph (d)--
28
The commissioner may agree with a service provider on a plan for how the
29
commissioner will perform the commissioner's monitoring functions in
30
relation to the service provider over the following year.
`(3) Subsection (2) does not limit the commissioner's powers under this 31
Act.'. 32
s 45 35 s 47
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
45 Amendment of s 20 (Referral of matters or offences to other
Clause 1
persons) 2
(1) Section 20(4)-- 3
renumber as section 20(5). 4
(2) Section 20-- 5
insert-- 6
`(4) A reference in subsection (2)(b) to a child who is, or may be, the 7
victim of a criminal offence includes a child who was, or may have been, 8
the victim of a criminal offence and who has died.'. 9
46 Insertion of new pt 2, div 3A
Clause 10
Part 2, after division 3-- 11
insert-- 12
`Division 3A--Appointment of assistant commissioner 13
`28A Appointment of assistant commissioner 14
`(1) The assistant commissioner is to be appointed by the Governor in 15
Council. 16
`(2) Division 3 applies, with necessary changes, in relation to the 17
assistant commissioner as if-- 18
(a) a reference to the commissioner were a reference to the assistant 19
commissioner; and 20
(b) a reference to the commissioner's duties were a reference to the 21
assistant commissioner's role. 22
`(3) Without limiting the application of section 21(2) in relation to the 23
assistant commissioner, a person is eligible for appointment as the assistant 24
commissioner only if the person has knowledge of laws and practice 25
relating to child protection.'. 26
47 Insertion of new pt 2A
Clause 27
After part 2-- 28
insert-- 29
s 47 36 s 47
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`PART 2A--POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS RELATING 1
TO THE COMMISSIONER'S MONITORING 2
FUNCTIONS 3
`Division 1--Operation of part 2A 4
`31A Powers relate to monitoring functions 5
`The powers under this part may be exercised only to perform the 6
commissioner's monitoring functions. 7
`31B Service providers to which this part applies 8
`This part applies only to the following service providers ("relevant 9
service providers")-- 10
(a) the child safety department; 11
(b) a service provider holding a licence to provide care services 12
under the Child Protection Act 1999 (a "licensee"). 13
`Division 2--Powers and obligations 14
`31C Power to require information or documents 15
`(1) The commissioner may give a written notice to a relevant service 16
provider requiring the service provider to give the commissioner, within a 17
stated reasonable time-- 18
(a) information about a stated matter; or 19
(b) a stated document, or documents of a stated class, in the service 20
provider's possession or control; or 21
(c) a copy of a document, or copies of documents, mentioned in 22
paragraph (b). 23
`(2) A requirement may, for example, relate to-- 24
(a) information, or a file containing information, about the service 25
provider's provision of care to a particular child; or 26
s 47 37 s 47
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) information about the service provider's internal complaints 1
management system; or 2
(c) information that the commissioner reasonably needs to 3
implement a plan for monitoring the service provider's 4
operations. 5
`(3) The notice must state the purpose for making the requirement. 6
`(4) The notice must state the way (the "stated way") in which-- 7
(a) for a notice given to the child safety department--the 8
information or documents must be given; or 9
(b) for a notice given to a licensee--the commissioner seeks to have 10
the information or documents given. 11
12
Examples of stated ways--
13
1. Sending the commissioner an electronic copy of a document.
14
2. Allowing the commissioner to enter the service provider's premises and access
15
information or documents.
`(5) Subject to subsection (6), the service provider must comply with the 16
notice. 17
18
Note--
19
Sections 31E and 31I provide for action the commissioner may take if the
20
commissioner considers a service provider has not complied with a notice under this
21
section.
`(6) If the notice is given to a licensee-- 22
(a) the licensee is required to give the information or documents by 23
the stated time but is not required to give them in the stated way; 24
and 25
(b) the notice must state the matters mentioned in paragraph (a). 26
27
Example for paragraph (a)--
28
If the stated way includes allowing the commissioner entry to the licensee's
29
premises, the licensee is not required to allow the entry. But if the licensee
30
does not allow the entry, the licensee must give the information or
31
documents in another way by the stated time.
`31D Access to documents of the child safety department 32
`(1) This section applies to a notice under section 31C given to the child 33
safety department. 34
s 47 38 s 47
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) The stated way under section 31C(4) must be-- 1
(a) reasonably necessary for achieving the stated purpose for making 2
the requirement; and 3
(b) reasonable, having regard to the matters stated in section 18(2) 4
5
Example--
6
A notice requires the child safety department to give particular documents to the
7
commissioner. The stated purpose for making the requirement is to audit the
8
department's responses to notifications about suspected harm or risk of harm to
9
children placed in the care of approved foster carers. The stated way in which the
10
documents must be given is by allowing the commissioner to enter stated premises of
11
the child safety department at a stated reasonable time to access the documents.
`31E Help to obtain information or documents from a licensee 12
`(1) This section applies if the commissioner considers a licensee has not 13
complied with a notice under section 31C. 14
`(2) The commissioner may ask the chief executive (child safety) to take 15
action, within a stated time, to facilitate access to the information or 16
documents sought under the notice. 17
`(3) The chief executive (child safety) may, for example, facilitate access 18
by obtaining a document under the Child Protection Act 1999, or under an 19
agreement with the licensee, and giving it to the commissioner. 20
`(4) The stated time for taking the action must be reasonable, having 21
regard to the matters stated in section 18(2). 22
`(5) The chief executive (child safety) must comply with the request. 23
`(6) The chief executive (child safety) must keep the commissioner 24
informed of progress in facilitating the access, including by giving 25
information about any delays or any inability to facilitate the access. 26
`31F Periodic reporting 27
`A relevant service provider must give to the commissioner, at the times 28
and in the way prescribed under a regulation, the information prescribed 29
under a regulation about its systems, policies or practices affecting children 30
in the child safety system. 31
s 47 39 s 47
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`31G Review of service 1
`(1) This section applies if the commissioner-- 2
(a) has a particular concern about-- 3
(i) a relevant service provider's handling of cases of children in 4
the child safety system; or 5
(ii) a relevant service provider's systems, policies or practices 6
affecting children in the child safety system; and 7
(b) considers it would be appropriate, having regard to the matters 8
stated in section 18(2), to exercise a power under this section to 9
address the concern. 10
`(2) The commissioner may require the service provider to-- 11
(a) undertake a review of its handling of the cases or of the systems, 12
policies or practices; and 13
(b) give the commissioner a report about the review. 14
`(3) The commissioner may-- 15
(a) require the service provider to stop carrying out a review 16
mentioned in subsection (2)(a); and 17
(b) assume responsibility from the service provider for the review; 18
and 19
(c) require the service provider to give the commissioner reasonable 20
help to complete the review. 21
`(4) The service provider must comply with a requirement under this 22
section. 23
`(5) For a relevant service provider that is a licensee, the 24
commissioner-- 25
(a) must inform the chief executive (child safety) before requiring 26
the service provider to undertake a review; and 27
(b) may ask the chief executive (child safety) to help the service 28
provider undertake the review; and 29
(c) must give the chief executive (child safety) a copy of the report 30
about the review. 31
s 48 40 s 49
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`31H Recommendations 1
`The commissioner may make recommendations to a relevant service 2
provider about matters arising from the commissioner's performance of the 3
monitoring functions in relation to the service provider. 4
`31I Report to Minister about noncompliance 5
`(1) This section applies if the commissioner considers a relevant service 6
provider has-- 7
(a) contravened a provision of this division; or 8
(b) failed to take appropriate action in response to a recommendation 9
made under section 31H. 10
`(2) The commissioner may give a report to the Minister responsible for 11
the child safety department. 12
`31J Noncompliance not an offence 13
`A person does not commit an offence only by failing to comply with 14
this division.'. 15
48 Amendment of pt 3, hdg (Complaints)
Clause 16
Part 3, heading, after `COMPLAINTS'-- 17
insert-- 18
`AND INVESTIGATIONS'. 19
49 Insertion of new pt 3, div 1AA
Clause 20
Part 3, before division 1-- 21
insert-- 22
`Division 1AA--Preliminary 23
`31K Operation of pt 3 24
`(1) This part provides a process for making and resolving complaints 25
about certain matters. 26
s 50 41 s 53
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) The commissioner may undertake an investigation to deal with a 1
complaint. 2
