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Queensland
Family and Child Commission
Bill 2014
Queensland
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
Division 1 Introduction
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Act binds all persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Division 2 Object of Act
4 Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Division 3 Interpretation
5 Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
Division 1 Establishment
6 Establishment of commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7 Commission represents the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8 Application of other Acts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Division 2 Functions and powers
9 Commission's functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10 Commission's powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Division 3 Commissioners
Subdivision 1 Appointment
11 Appointment of commissioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
12 Commissioners employed under this Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
13 Term of office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
14 Conditions of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
15 Vacancy in office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
16 Preservation of rights of commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
17 Acting commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Contents
Subdivision 2 Functions and powers
18 Functions of commissioners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
19 Additional functions of principal commissioner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
20 Additional functions of commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
21 Powers of commissioners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
22 Ministerial direction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
23 Ways in which commissioners are to perform functions. . . . . . . . 14
Division 4 Other staff
24 Commission staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Part 3 Child deaths
25 Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
26 Other functions relating to child deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
27 Requests by principal commissioner for information relevant to
child deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
28 Access to information in the register for research purposes . . . . 17
29 Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Part 4 Advisory councils
30 Establishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
31 Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
32 Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
33 Dissolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
34 Other matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Part 5 Miscellaneous
Division 1 Provisions about information
35 Requests by principal commissioner for general information . . . . 21
36 Confidentiality of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
37 Confidentiality of information given by persons involved in
administration of Act to other persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Division 2 Other miscellaneous provisions
38 Delegations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
39 Protecting officials from liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
40 Annual report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
41 Review of commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
42 Review of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
43 Regulation-making power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Page 2
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Contents
Part 6 Transitional provisions
44 Definitions for pt 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
45 Immediate appointment of principal commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . 27
46 Former register becomes the register under this Act . . . . . . . . . . 28
47 First report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
48 Information arrangements continue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
49 Transitional regulation-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Part 7 Amendment of Public Service Act 2008
50 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
51 Amendment of sch 1 (Public service offices and their heads) . . . 30
Part 8 Consequential amendments
52 Acts amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Schedule 1 Consequential amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Part 1 Amendment of this Act
Part 2 Amendment of other Acts
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 . . . . . . . . . . 31
Building Act 1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Coroners Act 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Criminal Organisation Act 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Integrity Act 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Schedule 2 Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Page 3
2014
A Bill
for
An Act to establish the Queensland Family and Child
Commission and for related purposes, to amend the Public
Service Act 2008 and to make consequential amendments to
this Act and other legislation stated in schedule 1
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Division 1 Introduction 3
1 Short title 4
This Act may be cited as the Family and Child Commission 5
Act 2014. 6
2 Commencement 7
This Act commences on 1 July 2014. 8
3 Act binds all persons 9
(1) This Act binds all persons, including the State and, to the 10
extent the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the 11
Commonwealth and the other States. 12
(2) Nothing in this Act makes the State liable to be prosecuted for 13
an offence. 14
Division 2 Object of Act 15
4 Object 16
The object of this Act is to establish the Queensland Family 17
and Child Commission-- 18
(a) to promote the safety, wellbeing and best interests of 19