`(3) Also, the commissioner may undertake an investigation, apart from 3
the process for dealing with a complaint, relating to a service provided, or 4
required to be provided, to a child in the child safety system.'. 5
50 Amendment of s 32 (Subject matter of complaints)
Clause 6
(1) Section 32(a) and (b)-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`(a) while the child is in the child safety system; or'. 9
(2) Section 32(c) to (e)-- 10
renumber as section 32(b) to (d). 11
51 Replacement of pt 3, div 3, hdg (Investigating complaints)
Clause 12
Part 3, division 3, heading-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`Division 3--Investigations'. 15
52 Amendment of s 41 (Commissioner may investigate complaint)
Clause 16
Section 41, heading-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`41 Investigation of complaint'. 19
53 Amendment of s 42 (Notice to service provider)
Clause 20
(1) Section 42, heading-- 21
omit. 22
(2) Section 42(1) and (2)-- 23
renumber and relocate as section 41(2) and (3). 24
s 54 42 s 55
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
54 Insertion of new s 42
Clause 1
Part 3, division 3, subdivision 1, after section 41-- 2
insert-- 3
`42 Other investigations 4
`(1) The commissioner may investigate a matter relating to a service 5
provided, or required to be provided, to a child in the child safety system if 6
the commissioner believes-- 7
(a) the rights, interests or wellbeing of a child or children may be 8
seriously affected if the investigation is not conducted; or 9
(b) the matter raises issues of public interest; or 10
(c) the matter raises a significant issue about a law, policy or practice 11
underlying the service, or about the need for a law, policy or 12
practice to underlie the service. 13
`(2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not a complaint has been received 14
about the matter. 15
`(3) The commissioner may make reasonably necessary inquiries to 16
decide whether to investigate a matter. 17
`(4) Before exercising powers under this part for an investigation under 18
this section, the commissioner must give a written notice to the service 19
provider to whom the investigation relates. 20
`(5) The notice must state the following-- 21
(a) the investigation that the commissioner is conducting or 22
proposing to conduct; 23
(b) the subject matter of the investigation; 24
(c) in general terms, the powers that the commissioner may exercise 25
under this part for the investigation.'. 26
55 Amendment of s 43 (Access to child)
Clause 27
(1) Section 43(1)(c)-- 28
renumber as section 43(1)(d). 29
(2) Section 43(1)-- 30
insert-- 31
s 56 43 s 58
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(c) a child, to whom an investigation relates, who is or was in the 1
child safety system; or'. 2
(3) Section 43(5), `(a) and (c)'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`(a), (c) and (d)'. 5
56 Amendment of s 56 (Ending an investigation in child's best
Clause 6
interests) 7
(1) Section 56(1)-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`(1) The commissioner may stop an investigation if the commissioner is 10
satisfied it would not be in the best interests of a child or children to whom 11
the investigation relates to continue it.'. 12
(2) Section 56(2), `the complaint'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`a complaint'. 15
57 Amendment of s 57 (Notice of investigation result)
Clause 16
Section 57, heading, after `of'-- 17
insert-- 18
`complaint'. 19
58 Amendment of s 58 (Report after investigation)
Clause 20
(1) Section 58(2), `The report may recommend that a service provider 21
(whether or not the service provider to which the complaint relates)'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`A report under subsection (1) or (2) may recommend that a service 24
provider (whether or not a service provider to which a complaint relates)'. 25
(2) Section 58(3), `subsection (2)'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`subsection (3)'. 28
s 59 44 s 59
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(3) Section 58(2) and (3)-- 1
renumber as section 58(3) and (4). 2
(4) Section 58-- 3
insert-- 4
`(2) As soon as practicable after completing an investigation other than 5
an investigation of a complaint, or ending it under section 56, the 6
commissioner must prepare a written report and give a copy to-- 7
(a) the chief executive (child safety); and 8
(b) if the report relates to the delivery of services to children by a 9
service provider other than the child safety department--the 10
service provider; and 11
(c) if the commissioner considers it appropriate--the Minister 12
responsible for a subject matter of the investigation.'. 13
59 Replacement of s 64 (Purpose of pt 4)
Clause 14
Section 64-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`64 Purpose of pt 4 17
`The purpose of this part is to provide for community visitors to promote 18
and protect the rights, interests and wellbeing of the following children-- 19
(a) a child residing at a residential facility or detention centre, or at 20
an authorised mental health service under the Mental Health 21
Act 2000; 22
(b) a child in the custody or guardianship of the chief executive 23
(child safety) under the Child Protection Act 1999 who, under 24
section 82 of that Act, has been placed in the care of an approved 25
foster carer or someone else other than a parent of the child; 26
(c) a child who, under an agreement entered into by the chief 27
executive (child safety) and a parent of the child, has been placed 28
in the care of someone other than a parent of the child. 29
`64A Meaning of "visitable site" 30
`A "visitable site" is a place mentioned in section 64(a). 31
s 60 45 s 63
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`64B Meaning of "visitable home" 1
`A "visitable home" is a home in which a child mentioned in 2
section 64(b) or (c) is residing.'. 3
60 Amendment of pt 4, div 2, hdg (Visits to visitable sites)
Clause 4
Part 4, division 2, heading, after `sites'-- 5
insert-- 6
`and homes'. 7
61 Amendment of s 65 (Commissioner must arrange regular and
Clause 8
frequent visits) 9
Section 65, after `site'-- 10
insert-- 11
`and each visitable home'. 12
62 Amendment of s 66 (Requirement to visit or communicate if
Clause 13
asked) 14
Section 66, heading, after `visit'-- 15
insert-- 16
`visitable site'. 17
63 Insertion of new s 66A
Clause 18
After section 66-- 19
insert-- 20
`66A Requirement to visit visitable home or communicate if asked 21
`(1) A child residing in a visitable home may-- 22
(a) ask the commissioner to arrange for a community visitor to visit 23
the home to perform the functions of a community visitor; or 24
(b) ask a carer of the child to arrange for a community visitor to visit 25
the home to perform the functions of a community visitor; or 26
s 64 46 s 64
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(c) inform a carer of the child that the child wishes to communicate 1
with a stated community visitor. 2
`(2) If subsection (1)(b) applies, the carer must tell the commissioner 3
about the request as soon as possible. 4
`(3) If subsection (1)(c) applies, the carer must take reasonable steps to 5
inform the community visitor as soon as possible. 6
`(4) A community visitor must comply with a request to visit a visitable 7
home, or communicate with a child residing at a visitable home, as soon as 8
practicable after being informed of the request. 9
`(5) A person does not commit an offence only by failing to comply with 10
subsection (2), (3) or (4).'. 11
64 Amendment of s 67 (Report after each visit)
Clause 12
(1) Section 67(1), after `site'-- 13
insert-- 14
`or visitable home'. 15
(2) Section 67(2), `copy of the report'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`copy of a report about a visit to a visitable site'. 18
(3) Section 67(2)(f), `and who asks for the copy or information'-- 19
omit. 20
(4) Section 67(3), `subsection (2)'-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`subsection (2) or (3)'. 23
(5) Section 67(3)-- 24
renumber as section 67(4). 25
(6) Section 67-- 26
insert-- 27
`(3) So far as the commissioner considers appropriate, the commissioner 28
may give a copy of a report about a visit to a visitable home, or information 29
from the report, to any of the following entities-- 30
(a) the chief executive (child safety); 31
s 65 47 s 65
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) the chief executive of a department responsible for providing 1
services to the child who is a subject of the report; 2
(c) a carer of the child; 3
(d) a service provider, holding a licence to provide care services 4
under the Child Protection Act 1999, involved in the placement 5
of the child in the home; 6
(e) the child.'. 7
65 Amendment of s 68 (Functions)
Clause 8
(1) Section 68(1), after `sites' (first mention)-- 9
insert-- 10
`and visitable homes'. 11
(2) Section 68(1)(e) to (i)-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`(e) to assess the physical and emotional wellbeing of the children; 14
(f) for visitable sites-- 15
(i) to inspect the sites and assess their appropriateness for the 16
accommodation of the children or the delivery of services to 17
them, having regard to relevant State and Commonwealth 18
laws, policies and standards; and 19
(ii) to observe the treatment of the children, including the extent 20
to which their needs are met by staff of the sites; and 21
(iii) to assess the morale of the staff of the sites; and 22
(iv) for detention centres--to assess whether the programs for 23
the release of children subject to detention orders 24
adequately and appropriately prepare them for release; 25
(g) for visitable homes-- 26
(i) to assess their appropriateness for the accommodation of the 27
children; and 28
(ii) to observe the treatment of the children, including the extent 29
to which their needs are met by persons caring for them at 30
the homes.'. 31
s 66 48 s 68
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
66 Amendment of pt 4, div 3, sdiv 2, hdg (Power of entry to visitable
Clause 1
sites) 2
Part 4, division 3, subdivision 2, heading, after `sites'-- 3
insert-- 4
`and visitable homes'. 5
67 Amendment of s 69 (Power of entry)
Clause 6
Section 69(2)-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`(2) A community visitor may enter a visitable home if-- 9
(a) a carer residing in the home consents to the entry; or 10
(b) the entry is authorised by a warrant. 11
`(3) For the purpose of asking a person who is in charge of a visitable 12
site, or who is a carer residing in a visitable home, for consent to enter, a 13
community visitor may, without the person's consent or a warrant-- 14
(a) enter land around the site or home to an extent that is reasonable 15
to contact the person; or 16
(b) enter part of the site or home the community visitor reasonably 17
considers members of the public ordinarily are allowed to enter 18
when they wish to contact the person.'. 19
68 Amendment of s 70 (Consent to entry)
Clause 20
(1) Section 70(1)-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`(1) This section applies if a community visitor intends to ask a person 23
who is in charge of a visitable site, or who is a carer residing in a visitable 24
home, to consent to the community visitor entering the site or home under 25
section 69(1)(a) or (2)(a).'. 26
s 69 49 s 70
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(2) Section 70(6)-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`(6) If-- 3
(a) an issue arises in a proceeding about whether a person who was 4
in charge of a visitable site, or who was a carer residing in a 5
visitable home, consented to the entry; and 6
(b) an acknowledgement complying with subsection (4) for the entry 7
is not produced in evidence; 8
the onus of proof is on the person relying on the lawfulness of the entry to 9
prove a person mentioned in paragraph (a) consented.'. 10
69 Amendment of s 71 (Application for warrant)
Clause 11
Section 71(1), after `site'-- 12
insert-- 13
`or visitable home'. 14
70 Amendment of s 72 (Issue of warrant)
Clause 15
(1) Section 72(1), `site'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`visitable site or visitable home'. 18
(2) Section 72(2)(a)(i), `visitable site'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`site or home'. 21
(3) Section 72(2)(b), after `site'-- 22
insert-- 23
`or home'. 24
s 71 50 s 73
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
71 Replacement of s 73 (Warrants--procedure before entry)
Clause 1
Section 73-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`73 Warrants--procedure before entry 4
`(1) This section applies if a community visitor named in a warrant 5
issued under this subdivision for a visitable site or visitable home is 6
intending to enter the site or home under the warrant. 7
`(2) Before entering the site or home, the community visitor must do or 8
make a reasonable attempt to do the following things-- 9
(a) identify himself or herself to a person who is in charge of the 10
visitable site, or who is a carer residing in the visitable home, by 11
producing the community visitor's identity card or another 12
document evidencing the community visitor's appointment; 13
(b) give the person a copy of the warrant; 14
(c) tell the person the community visitor is permitted by the warrant 15
to enter the site or home; 16
(d) give the person an opportunity to allow the community visitor 17
immediate entry to the site or home without using force.'. 18
72 Amendment of s 74 (Related powers)
Clause 19
Section 74, heading, after `powers'-- 20
insert-- 21
`for visitable sites'. 22
73 Amendment of s 75 (Powers in relation to staff of sites)
Clause 23
Section 75, heading, before `sites'-- 24
insert-- 25
`visitable'. 26
s 74 51 s 76
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
74 Amendment of s 76 (Power to require documents to be produced)
Clause 1
Section 76, heading-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`76 Power to require staff of visitable site to produce documents'. 4
75 Insertion of new s 76A
Clause 5
Part 4, division 3, subdivision 3, after section 76-- 6
insert-- 7
`76A Powers relating to visitable homes 8
`(1) After entering a visitable home, a community visitor may do any of 9
the following-- 10
(a) look around the home and assess its appropriateness for the 11
accommodation of the relevant child; 12
(b) have access to the relevant child; 13
(c) talk with the relevant child at an appropriate place out of the 14
hearing of other persons at the home; 15
(d) require a carer residing in the home to give the visitor reasonable 16
help to exercise the visitor's powers under paragraphs (a) to (c). 17
`(2) An appropriate place under subsection (1)(c) may be a place away 18
from the visitable home (for example, a local park) where the child has 19
asked to talk. 20
`(3) A person must comply with a requirement under subsection (1)(d). 21
`(4) A person does not commit an offence only by failing to comply with 22
a requirement under subsection (1)(d). 23
`(5) In this section-- 24
"relevant child" means a child mentioned in section 64(b) or (c) residing 25
at the home.'. 26
76 Amendment of s 77 (Child's views and wishes)
Clause 27
(1) Section 77(1)-- 28
insert-- 29
s 77 52 s 78
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(c) including information about the child in a report to the 1
commissioner under section 67(1).'. 2
(2) Section 77(2) and (3)-- 3
renumber as section 77(3) and (4). 4
(3) Section 77-- 5
insert-- 6
`(2) To the greatest extent practicable, a community visitor must seek, 7
and take into account, the views and wishes of a child residing at a visitable 8
home before-- 9
(a) asking a carer or someone else at the home a question about the 10
child; or 11
(b) including information about the child in a report to the 12
commissioner under section 67(1).'. 13
77 Amendment of s 78 (Community visitor to respect privacy of
Clause 14
children residing at a site) 15
(1) Section 78, heading, `of children residing at a site'-- 16
omit. 17
(2) Section 78-- 18
insert-- 19
`(2) In exercising a power or performing a function in relation to a 20
visitable home, a community visitor must act in a way that-- 21
(a) preserves, as far as practicable, the privacy of persons residing at 22
the home and does not cause them unnecessary inconvenience; 23
and 24
(b) respects the wishes of any of the children residing in the home 25
who does not wish to communicate with the visitor.'. 26
78 Amendment of s 81 (Appointment)
Clause 27
Section 81(5)-- 28
insert-- 29
`(d) an approved foster carer.'. 30
s 79 53 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
79 Omission of s 89 (Annual report by commissioner)
Clause 1
Section 89-- 2
omit. 3
80 Insertion of new pt 4A
Clause 4
After part 4-- 5
insert-- 6
`PART 4A--CHILD DEATHS 7
`Division 1--Child Death Case Review Committee 8
`Subdivision 1--Preliminary 9
`89A Definitions for div 1 10
`In this division-- 11
"appointed members" see section 89F(1)(c). 12
"CDCRC" see section 89B. 13
"CDCRC member" means a person mentioned in section 89F(1)(a) or (b) 14
or an appointed member. 15
"original reviews" means reviews carried out under the Child Protection 16
Act 1999, chapter 7A10 by the chief executive (child safety). 17
"policies" includes guidelines, procedures, protocols, standards and 18
systems. 19
"review criteria" see section 89S. 20
10 Child Protection Act 1999, chapter 7A (Child deaths)
s 80 54 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`Subdivision 2--Establishment and functions 1
`89B Establishment 2
`The Child Death Case Review Committee (the "CDCRC") is 3
established. 4
`89C Functions 5
`The CDCRC's functions are-- 6
(a) to review all reviews carried out under the Child Protection Act 7
1999, chapter 7A; and 8
(b) in relation to matters arising out of its reviews under 9
paragraph (a), to make recommendations to the chief executive 10
(child safety) about-- 11
(i) improving the child safety department's policies relating to 12
the delivery of services to children and families; and 13
(ii) improving the relationships between the child safety 14
department and other entities whose functions include 15
having involvement with children and families; and 16
(iii) whether disciplinary action should be taken against officers 17
or employees of the child safety department in relation to 18
the child safety department's involvement with a child; and 19
(c) to monitor the implementation of its recommendations under 20
paragraph (b); and 21
(d) if asked by the Minister, to give the Minister information about 22
particular reviews, or classes or reviews, carried out under this 23
part. 24
`89D CDCRC must act independently 25
`In performing the CDCRC's functions under this part, the CDCRC-- 26
(a) must act independently; and 27
(b) is not under the control or direction of any other entity, including 28
the Minister and the commissioner, in relation to the way it 29
performs its functions. 30
s 80 55 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`89E CDCRC may use expert advisors 1
`In performing its functions, the CDCRC may obtain help from anyone 2
whom the CDCRC considers to be appropriately qualified to help. 3
4
Example of when CDCRC may decide to obtain help--
5
The CDCRC may be reviewing the chief executive (child safety's) review about a child
6
who has died and whose mother has an intellectual disability. It may decide to obtain
7
help from a person with expert knowledge of delivering services to persons with
8
intellectual disabilities. The person's expert knowledge may help the CDCRC to
9
evaluate an assessment in the chief executive (child safety's) review about the adequacy
10
and appropriateness of the child safety department's involvement with the child.