children and young people; and 20
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 5]
(b) to promote and advocate the responsibility of families 1
and communities to protect and care for children and 2
young people; and 3
(c) to improve the child protection system. 4
Division 3 Interpretation 5
5 Definitions 6
The dictionary in schedule 2 defines particular words used in 7
this Act. 8
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child 9
Commission 10
Division 1 Establishment 11
6 Establishment of commission 12
(1) The Queensland Family and Child Commission is established. 13
(2) The commission consists of the commissioners and the staff 14
of the commission. 15
7 Commission represents the State 16
(1) The commission represents the State. 17
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the commission has the 18
status, privileges and immunities of the State. 19
8 Application of other Acts 20
(1) The commission is-- 21
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 9]
(a) a unit of public administration under the Crime and 1
Misconduct Act 2001; and 2
(b) a statutory body under the Financial Accountability Act 3
2009 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements 4
Act 1982. 5
(2) The Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982, part 6
2B explains how that Act affects the commission's powers. 7
Division 2 Functions and powers 8
9 Commission's functions 9
(1) The commission has the following functions for the purposes 10
of promoting the safety, wellbeing and best interests of 11
children and young people and improving the child protection 12
system-- 13
(a) to provide oversight of the child protection system; 14
(b) to promote and advocate-- 15
(i) the responsibility of families and communities to 16
protect and care for children and young people; 17
and 18
(ii) the safety and wellbeing of children and young 19
people, particularly children in need of protection 20
or in the youth justice system; 21
(c) to develop and review workforce planning and 22
development strategies for the child protection system 23
by collaborating with relevant agencies, the private 24
sector and education providers; 25
(d) to inform and educate the community about-- 26
(i) services available to strengthen and support 27
families; and 28
(ii) the way in which the child protection system 29
operates; and 30
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 10]
(iii) research relevant to the child protection system; 1
(e) to develop and coordinate a multidisciplinary research 2
program to inform policies and practices, in consultation 3
with stakeholders and relevant agencies; 4
(f) to assist relevant agencies evaluate the efficacy of their 5
programs and identify the most effective service models; 6
(g) to provide leadership and give expert advice to relevant 7
agencies about laws, policies, practices and services; 8
(h) to increase collaboration and build capacity across 9
different sectors to improve the delivery of services to 10
children, young people and families; 11
(i) to analyse and evaluate, at a systemic level, policies and 12
practices relevant to the child protection system and the 13
performance of relevant agencies in delivering services; 14
(j) to report to the Minister about matters relating to a 15
function mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (i); 16
(k) to perform a function incidental to a function mentioned 17
in paragraphs (a) to (i). 18
(2) However, it is not a function of the commission to investigate 19
the circumstances of a particular child, young person or 20
family or to advocate on their behalf. 21
10 Commission's powers 22
(1) The commission has all the powers of an individual, and may, 23
for example-- 24
(a) enter into contracts; and 25
(b) acquire, hold, deal with and dispose of property; and 26
(c) appoint agents and attorneys; and 27
(d) engage consultants or contractors; and 28
(e) do anything else necessary or convenient to be done in 29
the performance of its functions. 30
Page 9
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 11]
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the commission has the 1
powers given to it under this Act or another Act. 2
Division 3 Commissioners 3
Subdivision 1 Appointment 4
11 Appointment of commissioners 5
(1) There are to be 2 commissioners for the commission. 6
(2) Each commissioner is appointed by the Governor in Council 7
on the recommendation of the Minister. 8
(3) One of the commissioners is to be appointed as the principal 9
commissioner. 10
(4) The Minister may recommend a person for appointment only 11
if the Minister is satisfied the person is appropriately qualified 12
to exercise the commission's functions effectively and 13
efficiently. 14
(5) Also, at least 1 person recommended by the Minister for 15
appointment as a commissioner must be an Aboriginal person 16
or a Torres Strait Islander. 17
12 Commissioners employed under this Act 18
A commissioner is employed under this Act and not under the 19
Public Service Act 2008. 20
13 Term of office 21
Subject to this subdivision, a commissioner holds office for 22
the term, stated in the commissioner's instrument of 23
appointment, of not more than 3 years. 24
Page 10
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 14]
14 Conditions of appointment 1
(1) A commissioner is to be paid the remuneration and 2
allowances decided by the Governor in Council. 3
(2) A commissioner holds office on the terms and conditions, not 4
provided for by this Act, that are decided by the Governor in 5
Council. 6
15 Vacancy in office 7
(1) The office of a commissioner becomes vacant-- 8
(a) if the commissioner-- 9
(i) resigns office by signed notice to the Minister 10
giving at least 1 month's notice; or 11
(ii) is convicted of an indictable offence; or 12
(iii) is a person who is an insolvent under 13
administration under the Corporations Act, section 14
9; or 15
(iv) is removed from office by the Governor in Council 16
under subsection (2); or 17
(b) if the commissioner is suspended by the Minister under 18