`Subdivision 3--Membership 11
`89F Membership 12
`(1) The CDCRC consists of-- 13
(a) the commissioner; and 14
(b) the assistant commissioner; and 15
(c) not less than 5, and not more than 7, members appointed by the 16
Minister ("appointed members"). 17
`(2) A person is eligible for appointment as an appointed member only if 18
the Minister is satisfied-- 19
(a) the person-- 20
(i) has expertise in the field of paediatrics and child health, 21
forensic pathology, mental health, investigations or child 22
protection; or 23
(ii) is otherwise, because of the person's qualifications, 24
experience or membership of an entity, likely to make a 25
valuable contribution to the CDCRC; and 26
(b) the person is otherwise suitable for appointment to the CDCRC. 27
`(3) Without limiting the matters to which the Minister may have regard 28
in deciding whether a person is otherwise suitable for appointment, the 29
Minister-- 30
(a) must not appoint a person if the person does not consent to a 31
criminal history check before appointment; and 32
(b) may have regard to the person's criminal history. 33
s 80 56 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(4) The members of the CDCRC must include at least-- 1
(a) 1 Aboriginal person; and 2
(b) 1 Torres Strait Islander. 3
`89G Provision relating to appointment of State Coroner as appointed 4
member 5
`(1) If the Minister proposes to appoint the State Coroner as an 6
appointed member-- 7
(a) the State Coroner is not required to consent under 8
section 89F(3)(a) to a criminal history check before appointment; 9
and 10
(b) section 89F(3)(b) does not apply to the Minister's consideration 11
of the State Coroner's suitability for appointment. 12
`(2) Subsections (3) to (5) apply if the State Coroner is an appointed 13
member. 14
`(3) The State Coroner may, by written notice given to the chairperson of 15
the CDCRC, nominate a person to act as the State Coroner's deputy in 16
relation to the CDCRC. 17
`(4) Subject to the terms of the notice, the deputy may act for the State 18
Coroner as a CDCRC member at any time. 19
`(5) While the deputy is acting-- 20
(a) the deputy has all the functions and powers of a CDCRC 21
member; and 22
(b) this Act applies to the deputy as if the deputy were a CDCRC 23
member. 24
`89H Minister may obtain report from police commissioner 25
`(1) This section applies to-- 26
(a) a person who-- 27
(i) the Minister proposes to appoint as a member of the 28
CDCRC; and 29
(ii) has consented to a criminal history check under section 89F; 30
or 31
s 80 57 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) a person who is an appointed member. 1
`(2) However, this section does not apply if the person is the State 2
Coroner. 3
`(3) The Minister may ask the police commissioner to give the 4
commissioner the following information about the person-- 5
(a) a written report about the person's criminal history; 6
(b) a brief description of the circumstances of a conviction or charge 7
mentioned in the person's criminal history. 8
`(4) Subject to subsection (5), the police commissioner must comply 9
with the request. 10
`(5) The duty imposed on the police commissioner to comply with the 11
request applies only to information in the police commissioner's 12
possession or to which the police commissioner has access. 13
`(6) The Minister must destroy a report given to the Minister under this 14
section as soon as practicable after it is no longer needed for the purpose 15
for which it was requested. 16
`89I Application of Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) 17
Act 1986 18
`Sections 89F(3) and 89H apply to a person despite anything in the 19
Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986. 20
`89J Conditions of appointment 21
`(1) An appointed member holds office for the term, not more than 22
3 years, stated in the member's instrument of appointment. 23
`(2) An appointed member is appointed on a part-time basis only. 24
`(3) An appointed member is entitled to the fees and allowances fixed by 25
the Minister, and otherwise holds office under the conditions of 26
appointment fixed by the Minister. 27
`89K Vacation of office of appointed member 28
`The office of an appointed member becomes vacant if the appointed 29
member-- 30
s 80 58 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(a) resigns office by signed notice given to the Minister; or 1
(b) is removed from office as a member under section 89L. 2
`89L Removal from office of appointed members 3
`(1) The Minister may remove an appointed member from office if-- 4
(a) the member is mentally or physically incapable of performing 5
the member's duties; or 6
(b) the Minister is satisfied the member has neglected the member's 7
duties or performed the member's duties incompetently or 8
inefficiently; or 9
(c) the member is otherwise unsuitable to continue as a member; or 10
(d) for a member appointed because of the member's membership of 11
an entity--the member ceases to be a member of the entity. 12
`(2) However, subsection (1) does not apply to an appointed member 13
who is the State Coroner. 14
`Subdivision 4--Chairperson 15
`89M Chairperson 16
`(1) The commissioner is chairperson of the CDCRC. 17
`(2) The chairperson is to preside at all meetings of the CDCRC at which 18
the chairperson is present. 19
`(3) If the chairperson is not present at a meeting of the CDCRC, a 20
CDCRC member chosen by the members present at the meeting is to 21
preside. 22
`Subdivision 5--Conduct of business 23
`89N Quorum 24
`(1) A quorum for the CDCRC is the number equal to one-half of the 25
number of CDCRC members for the time being holding office or, if 26
one-half is not a whole number, the next higher whole number. 27
s 80 59 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) However, if the review being carried out by the CDCRC concerns-- 1
(a) an Aboriginal child, there is not a quorum unless at least 2
1 CDCRC member present is an Aboriginal person; or 3
(b) a Torres Strait Islander child, there is not a quorum unless at least 4
1 CDCRC member present is a Torres Strait Islander. 5
`89O Conduct of meetings 6
`(1) A question at a CDCRC meeting is decided by a majority of the 7
votes of the CDCRC members present. 8
`(2) Each CDCRC member present at the meeting has a vote on each 9
question to be decided and, if the votes are equal, the member presiding 10
also has a casting vote. 11
`89P Minutes 12
`The CDCRC must keep minutes of its meetings. 13
`89Q Disclosure of interests 14
`(1) This section applies to a CDCRC member (the "interested 15
person") if-- 16
(a) the interested person has a direct or indirect interest in an issue 17
being considered, or about to be considered, by the CDCRC; and 18
(b) the interest could conflict with the proper performance of the 19
person's duties about the consideration of the issue. 20
`(2) As soon as practicable after the relevant facts come to the interested 21
person's knowledge, the person must disclose the nature of the interest to a 22
CDCRC meeting. 23
`(3) Unless the CDCRC otherwise directs, the interested person must 24
not-- 25
(a) be present when the CDCRC considers the issue; or 26
(b) take part in a decision of the CDCRC about the issue. 27
`(4) The interested person must not be present when the CDCRC is 28
considering whether to give a direction under subsection (3). 29
s 80 60 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(5) If there is another person who must, under subsection (2), also 1
disclose an interest in the issue, the other person must not-- 2
(a) be present when the CDCRC is considering whether to give a 3
direction under subsection (3) about the interested person; or 4
(b) take part in making the decision about giving the direction. 5
`(6) If-- 6
(a) because of this section, a CDCRC member is not present at a 7
meeting for considering or deciding an issue, or for considering 8
or deciding whether to give a direction under subsection (3); and 9
(b) there would be a quorum if the member were present; 10
the remaining persons present are a quorum of the CDCRC for considering 11
or deciding the issue, or for considering or deciding whether to give the 12
direction, at the meeting. 13
`(7) A disclosure under subsection (2) must be recorded-- 14
(a) in the CDCRC's minutes; and 15
(b) if the disclosure relates to a review being carried out by the 16
CDCRC, in the report prepared under section 89T by the 17
CDCRC about the review. 18
`(8) Subsection (7)(b) is subject to section 89U(2). 19
`89R Conduct of business 20
`Subject to this division, the CDCRC may conduct its business, 21
including meetings, in the way it considers appropriate. 22
`Subdivision 6--Reviews and reports 23
`89S Criteria to be used in carrying out review 24
`(1) The CDCRC must develop criteria ("review criteria") to be used in 25
carrying out its reviews of original reviews. 26
`(2) In developing the review criteria, the CDCRC must consult the chief 27
executive (child safety) and may consult other entities the CDCRC 28
considers have a sufficient interest in the performance of its functions. 29
s 80 61 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(3) The review criteria must be published in the gazette. 1
`(4) The review criteria are a statutory instrument. 2
`89T Carrying out review 3
`(1) This section applies if the CDCRC is given a copy of a report of an 4
original review under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 246D(2).11 5
`(2) The CDCRC must review the original review using the review 6
criteria, and prepare a report about its review, as soon as practicable but, in 7
any case, so that it can comply with section 89U(1). 8
`(3) For its review, the CDCRC may give a notice to the chief executive 9
(child safety) requiring the chief executive (child safety) to give the 10
CDCRC a supplementary report relating to the original review. 11
`(4) Also, for its review, the CDCRC may have regard to a report that-- 12
(a) is given, under the Ombudsman Act 2000, section 57B, to the 12
13
CDCRC; and 14
(b) relates to the child whose involvement with the child safety 15
department is the subject of the review 16
`(5) Without limiting what the CDCRC's report may contain, the report 17
may recommend that the chief executive (child safety) take stated action 18
within a stated time that is reasonable in the circumstances. 19
`89U CDCRC to give copy of its report to certain persons 20
`(1) Within 3 months after being given the report of an original review, 21
the CDCRC must give a copy of its report to-- 22
(a) the chief executive (child safety); and 23
(b) the commissioner. 24
`(2) The CDCRC's report must not include any information identifying, 25
or that is likely to lead to the identification of, any individual. 26
`(3) However, the CDCRC may include with the copy of its report given 27
to the chief executive (child safety) a separate document that allows the 28
11 Child Protection Act 1999, section 246D (Report to be prepared and given to
CDCRC)
12 Ombudsman Act 2003, section 57B (Report may be given to CDCRC)
s 80 62 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
chief executive (child safety) to identify individuals mentioned in the 1
report. 2
`Subdivision 7--Recommendations 3
`89V Request to chief executive (child safety) 4
`The CDCRC may ask the chief executive (child safety) to notify the 5
CDCRC, within a reasonable stated time, of the steps taken to give effect to 6
the recommendations contained in its report and, if no steps have been 7
taken, the reasons for this. 8
`89W CDCRC may give report to Minister in certain circumstances 9
`(1) This section applies if the CDCRC, after considering the response of 10
the chief executive (child safety) given under section 89V, considers that no 11
steps have been taken to give effect to the CDCRC's recommendations or 12
the steps taken are inadequate or inappropriate. 13
`(2) The CDCRC may report on the matter to the Minister and the 14
Minister to whom the chief executive (child safety) is responsible. 15
`(3) The CDCRC must attach the following to the report-- 16
(a) a copy of the CDCRC's report on the review; 17
(b) the response of the chief executive (child safety) under section 18
89V about the matter. 19
`Subdivision 8--Other provisions 20
`89X Confidentiality of information 21
`(1) This section applies to a person who gains confidential information 22
because of, or an opportunity given by-- 23
(a) being a CDCRC member; or 24
(b) being a person who is giving, or has given, help to the CDCRC 25
under section 89E; or 26
(c) providing administrative support to the CDCRC under 27
section 89ZB. 28
s 80 63 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) The person must not-- 1