subsection (4)--during the period of the suspension. 19
(2) The Governor in Council may, at any time, remove a 20
commissioner from office on the recommendation of the 21
Minister. 22
(3) The Minister may recommend the commissioner's removal 23
only if the Minister is satisfied the commissioner-- 24
(a) has been guilty of misconduct; or 25
(b) is incapable of performing his or her duties; or 26
(c) has neglected his or her duties or performed them 27
incompetently. 28
(4) The Minister may suspend the commissioner for up to 60 days 29
by signed notice to the commissioner if-- 30
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 16]
(a) there is an allegation of misconduct against the 1
commissioner; or 2
(b) the Minister is satisfied a matter has arisen in relation to 3
the commissioner that may be grounds for removal 4
under this section. 5
16 Preservation of rights of commissioner 6
(1) This section applies if a person who is a public service officer 7
is appointed as a commissioner. 8
(2) The person keeps all rights accrued or accruing to the person 9
as a public service officer as if service as the commissioner 10
were a continuation of service as a public service officer. 11
(3) At the end of the person's term of office or resignation as a 12
commissioner, the person's service as the commissioner is 13
taken to be service of a like nature in the public service for 14
deciding the person's rights as a public service officer. 15
17 Acting commissioner 16
(1) The Minister may appoint a person to act in the office of a 17
commissioner during-- 18
(a) a vacancy in the office of a commissioner; or 19
(b) any period, or all periods, when a commissioner is 20
absent from duty, or can not, for another reason, perform 21
the functions of the office. 22
(2) A person can not be appointed to act as a commissioner unless 23
the Minister could recommend the person for appointment as 24
a commissioner under section 11. 25
(3) To remove any doubt, it is declared that the Minister may 26
appoint-- 27
(a) 1 of the commissioners to act in the office of the other 28
commissioner; and 29
(b) another person to act in the office of a commissioner. 30
Page 12
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 18]
Subdivision 2 Functions and powers 1
18 Functions of commissioners 2
The functions of a commissioner are as follows-- 3
(a) to ensure the commission performs its functions under 4
this Act effectively and efficiently; 5
(b) to make recommendations to the Minister about any 6
matter that-- 7
(i) relates to the performance or exercise of the 8
functions or powers of the commission or a 9
commissioner; and 10
(ii) may help the Minister in the proper administration 11
of this Act; 12
(c) to perform any other function given to a commissioner 13
under this Act or another Act. 14
19 Additional functions of principal commissioner 15
The functions of the principal commissioner are also-- 16
(a) to control the commission; and 17
(b) to record, analyse, research and report on information 18
about child deaths. 19
20 Additional functions of commissioner 20
The functions of the commissioner who is not the principal 21
commissioner also include ensuring the commission 22
adequately and appropriately performs its functions 23
mentioned in section 9(1)(b)(i) and (c). 24
21 Powers of commissioners 25
A commissioner may exercise the powers of the commission, 26
and any other powers given to the commissioner, under this 27
Act or another Act. 28
Page 13
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 2 Queensland Family and Child Commission
[s 22]
22 Ministerial direction 1
(1) A commissioner is subject to the directions of the Minister in 2
performing the commissioner's functions under this Act. 3
(2) The commissioner must comply with a direction given by the 4
Minister. 5
23 Ways in which commissioners are to perform functions 6
(1) In performing a commissioner's functions, the commissioner 7
must do the following-- 8
(a) engage with, and take account of, the views of children, 9
young people and their families; 10
(b) ensure the interests of Aboriginal people and Torres 11
Strait Islanders are adequately and appropriately 12
represented; 13
(c) respect and promote the role of Aboriginal and Torres 14
Strait Islander service providers in supporting 15
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and 16
communities to protect and care for their children and 17
young people; 18
(d) be sensitive to the ethnic or cultural identity and values 19
of children, young people and their families; 20
(e) consult with relevant agencies and advocacy entities; 21
(f) work cooperatively with relevant agencies and help 22
build their capacity to meet the needs of children, young 23
people and their families. 24
(2) In this section-- 25
advocacy entity means an entity that provides advocacy 26
services for, or otherwise represents-- 27
(a) particular children; or 28
(b) the interests of children generally. 29
Page 14
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 3 Child deaths
[s 24]
Division 4 Other staff 1
24 Commission staff 2
(1) The commission may employ the staff it considers appropriate 3
to perform the commission's functions. 4
(2) The staff are to be employed under the Public Service Act 5
2008. 6
Part 3 Child deaths 7
25 Register 8
(1) The principal commissioner must keep a register of 9
information relating to child deaths in Queensland in the way 10
the principal commissioner considers appropriate. 11
(2) The principal commissioner must include on the register 12
information given, under the following sections, to the 13
principal commissioner-- 14
(a) the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003, 15
section 48A or 48B; 16
(b) the Coroners Act 2003, section 10A, 45, 46 or 54A. 17
(3) The principal commissioner may also include on the register 18
information given to the principal commissioner-- 19
(a) under the Building Act 1975, section 245I, to the extent 20
the information relates to a child death; or 21
(b) in response to a request made under section 27. 22