(a) make a record of the information or intentionally disclose the 2
information to anyone except-- 3
(i) to the extent necessary to perform the person's functions 4
relating to the CDCRC; or 5
(ii) if the person is the State Coroner, to a coroner for use by the 6
coroner to help in an investigation under the Coroners 7
Act 2003; or 8
(iii) if the person is the State Coroner's deputy under 9
section 89G,13 to the State Coroner or to a coroner for use 10
by the coroner to help in an investigation under the 11
Coroners Act 2003; or 12
(b) recklessly disclose the information to anyone. 13
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 14
`89Y No liability for defamation if report made in good faith 15
`It is a lawful excuse for the publication of any defamatory statement 16
made in a report prepared by the CDCRC under this part that the 17
publication is made in good faith and is, or purports to be, made for this Act 18
or the Child Protection Act 1999. 19
`89Z Information not to be given in evidence 20
`(1) A relevant person is neither competent nor compellable-- 21
(a) to produce, in compliance with a requirement under an Act or 22
legal process, any document in the person's possession or under 23
the person's control created by, at the request of, or solely for the 24
purpose of, the CDCRC; or 25
(b) to divulge or communicate, in compliance with a requirement 26
under an Act, or legal process, information that came to the 27
person's notice as a relevant person. 28
`(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a requirement made in proceedings 29
about an act or omission by the relevant person or the CDCRC. 30
13 Section 89G (Provision relating to appointment of State Coroner as appointed
member)
s 80 64 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(3) In this section-- 1
"relevant person" means a person who is, or was-- 2
(a) a CDCRC member; or 3
(b) giving help to the CDCRC under section 89E; or 4
(c) providing administrative support to the CDCRC under 5
section 89ZB. 6
`89ZA Annual report 7
`(1) By 31 October in each year, the CDCRC must give to the Minister a 8
report about the performance of the CDCRC's functions during the 9
previous financial year. 10
`(2) The report must not include information that identifies, or is likely to 11
identify, individuals referred to in reports under section 89T(2). 12
`89ZB Administrative support for CDCRC 13
`The commissioner must ensure the CDCRC has the administrative 14
support services reasonably required for the CDCRC to carry out its 15
functions effectively and efficiently. 16
`Division 2--Commissioner's functions relating to child deaths 17
`89ZC Register 18
`The commissioner must keep a register of child deaths in Queensland. 19
`89ZD Access to information in the register for research purposes 20
`(1) This section applies if a person wants access to information in the 21
register to undertake research to help reduce the likelihood of child deaths. 22
`(2) The person may access the information only with the 23
commissioner's consent. 24
`(3) The commissioner may consent only if satisfied-- 25
(a) the person is a genuine researcher; and 26
s 80 65 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) the information is reasonably necessary for research mentioned 1
in subsection (1). 2
`(4) The commissioner must not give the person access to identifying 3
information unless the commissioner reasonably believes-- 4
(a) the identifying information is necessary for the research to be 5
effective; and 6
(b) the opportunity for increased knowledge that may result from the 7
research outweighs the need to protect the privacy of any living 8
or dead person. 9
`(5) The commissioner may impose conditions on the consent that the 10
commissioner considers appropriate including, for example, a condition 11
that the person must not disclose identifying information to anyone else or 12
use the information other than for a stated purpose. 13
`(6) The person must comply with any condition imposed on the 14
consent, unless the person has a reasonable excuse. 15
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 16
`(7) In this section-- 17
"identifying information" means information that identifies an individual. 18
"genuine researcher" means-- 19
(a) a person authorised under the Health Act 1937, section 154M14 to 20
conduct scientific research and studies for the purpose of 21
reducing morbidity or mortality in Queensland; or 22
(b) a member of an approved quality assurance committee under the 23
Health Services Act 1991, part 4, division 2;15 or 24
(c) another person who the commissioner considers is conducting 25
genuine research. 26
`89ZE Other functions relating to information about child deaths 27
`The commissioner also has the following functions to help reduce the 28
likelihood of child deaths-- 29
14 Health Act 1937, section 154M (Authority to conduct scientific research and
studies)
15 Health Services Act 1991, part 4 (Teaching hospitals and quality assurance),
division 2 (Quality assurance)
s 80 66 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(a) in relation to the information about child deaths recorded in the 1
register-- 2
(i) to classify the deaths according to cause of death, 3
demographic information and other relevant factors; and 4
(ii) to analyse the information to identify patterns or trends; 5
(b) to conduct research, alone or in cooperation with other entities; 6
(c) to identify areas for further research by the commissioner or 7
other entities; 8
(d) to make recommendations, arising from keeping the register and 9
conducting research under this division, about laws, policies and 10
practices. 11
`89ZF Reports 12
`(1) By 31 October in each year, the commissioner must prepare, and 13
give to the Minister, a report about the following matters for the previous 14
financial year-- 15
(a) the results of analysing information included in the register; 16
(b) the commissioner's activities relating to research about child 17
deaths; 18
(c) any persons given access to information in the register for 19
research purposes; 20
(d) recommendations the commissioner has made about laws, 21
policies or practices; 22
(e) the extent to which previous recommendations of the 23
commissioner have been implemented. 24
`(2) The commissioner may also prepare, and give to the Minister, other 25
reports arising from the performance of the commissioner's functions 26
under section 89ZE. 27
`(3) The commissioner must not include in a report any comments 28
adverse to an entity identifiable from the report, unless the entity has been 29
given a copy of the comments and given a reasonable opportunity to 30
respond to them. 31
`(4) If the entity gives the commissioner a written statement in response 32
to the comments and asks that the statement be included in the report, the 33
commissioner must include the statement in the report. 34
s 80 67 s 80
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(5) However, the commissioner is not required by subsection (4) to 1
include a statement so far as it contains information that the commissioner 2
considers should not be publicly disclosed on the ground that-- 3
(a) disclosure of the information may adversely affect the outcome 4
of an inquiry or investigation by a complaints agency or the 5
police service, or an investigatory body established under a law 6
of the Commonwealth; or 7
(b) the information concerns a matter before a court. 8
`(6) It is a lawful excuse for the publication of any defamatory statement 9
made in a report that the publication is made in good faith and is, or 10
purports to be, made for this Act. 11
`(7) Within 14 sitting days after receiving a report under this section, the 12
Minister must table it in the Legislative Assembly. 13
`89ZG Government entity may enter into arrangement with 14
commissioner 15
`(1) A government entity may-- 16
(a) enter into an arrangement with the commissioner about providing 17
to the commissioner information or a document that the 18
commissioner reasonably needs to perform the commissioner's 19
functions under this division; and 20
(b) provide information or a document to the commissioner under 21
the arrangement. 22
`(2) The government entity and the commissioner must, as far as 23
practicable, protect the persons to whom the information or document 24
relates from unjustified intrusion on their privacy. 25
`(3) The government entity may charge a fee for a service under the 26
arrangement that is not more than the actual cost of providing the service. 27
`(4) This section does not apply to-- 28
(a) the Children Services Tribunal; or 29
(b) the registrar under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration 30
Act 2003; or 31
(c) the State Coroner or the chief executive of the department in 32
which the Coroners Act 2003 is administered. 33
s 81 68 s 81
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(5) A person does not, by providing access to information or a 1
document under this section-- 2
(a) contravene a provision of an Act or a law imposing a statutory or 3
commercial obligation or restriction to maintain secrecy in 4
relation to the information or document; or 5
(b) incur any civil liability in relation to the information or 6
document. 7
`(6) To remove doubt, for the purpose of the Health Services Act 1991, 8
section 63, it is declared an officer, employee or agent mentioned in that 9
section is authorised to give information under this section. 10
`89ZH Disclosure of information 11
`The commissioner may disclose information obtained under this 12
division, to the State Coroner, for use by a coroner to help in-- 13
(a) an investigation under the Coroners Act 2003; or 14
(b) an inquiry into a death under the Coroners Act 1958.'. 15
81 Insertion of new pt 7A
Clause 16
After part 7-- 17
insert-- 18
`PART 7A--COMMISSIONER MAY APPLY FOR 19
REVIEW OF PARTICULAR DECISIONS 20
`140A Meaning of "reviewable decision" for pt 7A 21
`(1) In this part-- 22
"reviewable decision" means any of the following-- 23
(a) if, under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(1),16 the chief 24
executive (child safety) is required to take action under 25
section 14(1)(a) or (b), a decision by the chief executive about 26
the action; 27
16 Child Protection Act 1999, section 14 (Chief executive may investigate alleged
harm)
s 81 69 s 81
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) a decision, under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 87(2),17 1
by the chief executive (child safety) not to take action under that 2
subsection; 3
(c) a decision by the chief executive (child safety) to take, or not to 4
take, a step for the purpose of ensuring a child who, under the 5
Child Protection Act 1999, is placed in the care of an approved 6
foster carer, licensed care service or departmental care service is 7
cared for in a way that meets the statement of standards under 8
section 122 of that Act; 9
(d) a decision that is a reviewable decision under the Child 10
Protection Act 1999,18 other than-- 11
(i) a decision about a licence under section 129 of that Act; or 12
(ii) a decision about a certificate of approval under section 136 13
of that Act; or 14
(iii) a decision about an authority under section 137, 138 or 140 15
of that Act. 16
`(2) For paragraph (a) of the definition "reviewable decision" in 17
subsection (1), if the chief executive (child safety) is required to take action 18
under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(1)(a) or (b) and fails to 19
take the action, the failure is taken to be a decision by the chief executive 20
(child safety) not to take any action. 21
`(3) For paragraph (c) of the definition "reviewable decision" in 22
subsection (1), a failure by the chief executive (child safety) to decide to 23
take a step for the purpose mentioned in that paragraph is taken to be a 24
decision not to take the step. 25
`(4) Subsection (5) applies if, in the course of the commissioner seeking 26
to have a reviewable decision resolved to the commissioner's satisfaction-- 27
(a) the chief executive (child safety) amends, or substitutes another 28
reviewable decision for, the first reviewable decision and the 29
amended reviewable decision or substituted reviewable decision 30
does not resolve the matter to the commissioner's satisfaction; or 31
17 Child Protection Act 1999, section 87 (Chief executive to provide contact between
child and child's parents)
18 See the Child Protection Act 1999, schedule 3 (Dictionary), definition "reviewable
decision". Reviewable decisions are in schedule 2 (Reviewable decisions and
aggrieved persons) of that Act.