26 Other functions relating to child deaths 23
The principal commissioner also has the following functions 24
to help reduce the likelihood of child deaths-- 25
Page 15
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 3 Child deaths
[s 27]
(a) in relation to the information about child deaths 1
recorded in the register-- 2
(i) to classify the deaths according to cause of death, 3
demographic information and other relevant 4
factors; and 5
(ii) to analyse the information to identify patterns or 6
trends; 7
(b) to conduct research, alone or in cooperation with other 8
entities; 9
(c) to identify areas for further research by the commission 10
or other entities; 11
(d) to make recommendations, arising from keeping the 12
register and conducting research under this section, 13
about laws, policies, practices and services. 14
27 Requests by principal commissioner for information 15
relevant to child deaths 16
(1) Subsection (2) applies if the principal commissioner considers 17
a public entity has information necessary for the performance 18
of the commissioner's functions under this part. 19
(2) The principal commissioner may, by written notice, ask the 20
public entity to give the information to the commissioner 21
within a stated reasonable time. 22
(3) The public entity must comply with the request unless the 23
entity reasonably considers the disclosure of the 24
information-- 25
(a) would prejudice the investigation of a contravention, or 26
possible contravention, of the law; or 27
(b) would prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful method or 28
procedure for preventing, detecting, investigating or 29
dealing with a contravention or possible contravention 30
of the law; or 31
(c) would endanger a person's life or physical safety. 32
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 3 Child deaths
[s 28]
(4) However, in complying with the request, the public entity and 1
the principal commissioner must ensure-- 2
(a) the information given to the commissioner relates to the 3
commissioner's functions under this part; and 4
(b) to the extent possible, the privacy of any person to 5
whom the information relates is protected from 6
unjustified intrusion. 7
(5) If the public entity refuses to comply with the request, the 8
entity must give written notice to the principal commissioner 9
of its reasons for the refusal. 10
(6) The principal commissioner and a public entity may enter into 11
an arrangement to facilitate the provision of information 12
under this section. 13
Example for subsection (6)-- 14
The principal commissioner and a public entity may enter into a 15
memorandum of understanding under which the entity gives the 16
principal commissioner access to a database periodically to extract 17
information. 18
(7) A public entity may charge a fee for a service under an 19
arrangement under subsection (6) that is not more than the 20
actual cost of the service. 21
(8) In this section-- 22
information includes confidential information. 23
28 Access to information in the register for research 24
purposes 25
(1) This section applies if a person wants to access information in 26
the register to undertake research to help reduce the likelihood 27
of child deaths. 28
(2) The person may access the information only with the principal 29
commissioner's consent. 30
(3) The principal commissioner may consent only if satisfied-- 31
(a) the person is a genuine researcher; and 32
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 3 Child deaths
[s 28]
(b) the information is reasonably necessary for research 1
mentioned in subsection (1). 2
(4) The principal commissioner must not give the person access 3
to confidential information unless the commissioner 4
reasonably believes-- 5
(a) the confidential information is necessary for the 6
research to be effective; and 7
(b) the opportunity for increased knowledge that may result 8
from the research outweighs the need to protect the 9
privacy of any living or dead person. 10
(5) The principal commissioner may impose the conditions on the 11
consent that the commissioner considers appropriate 12
including, for example, a condition that the person must not 13
disclose stated information to anyone else or use the 14
information other than for a stated purpose. 15
(6) The person must comply with any condition imposed on the 16
consent unless the person has a reasonable excuse. 17
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 18
(7) In this section-- 19
genuine researcher means-- 20
(a) a person for whom an application for health information 21
has been granted under the Public Health Act 2005, 22
chapter 6, part 4; or 23
(b) a member of a quality assurance committee established 24
under the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011, section 25
82; or 26
(c) another person who the principal commissioner 27
considers is conducting genuine research. 28
person includes a public entity. 29
Page 18
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 3 Child deaths
[s 29]
29 Reports 1
(1) By 31 October in each year, the principal commissioner must 2
prepare, and give to the Minister, a report about the following 3
matters for the previous financial year-- 4
(a) the results of analysing information included in the 5
register; 6
(b) the commissioner's activities relating to research about 7
child deaths; 8
(c) any persons given access to information under section 9
28; 10
(d) any recommendations the commissioner has made about 11
laws, policies, practices or services; 12
(e) the extent to which previous recommendations of the 13
commissioner have been implemented. 14
(2) The principal commissioner may also prepare, and give to the 15
Minister, other reports arising from the performance of the 16
commissioner's functions under section 26. 17
(3) The principal commissioner must not include in a report any 18
comments adverse to an entity identifiable from the report, 19
unless the entity has been given a copy of the comments and a 20
reasonable opportunity to respond to them. 21
(4) If the entity gives the principal commissioner a written 22
statement in response to the comments and asks that the 23
statement be included in the report, the commissioner must 24
include the statement in the report. 25
(5) However, the principal commissioner is not required by 26
subsection (4) to include a statement so far as it contains 27
information that the commissioner considers should not be 28
publicly disclosed on the ground that-- 29
(a) disclosure of the information may adversely affect the 30
outcome of an inquiry or investigation by a complaints 31
entity or the Queensland Police Service, or an 32
investigatory body established under a law of the 33
Commonwealth; or 34
Page 19
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 4 Advisory councils
[s 30]
(b) the information concerns a matter before a court. 1
(6) It is a lawful excuse for the publication of any defamatory 2
statement made in a report that the publication is made in 3
good faith and is, or purports to be, made for this Act. 4
(7) Within 14 sitting days after receiving a report under this 5
section, the Minister must table it in the Legislative Assembly. 6
Part 4 Advisory councils 7
30 Establishment 8
The principal commissioner may establish 1 or more advisory 9
councils, as the commissioner considers appropriate, to advise 10
on matters relating to the commission's functions. 11
31 Membership 12
(1) An advisory council has the membership decided by the 13
principal commissioner. 14
(2) However, the principal commissioner must ensure that at least 15
1 member of each advisory council is an Aboriginal person or 16
a Torres Strait Islander. 17
(3) The principal commissioner may appoint a person to an 18
advisory council only if the commissioner is satisfied the 19
person is appropriately qualified to advise on the matters 20
referred to the council by the commissioner. 21
32 Function 22
(1) An advisory council's function is to help the commission to 23
effectively and efficiently perform the commission's 24
functions by advising on matters referred to it by the principal 25
commissioner. 26
Page 20
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 5 Miscellaneous
[s 33]
(2) It is not an advisory council's function to advise the principal 1
commissioner on the day-to-day management of the 2
commission. 3
33 Dissolution 4
The principal commissioner may dissolve an advisory council 5
at any time. 6
34 Other matters 7
The principal commissioner may decide matters about an 8
advisory council that are not provided for under this Act, 9
including, for example-- 10
(a) the terms on which the members of an advisory council 11
hold office; and 12
(b) the way in which the advisory council must conduct 13
meetings or report to the principal commissioner. 14
Part 5 Miscellaneous 15
Division 1 Provisions about information 16
35 Requests by principal commissioner for general 17
information 18
(1) Subsection (2) applies if the principal commissioner considers 19
a public entity has information necessary for the performance 20
of a commissioner's functions, other than the principal 21
commissioner's functions under part 3. 22
(2) The principal commissioner may, by written notice, ask the 23
public entity to give the information to the commissioner 24
within a stated reasonable time. 25
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 5 Miscellaneous
[s 36]
(3) The public entity must comply with the request unless the 1
entity reasonably considers the disclosure of the 2
information-- 3
(a) is prohibited under an Act; or 4
(b) is impracticable; or 5
(c) would prejudice the investigation of a contravention, or 6
possible contravention, of the law; or 7
(d) would prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful method or 8
procedure for preventing, detecting, investigating or 9
dealing with a contravention or possible contravention 10
of the law; or 11
(e) would endanger a person's life or physical safety. 12
(4) If the public entity refuses to comply with the request, the 13
entity must give written notice to the principal commissioner 14
of its reasons for the refusal. 15
(5) This section does not apply to confidential information. 16
36 Confidentiality of information 17
(1) If a person gains confidential information through 18
involvement in the administration of this Act, the person must 19
not-- 20
(a) make a record of the information or intentionally 21
disclose the information to anyone, other than under 22
subsection (3); or 23
(b) recklessly disclose the information to anyone. 24
Maximum penalty--200 penalty units. 25
(2) A person gains information through involvement in the 26
administration of this Act if the person gains the information 27
because of being, or an opportunity given by being-- 28
(a) the Minister or a member of the Minister's staff; or 29
(b) a commissioner; or 30
(c) a staff member of the commission; or 31
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 5 Miscellaneous
[s 37]
(d) a person consulted or employed by the commission for 1
this Act; or 2
(e) a member of an advisory council. 3
(3) A person may make a record of confidential information or 4
disclose it to someone else-- 5
(a) if the principal commissioner decides the information 6
may be disclosed under subsection (4); or 7
(b) under this Act; or 8
(c) as authorised or required under another law; or 9
(d) in compliance with a lawful process requiring the 10
production of documents or giving of evidence before a 11
court or tribunal; or 12
(e) with the written consent of the person to whom the 13
information relates. 14
(4) The principal commissioner may decide to disclose 15
confidential information to a person if the commissioner is 16
satisfied-- 17
(a) the disclosure is reasonably necessary-- 18
(i) to prevent or minimise the risk of harm to anyone; 19
or 20
(ii) to improve the performance of a function or 21
service to prevent or minimise the risk of harm to 22
anyone; and 23
(b) the public interest in preventing or minimising the risk 24
of harm outweighs the need to protect the privacy of any 25
living or dead person. 26