s 82 70 s 82
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(b) in relation to a failure to take action or to decide to take a step as 1
mentioned in subsection (2) or (3)--the chief executive (child 2
safety) actually makes a reviewable decision and the reviewable 3
decision does not resolve the matter to the commissioner's 4
satisfaction. 5
`(5) For section 140B, the amended or substituted reviewable decision, 6
or the reviewable decision actually made, becomes the reviewable decision. 7
`140B Commissioner may apply for review of reviewable decisions 8
`(1) This section applies if, in performing the commissioner's child 9
guardian functions, the commissioner-- 10
(a) is dissatisfied with a reviewable decision; and 11
(b) has been unable to resolve the matter with the chief executive 12
(child safety) to the commissioner's satisfaction. 13
`(2) The commissioner may apply to the Children Services Tribunal to 14
have the reviewable decision reviewed. 15
`(3) The commissioner may apply to the Children Services Tribunal only 16
if the commissioner is satisfied that to do so would be in the child's best 17
interests. 18
`(4) Before the commissioner may apply to the Children Services 19
Tribunal to have the reviewable decision reviewed, the commissioner must 20
give the chief executive (child safety) a written notice stating-- 21
(a) the commissioner is dissatisfied with the decision; and 22
(b) the reasons the commissioner is dissatisfied with the decision; 23
and 24
(c) the matter has not been resolved to the commissioner's 25
satisfaction; and 26
(d) the commissioner intends to apply to the Children Services 27
Tribunal for a review of the decision.'. 28
82 Amendment of s 159 (Relationship with complaints agencies)
Clause 29
Section 159(2)-- 30
omit, insert-- 31
`(2) The commissioner may-- 32
s 83 71 s 85
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(a) liaise with a complaints agency about the exercise by the 1
commissioner and the complaints agency of their functions 2
relating to complaints about services provided to children; and 3
(b) enter into an arrangement with the complaints agency aimed at 4
avoiding inappropriate duplication of activities relating to those 5
functions.'. 6
83 Amendment of s 161 (Protection from liability)
Clause 7
Section 161(3), definition "official"-- 8
insert-- 9
`(d) a member of the Child Death Case Review Committee.'. 10
84 Insertion of new s 163A
Clause 11
After section 163-- 12
insert-- 13
`163A Annual report by commission 14
`The commission's annual report under the Financial Administration 15
and Audit Act 1977 for a financial year must include-- 16
(a) a report on the performance of the commissioner's child guardian 17
functions during the year; and 18
(b) a report on the operations of community visitors during the 19
year.'. 20
85 Amendment of s 165 (Delegation by commissioner)
Clause 21
(1) Section 165, heading, after `commissioner'-- 22
insert-- 23
`or assistant commissioner'. 24
(2) Section 165(2)-- 25
renumber as section 165(3). 26
(3) Section 165-- 27
insert-- 28
s 86 72 s 86
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) The assistant commissioner may delegate the assistant 1
commissioner's powers under this Act to-- 2
(a) an appropriately qualified member of the commission's staff; or 3
(b) another individual whom the assistant commissioner considers is 4
an appropriately qualified person to exercise the powers 5
delegated to the person.'. 6
86 Insertion of new pt 9, div 6
Clause 7
Part 9, after division 5-- 8
insert-- 9
`Division 6--Transitional provisions for Child Safety Legislation 10
Amendment Act 2004 11
`183 Commissioner 12
`(1) Subject to this Act, the current commissioner continues in office 13
under this Act as the Commissioner for Children and Young People and 14
Child Guardian until the end of the term stated in the person's appointment. 15
`(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference in a document to 16
the Commissioner for Children and Young People is taken to be a 17
reference to Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child 18
Guardian. 19
`(3) In this section-- 20
"commencement day" means the day the Child Safety Legislation 21
Amendment Act 2004, section 39 commences. 22
"current commissioner" means the person who, immediately before the 23
commencement day, was the Commissioner for Children and Young 24
People. 25
`184 Commission 26
`(1) The current commission continues as the Commission for Children 27
and Young People and Child Guardian. 28
`(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference in a document to 29
the Commission for Children and Young People is taken to be a reference 30
to Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian. 31
s 87 73 s 87
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(3) In this section-- 1
"commencement day" means the day the Child Safety Legislation 2
Amendment Act 2004, section 39 commences. 3
"current commission" means the office that, immediately before the 4
commencement day, was the Commission for Children and Young 5
People. 6
`185 Child deaths 7
`(1) As far as is practicable, the commissioner must include, in the 8
register under section 89ZC, a record of the child deaths that happened 9
before the commencement day and on or after 1 January 2001. 10
`(2) The first report prepared under section 89ZF(1) is due by 31 October 11
2005 and must include the matters stated in section 89ZF(1) for the period 12
from the commencement day to 1 July 2005. 13
`(3) In this section-- 14
"commencement day" means the day the Child Safety Legislation 15
Amendment Act 2004, section 80 commences. 16
`186 References to child safety department 17
`If the Child Protection Act 1999 is administered only in a part of a 18
department, a reference in this Act to the child safety department is a 19
reference only to that part. 20
`187 First report under s 89ZA 21
`The first report prepared under section 89ZA is due by 31 October 2005 22
and must relate to the period starting on the day that section commences 23
and ending on 30 June 2005.'. 24
87 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary)
Clause 25
(1) Schedule 4, definitions "carer", "chief executive (families)", 26
"commission", "commissioner" and "visitable site"-- 27
omit. 28
s 87 74 s 87
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
(2) Schedule 4-- 1
insert-- 2
` "appointed members", for part 4A, division 1, see section 89A. 3
"approved foster carer" means an approved foster carer under the Child 4
Protection Act 1999. 5
"assistant commissioner" means the assistant commissioner appointed 6
under section 28A. 7
"carer"-- 8
(a) in relation to a child residing in a visitable home, means a person 9
in whose care the child has been placed; or 10
(b) in relation to a child care service, see the Child Care Act 2002, 11
section 56. 12
"CDCRC", for part 4A, division 1, see section 89A. 13
"CDCRC member", for part 4A, division 1, see section 89A. 14
"chief executive (child safety)" means the chief executive of the child 15
safety department. 16
"child guardian functions", of the commissioner, see section 15(2). 17
"child safety department" means the department in which the Child 18
Protection Act 1999 is administered. 19
"child safety system" see the definition "in the child safety system". 20
"commission" means the Commission for Children and Young People and 21
Child Guardian. 22
"commissioner" means the Commissioner for Children and Young People 23
and Child Guardian. 24
"in the child safety system" see section 11A. 25
"licensee", for part 2A, see section 31B(b). 26
"monitoring functions", of the commissioner, see section 15(3). 27
"original reviews", for part 4A, division 1, see section 89A. 28
"police service" means the Queensland Police Service. 29
"policies", for part 4A, division 1, see section 89A. 30
"relevant service providers", for part 2A, see section 31B. 31
s 88 75 s 90
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
"review criteria", for part 4A, division 1, see section 89A. 1
"reviewable decision", for part 7A, see section 140A. 2
"State Coroner" means the State Coroner under the Coroners Act 2003. 3
"visitable home" see section 64B. 4
"visitable site" see section 64A. 5
"woman" includes any female.'. 6
(3) Schedule 4, definition "prescribed department", paragraphs (b) and 7
(c)-- 8
renumber as paragraphs (c) and (d). 9
(4) Schedule 4, definition "prescribed department"-- 10
insert-- 11
`(b) the department responsible for community services; or'. 12
PART 6--AMENDMENT OF CORONERS ACT 2003 13
88 Act amended in pt 6
Clause 14
This part amends the Coroners Act 2003. 15
89 Amendment of s 9 ("Death in care" defined)
Clause 16
Section 9(1)-- 17
insert-- 18
`(e) the person was a child in a placement with the consent of a parent 19
or guardian.'. 20
90 Insertion of new s 10A
Clause 21
Part 2, after section 10-- 22
insert-- 23
s 91 76 s 92
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`10A State Coroner to notify children's commissioner of deaths 1
`(1) If the death of a child is reported to the State Coroner under 2
section 7, the State Coroner must, within 30 days after receiving the 3
report-- 4
(a) notify the children's commissioner of the death; and 5
(b) if a report about the death was given under section 7(3) by a 6
police officer to a coroner--give the children's commissioner a 7
copy of the report unless the State Coroner considers that giving 8