37 Confidentiality of information given by persons involved 27
in administration of Act to other persons 28
(1) This section applies to a person (the receiver) who is given 29
confidential information by a person mentioned in section 36. 30
(2) The receiver must not use the information or disclose it to 31
anyone else. 32
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Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 5 Miscellaneous
[s 38]
Maximum penalty--200 penalty units. 1
(3) However, the receiver may use the information or disclose it 2
to someone else if the use or disclosure-- 3
(a) is authorised by the principal commissioner; or 4
(b) is otherwise required or permitted by law. 5
Division 2 Other miscellaneous provisions 6
38 Delegations 7
(1) The principal commissioner may delegate the principal 8
commissioner's functions under this Act to the other 9
commissioner. 10
(2) A commissioner may delegate the commissioner's functions 11
under this Act to an appropriately qualified staff member of 12
the commission. 13
(3) In this section-- 14
functions includes powers. 15
39 Protecting officials from liability 16
(1) An official is not civilly liable for an act done, or omission 17
made, honestly and without negligence under this Act. 18
(2) If subsection (1) prevents a civil liability attaching to an 19
official, the liability attaches instead to the State. 20
(3) In this section-- 21
official means any of the following when performing a 22
function or exercising a power under this Act-- 23
(a) the Minister; 24
(b) a member of an advisory council. 25
Note-- 26
See the Public Service Act 2008, section 26C about protection from civil 27
liability for State employees. 28
Page 24
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 5 Miscellaneous
[s 40]
40 Annual report 1
(1) The commission must include in its annual report for a 2
financial year-- 3
(a) information about the following matters for the financial 4
year-- 5
(i) Queensland's performance in relation to achieving 6
State and national goals relating to the child 7
protection system; 8
Example for subparagraph (i)-- 9
The commission may report about progress in relation to 10
the reforms recommended in the report titled `Taking 11
Responsibility: A Roadmap for Queensland Child 12
Protection' made by the Queensland Child Protection 13
Commission of Inquiry. 14
(ii) Queensland's performance over time in 15
comparison to other jurisdictions; 16
(iii) Queensland's progress in reducing the number of, 17
and improving the outcomes for, Aboriginal and 18
Torres Strait Islander children and young people in 19
the child protection system; and 20
(b) details of any direction given under section 22 by the 21
Minister in relation to the financial year; and 22
(c) details of any action taken by the commission as a result 23
of the direction; and 24
(d) any other information required by the Minister. 25
(2) Also, the commission may include in an annual report 26
information, opinion and recommendations about any matter 27
relating to the commission's functions. 28
(3) In preparing an annual report, the commission may consult 29
with relevant agencies it considers may be significantly 30
affected by the report. 31
Note-- 32
See the Financial Accountability Act 2009, section 63 for requirements 33
about preparing an annual report and tabling it in the Legislative 34
Assembly. 35
Page 25
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 6 Transitional provisions
[s 41]
41 Review of commission 1
(1) The Minister must arrange an independent review of the 2
performance by the commission of its functions within 5 years 3
after the commencement of this section. 4
(2) As soon as practicable after finishing the review, the Minister 5
must table a report about its outcome in the Legislative 6
Assembly. 7
42 Review of Act 8
(1) The Minister must review the effectiveness of this Act as soon 9
as practicable after the end of 5 years after the commencement 10
of this section. 11
(2) As soon as practicable after finishing the review, the Minister 12
must table a report about its outcome in the Legislative 13
Assembly. 14
43 Regulation-making power 15
The Governor in Council may make regulations under this 16
Act. 17
Part 6 Transitional provisions 18
44 Definitions for pt 6 19
In this part-- 20
commencement means 1 July 2014. 21
former CCYPCG Act means the Commission for Children 22
and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 as in force 23
from time to time before the commencement. 24
former commissioner means the Commissioner for Children 25
and Young People and Child Guardian under the former 26
CCYPCG Act, section 14. 27
Page 26
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 6 Transitional provisions
[s 45]
former register means the register of child deaths kept by the 1
former commissioner under the former CCYPCG Act, section 2
143. 3
45 Immediate appointment of principal commissioner 4
(1) This section applies to the person who held the office of the 5
former commissioner immediately before the 6
commencement. 7
(2) Despite sections 11, 13 and 14, the person-- 8
(a) is appointed, on the commencement, as the principal 9
commissioner; and 10
(b) is employed on the same terms and conditions on which 11
the person was employed as the former commissioner. 12
(3) The person's appointment under subsection (2) continues until 13
the earlier of the following-- 14
(a) the resignation of the person; 15
(b) the end of the term for which the person was appointed 16
as the former commissioner; 17
(c) the appointment of a person as the principal 18
commissioner under this Act, whether or not the same 19
person is appointed. 20
(4) If the former CCYPCG Act, section 29 applied to the person, 21
that section continues to apply to the person as if-- 22
(a) the Child Protection Reform Act 2014 had not been 23
enacted; and 24
(b) a reference in that section to the end of the person's term 25
of office or resignation is a reference to the end of the 26
person's term of office or resignation-- 27
(i) as the principal commissioner under subsection 28
(3); or 29
(ii) if applicable, as a commissioner under this Act; 30
and 31
Page 27
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 6 Transitional provisions
[s 46]
(c) a reference in that section to service as a commissioner 1
includes a reference to the person's service as the 2
principal commissioner and a commissioner, if 3
applicable. 4
(5) To remove any doubt, it is declared that this section does not 5
limit or otherwise affect the person's right to a benefit or 6
entitlement that, under the terms and conditions, had accrued 7
or was accruing immediately before the commencement. 8
46 Former register becomes the register under this Act 9
(1) The former register becomes the register kept by the principal 10
commissioner under this Act. 11
(2) A request for information made by a person under the former 12
CCYPCG Act, section 144 is taken to be a request made to the 13
principal commissioner under section 28. 14
47 First report 15
(1) This section applies to a report that, under section 29, must be 16
prepared by the principal commissioner by 31 October 2014 17
for the financial year ending 30 June 2014. 18
(2) For section 29(1)-- 19
(a) a reference to the register is taken to be a reference to 20
the former register; and 21
(b) a reference to the activities or recommendations of the 22
principal commissioner is taken to be a reference to the 23
activities or recommendations of the former 24
commissioner; and 25
(c) a reference to information given under part 3 is taken to 26
be a reference to information given to a person by the 27
former commissioner under the former CCYPCG Act, 28
section 144. 29
Page 28
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 6 Transitional provisions
[s 48]
48 Information arrangements continue 1
(1) This section applies to an arrangement made between the 2
former commissioner and a government entity under the 3
former CCYPCG Act, section 147. 4
(2) The arrangement continues to have effect until the principal 5
commissioner or the government entity decides to end the 6
arrangement under its terms. 7
(3) The former CCYPCG Act, section 147 continues to apply to 8
the arrangement while it is in effect under subsection (2) as if 9
the Child Protection Reform Act 2014 had not been enacted. 10
(4) In a document relating to the arrangement, a reference to the 11
former commissioner may be taken, if the context permits, to 12
be a reference to the principal commissioner. 13
(5) A fee for a service owed to a government entity by the former 14
commissioner under the arrangement is taken to be a fee owed 15
to the entity by the principal commissioner. 16
49 Transitional regulation-making power 17
(1) A regulation (a transitional regulation) may make provision 18
of a saving or transitional nature about any matter-- 19
(a) for which it is necessary to make provision to allow or 20
facilitate the doing of anything to achieve the transition 21
from the former CCYPCG Act to this Act; and 22
(b) for which this Act does not make provision or sufficient 23
provision. 24
(2) A transitional regulation may have retrospective operation to a 25
day that is not earlier than the day on which this section 26
commences. 27
(3) A transitional regulation must declare it is a transitional 28
regulation. 29
(4) This section and any transitional regulation expire 6 months 30
after this section commences. 31
Page 29
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Part 7 Amendment of Public Service Act 2008
[s 50]
Part 7 Amendment of Public Service 1
Act 2008 2
50 Act amended 3
This part amends the Public Service Act 2008. 4
51 Amendment of sch 1 (Public service offices and their 5
heads) 6
Schedule 1-- 7
insert-- 8
Queensland Family and Child principal commissioner under the
Commission under the Family and Family and Child Commission Act
Child Commission Act 2014 2014
Part 8 Consequential amendments 9
52 Acts amended 10
Schedule 1 amends the Acts mentioned in it. 11
Page 30
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Consequential amendments 1
section 52 2
Part 1 Amendment of this Act 3
1 Long title, from `, to amend'-- 4
omit. 5
2 Section 5, `schedule 2'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
schedule 1 8
3 Schedule 2-- 9
renumber as schedule 1. 10
Part 2 Amendment of other Acts 11
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 12
1 Section 48A, `commissioner'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
family and child commissioner 15
2 Section 48B, heading, `commissioner'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
Page 31
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 1
family and child commissioner 1
3 Section 48B(1), `with the commissioner'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
with the family and child commissioner 4
4 Section 48B(2), (3) and (4), `commissioner'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
family and child commissioner 7
5 Section 48B(6), definition child death research 8
functions-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
child death research functions, for the family 11
and child commissioner, means the 12
commissioner's functions under the Family and 13
Child Commission Act 2014, part 3. 14
6 Schedule 2, definition commissioner-- 15
omit. 16
7 Schedule 2-- 17
insert-- 18
family and child commissioner means the 19
principal commissioner under the Family and 20
Child Commission Act 2014. 21
Page 32
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 1
Building Act 1975 1
1 Section 245I(1)(c), `CCYPCG'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
the family and child commissioner 4
2 Section 245I(4), definition CCYPCG-- 5
omit. 6
3 Section 245I(4)-- 7
insert-- 8
family and child commissioner means the 9
principal commissioner under the Family and 10
Child Commission Act 2014. 11
Coroners Act 2003 12
1 Section 10A, `children's commissioner'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
family and child commissioner 15
2 Section 10A(3), `children's commissioner's'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