the report is likely to prejudice an investigation by a coroner or 9
police officer. 10
`(2) Before giving the children's commissioner a copy of a report under 11
subsection (1)(b), the State Coroner must ensure that all information in the 12
report that identifies anyone is obliterated. 13
`(3) However, the State Coroner need not obliterate information if the 14
State Coroner reasonably believes the person's identity is necessary for the 15
children's commissioner's child death research functions.'. 16
91 Amendment of s 45 (Coroner's findings)
Clause 17
(1) Section 45(4)(c)-- 18
renumber as section 45(4)(d). 19
(2) Section 45(4)-- 20
insert-- 21
`(c) if the deceased person was a child--the children's commissioner; 22
and'. 23
92 Amendment of s 46 (Coroner's comments)
Clause 24
Section 46(2)-- 25
insert-- 26
`(e) if the comments relate to the death of a child--the children's 27
commissioner.'. 28
s 93 77 s 94
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
93 Amendment of s 47 (Coroner's comments and findings for deaths
Clause 1
in care or custody) 2
Section 47(3), definition "relevant Act", paragraph (a)-- 3
insert-- 4
`(vii)for the death of a person mentioned in section 9(1)(e)--the 5
Child Protection Act 1999; or'. 6
94 Insertion of new ss 54A-54C
Clause 7
After section 54-- 8
insert-- 9
`54A Access to investigation documents by the children's 10
commissioner 11
`(1) The chief executive may enter into an arrangement with the 12
children's commissioner about giving the commissioner access to the 13
following documents for the commissioner's child death research 14
functions-- 15
(a) an investigation document, other than a report mentioned in 16
section 7(3), that relates to the death of a particular child; 17
(b) all investigation documents, other than reports mentioned in 18
section 7(3), that relate to the deaths of children. 19
`(2) Without limiting what may be included in an arrangement, the 20
arrangement may provide for the following-- 21
(a) when investigation documents may be accessed by the children's 22
commissioner, including, for example, whether access will be 23
given to the children's commissioner while a coroner is 24
investigating the death to which the document relates; 25
(b) how and where the children's commissioner may access the 26
investigation documents. 27
`(3) The State Coroner may provide access to an investigation document 28
to the children's commissioner under the arrangement. 29
`(4) Sections 53, 54 and 55 do not apply in relation to access to an 30
investigation document under the arrangement. 31
`(5) However, access to an investigation document under the 32
arrangement is subject to the other provisions of this division. 33
s 94 78 s 94
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(6) In this section-- 1
"investigation document" includes a document obtained under the 2
Coroners Act 1958 that is similar in nature to an investigation 3
document as defined in schedule 2. 4
`54B Limitations on access under s 54A 5
`(1) This section contains particular provisions limiting access to 6
investigation documents under an arrangement under section 54A. 7
`(2) Before giving the children's commissioner access to an investigation 8
document, the State Coroner must ensure that all information in the 9
document that identifies anyone is obliterated. 10
`(3) However, the State Coroner need not obliterate information if the 11
State Coroner reasonably believes the person's identity is necessary for the 12
children's commissioner's child death research functions. 13
`(4) If the investigation document is a police document and the State 14
Coroner decides under subsection (3) not to obliterate information that 15
identifies someone, the State Coroner may give access to the document 16
only if the commissioner of the police service agrees to the document being 17
accessed under the arrangement. 18
`(5) If the investigation document is not a coronial document for an 19
investigation under this Act or a police document, the State Coroner may 20
give access to the document only if the chief executive of the entity that 21
prepared the document agrees to the document being accessed under the 22
arrangement. 23
`(6) In this section-- 24
"investigation document" includes a document obtained under the 25
Coroners Act 1958 that is similar in nature to an investigation 26
document as defined in schedule 2. 27
`54C Fees for access under s 54A 28
`(1) The chief executive may charge the children's commissioner a fee 29
for access to investigation documents provided under section 54A that is 30
not more than the actual cost of providing the access. 31
`(2) A fee prescribed under a regulation for access to an investigation 32
document does not apply to access to an investigation document provided 33
under section 54A. 34
s 95 79 s 96
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(3) In this section-- 1
"investigation document" includes a document obtained under the 2
Coroners Act 1958 that is similar in nature to an investigation 3
document as defined in schedule 2.'. 4
95 Amendment of s 71 (Functions and powers of State Coroner)
Clause 5
(1) Section 71(6)-- 6
renumber as section 71(7). 7
(2) Section 71-- 8
insert-- 9
`(6) Despite subsection (4), the State Coroner may be appointed as, and 10
perform the functions of, a member of the Child Death Case Review 11
Committee under the Commission for Children and Young People and 12
Child Guardian Act 2000.'. 13
96 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary)
Clause 14
(1) Schedule 2-- 15
insert-- 16
` "chief executive (child safety)" means the chief executive of the 17
department in which the Child Protection Act 1999 is administered. 18
"child death research functions", for the children's commissioner, means 19
the functions set out in the Commission for Children and Young 20
People and Child Guardian Act 2000, part 4A, division 2. 21
"child in a placement with the consent of a parent or guardian" means 22
a child-- 23
(a) about whom an authorised officer is investigating, or has 24
investigated, alleged harm or alleged risk of harm under the 25
Child Protection Act 1999, section 14; and 26
(b) who is residing with someone other than the person with whom 27
the child normally resides as a result of an agreement between a 28
parent or guardian of the child and the chief executive (child 29
safety). 30
s 97 80 s 99
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
"children's commissioner" means the Commissioner for Children and 1
Young People and Child Guardian appointed under the Commission 2
for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000.'. 3
(2) Schedule 2, definition "investigation document"-- 4
insert-- 5
`(e) a document connected to the investigation that is given, under the 6
Child Protection Act 1999, section 246H,19 to the State Coroner 7
for use by a coroner; or 8
(f) a document connected to the investigation that is given, under the 9
Ombudsman Act 2001, section 57A,20 to the State Coroner for 10
use by a coroner.'. 11
PART 7--AMENDMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES 12
ACT 1991 13
97 Act amended in pt 7
Clause 14
This part amends the Health Services Act 1991. 15
98 Amendment of s 57 (Duty of confidentiality of officials)
Clause 16
Section 57(4)(b), `(gb)'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`(j)'. 19
99 Amendment of s 63 (Confidentiality)
Clause 20
(1) Section 63(2)(g)-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
19 Child Protection Act 1999, section 246H (Chief executive to give reports to State
Coroner)
20 Child Protection Act 1999, section 57A (Report may be given to State Coroner or
Attorney-General)
s 99 81 s 99
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(g) to the giving of information to the Commonwealth or another 1
State, or an entity of the Commonwealth or another State, by the 2
chief executive if giving the information-- 3
(i) is required or allowed under an agreement-- 4
(A) between Queensland and the Commonwealth, State or 5
entity; and 6
(B) prescribed under a regulation for this paragraph; and 7
(ii) is considered by the chief executive to be in the public 8
interest; or 9
(gaa)to the giving of information to an entity of the State by the chief 10
executive if giving the information-- 11
(i) is required or allowed under an agreement-- 12
(A) between the chief executive and the entity; and 13
(B) prescribed under a regulation for this paragraph; and 14
(ii) is considered by the chief executive to be in the public 15
interest; or'. 16
(2) Section 63(2)(ga), `(gb)'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`(j)'. 19
(3) Section 63(2)-- 20
insert-- 21
`(gc)to the giving of information to another officer, employee or agent 22
of the department for evaluating, managing, monitoring or 23
planning health services; or 24
(gd) to the giving of information to an entity prescribed under a 25
regulation for this paragraph for the purpose of evaluating, 26
managing, monitoring or planning health services as stated in the 27
regulation; or'. 28
(4) Section 63(2)(gaa) to (j)-- 29
renumber as section 63(2)(h) to (o). 30
(5) Section 63(3), after `(2)(g)'-- 31
insert-- 32
s 100 82 s 101
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`or (h)'. 1
(6) Section 63(3)(a)-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`(a) must not give it to anyone else unless allowed to do so by the 4