family and child commissioner's 18
3 Section 45(4)(c), from `child'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
child-- 21
Page 33
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 1
(i) the family and child 1
commissioner; and 2
(ii) the chief executive (child safety); 3
and 4
4 Section 46(2)(e), from `child'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
child-- 7
(i) the family and child 8
commissioner; and 9
(ii) the chief executive (child safety). 10
5 Section 54A, `children's commissioner'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
family and child commissioner 13
6 Section 54B(2), `children's commissioner'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
family and child commissioner 16
7 Section 54B(3), `children's commissioner's'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
family and child commissioner's 19
8 Section 54C(1), `children's commissioner'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
family and child commissioner 22
Page 34
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 1
9 Schedule 2, definitions child death research functions 1
and children's commissioner-- 2
omit. 3
10 Schedule 2-- 4
insert-- 5
child death research functions, for the family 6
and child commissioner, means the 7
commissioner's functions under the Family and 8
Child Commission Act 2014, part 3. 9
family and child commissioner means the 10
principal commissioner under the Family and 11
Child Commission Act 2014. 12
Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 13
1 Section 278(1)(d)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
(d) the principal commissioner under the 16
Family and Child Commission Act 2014; 17
2 Section 279(3), `Commissioner for Children and Young 18
People and Child Guardian'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
principal commissioner under the Family and Child 21
Commission Act 2014 22
3 Section 324(5)(a)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
(a) the principal commissioner under the 25
Family and Child Commission Act 2014; 26
Page 35
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 1
Criminal Organisation Act 2009 1
1 Section 84(3)(e)-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
(e) the principal commissioner under the 4
Family and Child Commission Act 2014. 5
Integrity Act 2009 6
1 Schedule 1, entry for Commission for Children and 7
Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000-- 8
omit. 9
2 Schedule 1-- 10
insert-- 11
Family and Child Commission Act 2014 12
· a commissioner 13
Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 14
1 Section 740(5)(e)-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
(e) the principal commissioner under the 17
Family and Child Commission Act 2014. 18
Page 36
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 2
Schedule 2 Dictionary 1
section 5 2
advisory council means an advisory council established under 3
section 30. 4
annual report means an annual report prepared under the 5
Financial Accountability Act 2009, section 63. 6
child protection system-- 7
(a) means the system of services provided by relevant 8
agencies to children and young people in need of 9
protection or at risk of harm; and 10
(b) includes preventative and support services to strengthen 11
and support families and prevent harm to children and 12
young people. 13
commission means the Queensland Family and Child 14
Commission established under section 6. 15
commissioner means a commissioner appointed under section 16
11(2). 17
complaints entity means any of the following-- 18
(a) the public guardian; 19
(b) the ombudsman; 20
(c) the anti-discrimination commissioner under the 21
Anti-Discrimination Act 1991; 22
(d) the Crime and Misconduct Commission under the 23
Crime and Misconduct Act 2001; 24
(e) the Health Quality and Complaints Commission under 25
the Health Quality and Complaints Commission Act 26
2006. 27
confidential information includes information about a 28
person's affairs but does not include-- 29
Page 37
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 2
(a) information already publicly disclosed unless further 1
disclosure of the information is prohibited by law; or 2
(b) statistical or other information that could not reasonably 3
be expected to result in the identification of the person 4
to whom the information relates. 5
harm, to a child, see the Child Protection Act 1999, section 9. 6
in need of protection, for a child, see the Child Protection Act 7
1999, section 10, definition of child in need of protection. 8
principal commissioner means the principal commissioner 9
appointed under section 11(3). 10
public entity means a public sector unit or relevant agency and 11
includes the chief executive, however described, of a public 12
sector unit or relevant agency. 13
public guardian means the public guardian under the Public 14
Guardian Act 2014. 15
register means the child death register kept by the principal 16
commissioner under section 25. 17
relevant agency means any of the following-- 18
(a) the public guardian; 19
(b) the ombudsman; 20
(c) the Queensland Police Service; 21
(d) a public sector unit, government agency or publicly 22
funded non-government agency that is mainly 23
responsible for, or provides services or deals with 24
complaints in relation to, any of the following matters-- 25
· Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy or 26
services 27
· administration of justice or legal services to 28
children and young people 29
· care of children and young people 30
· child safety 31
· community services 32
Page 38
Family and Child Commission Bill 2014
Schedule 2
· corrective services 1
· disability services 2
· education 3
· housing services 4
· public health. 5
young person means a person, at least 18 years but no more 6
than 21 years, who is transitioning from being a child in care 7
under the Child Protection Act 1999 to independence. 8
© State of Queensland 2014
Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
Page 39
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