agreement or in writing by the chief executive; and'. 5
(7) Section 63(4A)(b), `(gb)'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`(j)'. 8
(8) Section 63(4B)(a), `(gb)'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(j)'. 11
(9) Section 63(6), `subsection (2)(i)'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`this section'. 14
(10) Section 63(6)-- 15
insert-- 16
` "entity of the State" includes a department and an entity established 17
under an Act for a public purpose.'. 18
PART 8--AMENDMENT OF OMBUDSMAN ACT 2001 19
100 Act amended in pt 8
Clause 20
This part amends the Ombudsman Act 2001. 21
101 Insertion of new ss 57A and 57B
Clause 22
Part 6, after section 57-- 23
insert-- 24
s 101 83 s 101
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`57A Copy of report may be given to particular persons 1
`(1) This section applies if a report prepared by the ombudsman under 2
this part relates to the death of a person that-- 3
(a) was a reportable death under the Coroners Act 2003; or 4
(b) was the subject of an inquiry under the Coroners Act 1958. 5
`(2) The ombudsman may give a copy of the report-- 6
(a) to the State Coroner-- 7
(i) for use by a coroner to help in an investigation under the 8
Coroners Act 2003 or an inquiry under the Coroners Act 9
1958; or 10
(ii) for use by the State Coroner in relation to the State 11
Coroner's functions and powers under the Coroners Act 12
2003; or 13
(b) to the Attorney-General, for use by the Attorney-General for his 14
or her functions and powers under the Coroners Act 2003 or 15
Coroners Act 1958; or 16
(c) to the Minister under the Coroners Act 2003 or Coroners Act 17
1958, for use by that Minister for his or her functions and powers 18
under that Act. 19
`(3) This section applies despite any other provision of this Act. 20
`(4) In this section-- 21
"State Coroner" means the State Coroner under the Coroners Act 2003. 22
`57B Report may be given to CDCRC 23
`(1) This section applies if a report prepared by the ombudsman under 24
this part-- 25
(a) relates to the death of a child; and 26
(b) the CDCRC is carrying out a review, or has carried out a review, 27
under the Commission for Children and Young People and Child 28
Guardian Act 2000, part 4A, division 1,21 relating to the child. 29
21 Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, part 4A
(Child deaths), division 1 (Child Death Case Review Committee)
s 102 84 s 102
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(2) The ombudsman may give a copy of the report to the CDCRC. 1
`(3) This section applies despite any other provision of this Act. 2
`(4) In this section-- 3
"CDCRC" means the Child Death Case Review Committee established 4
under the Commission for Children and Young People and Child 5
Guardian Act 2000, part 4A, division 1.'. 6
PART 9--AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS 7
102 Consequential amendments
Clause 8
(1) In each provision mentioned in schedule 2, part 1-- 9
omit `Commission for Children and Young People Act 2000' 10
insert `Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian 11
Act 2000'. 12
(2) In each provision mentioned in schedule 2, part 2-- 13
omit `Commissioner for Children and Young People' or `commissioner 14
for children and young people' 15
insert `Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child 16
Guardian'. 17
(3) In each provision mentioned in schedule 2, part 3-- 18
omit `Commission for Children and Young People' 19
insert `Commission for Children and Young People and Child 20
Guardian'. 21
85
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
SCHEDULE 1 1
MINOR AMENDMENTS OF COMMISSION FOR 2
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000 3
section 30 4
1 Section 20(2)(a), 46(1) and (2) and 158(1), `chief executive 5
(families)'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`chief executive (child safety)'. 8
2 Section 20(3), example, `chief executive (families)'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`chief executive (child safety)'. 11
3 Section 81(5)(b), `department in which the Child Protection Act 12
1999 is administered'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`child safety department'. 15
86
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
SCHEDULE 2 1
AMENDMENT OF REFERENCES TO COMMISSION 2
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000, 3
COMMISSIONER AND COMMISSION 4
section 102 5
PART 1--REFERENCES TO COMMISSION FOR 6
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2000 7
1 Child Care Act 2002 8
· section 26(2), note 9
· section 27 10
· section 45(1)(e) 11
· section 54(8) 12
· section 74, heading 13
· section 74(1)(b) 14
· part 9, division 2, heading 15
· section 165(1) 16
· section 166(2) 17
· schedule 2, definitions "apply for a suitability notice" and 18
"suitability notice" 19
2 Child Protection Act 1999 20
· section 186(2)(d) 21
3 Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001 22
· section 15 23
· section 140 24
87
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
SCHEDULE 2 (continued)
· section 146(2) 1
· section 168, heading 2
· section 168(1)(b) and (2)(b) 3
· schedule 3, definition "positive notice" 4
4 Education (Teacher Registration) Act 1988 5
· section 71B(3) 6
5 Grammar Schools Act 1975 7
· section 46G(5) 8
6 Juvenile Justice Act 1992 9
· section 291 10
7 Mental Health Act 2000 11
· section 342(4)(b)(ii) 12
8 Ombudsman Act 2001 13
· schedule 3, definition "complaints entity" 14
PART 2--REFERENCES TO COMMISSIONER FOR 15
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE 16
9 Child Care Act 2002 17
· section 74(2)(a) 18
· section 140(2) and (3) 19
88
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
SCHEDULE 2 (continued)
10 Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 1
· section 278(1)(d) 2
11 Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001 3
· schedule 3, definition "commissioner" 4
12 Education (Teacher Registration) Act 1988 5
· section 71B, heading 6
· section 71B(3) 7
13 Juvenile Justice Act 1992 8
· section 291 9
14 Mental Health Act 2000 10
· section 342(4)(b)(ii) 11
15 Ombudsman Act 2001 12
· schedule 3, definition "complaints entity" 13
16 Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 14
· section 67(1)(e) 15
17 Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 16
· section 157(5)(e) 17
18 Public Service Act 1996 18
· schedule 1, item 3 19
89
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
SCHEDULE 2 (continued)
PART 3--REFERENCES TO COMMISSION FOR 1
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE 2
19 Public Service Act 1996 3
· schedule 1, item 3 4
© State of Queensland 2004
AMENDMENTS TO BILL
1
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
CHILD SAFETY LEGISLATION
AMENDMENT BILL 2004
AMENDMENTS AGREED TO IN COMMITTEE
1 Clause 2--
At page 12, line 7--
omit, insert--
`(1) This Act, other than part 7A,1 commences on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
`(2) Part 7A commences on 1 July 2004.'.
2 Insertion of new pt 7A--
At page 82, after line 18--
insert--
`PART 7A--AMENDMENT OF LEGAL PROFESSION
ACT 2004
`99A Act amended in pt 7A
`This part amends the Legal Profession Act 2004.
`99B Amendment of s 161 (Defaults relating to financial services or
investments)
`Section 161(2), from `However' to `placed'--
omit, insert--
`Without limiting subsection (1), this part does not apply to a default of a
law practice if the default happens in relation to money or property that was
placed'.
1 Part 7A (Amendment of Legal Profession Act 2004)
2
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`99C Amendment of s 252 (Chapter also applies to law practice
employees)
`Section 252--
insert--
`(2) Also, this chapter applies to former law practice employees in
relation to conduct happening while they were law practice employees in
the same way as it applies to persons who are law practice employees, and
so applies with necessary changes.
`(3) In this section--
"former law practice employee" includes a person who was a law
practice employee in this jurisdiction before the commencement of
this definition but is not a law practice employee on the
commencement.'.
`99D Amendment of s 316 (Application of ch 4)
`Section 316(2), `this part'--
omit, insert--
`this chapter'.
`99E Amendment of s 491 (Functions and powers of board)
`(1) Section 491, heading, after `board'--
insert--
`etc.'.
`(2) Section 491--
insert--
`(3) Fees payable to the board under section 422 are not moneys payable
to the Supreme Court Library Committee under the Supreme Court Library
Act 1968, section 11.3
2 Section 42 (Fees payable)
3 Supreme Court Library Act 1968, section 11 (Fees received from Barristers' Board
and Solicitors' Board)
3
Child Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
`(4) The board is a statutory body for the Financial Administration and
Audit Act 1977 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements
Act 1982.'.
`99F Amendment of s 492 (Administrative support of the board)
`Section 492--
insert--
`(2) Under an agreement with the law society, the board must pay the
law society for the administrative support from fees received by the board.'.
`99G Amendment of s 594 (Approved forms)
`Section 594(2)(b), `the body'--
omit, insert--
`the chairperson of the tribunal for the tribunal, and the committee for
the committee'.'.
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