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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Criminal Law Consolidation (Children and Vulnerable
Adults) Amendment Bill 2017
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the
Criminal
Law Consolidation Act 1935
.
Contents
Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law
Consolidation Act 1935
4Substitution of heading to Part 3 Division
1A
6Amendment of section 14—Criminal
neglect
7Insertion of sections 14A and 14B
14BFailing to
provide food etc in certain circumstances
8Amendment of section
21—Interpretation
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Criminal Law Consolidation (Children and
Vulnerable Adults) Amendment Act 2017.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Criminal Law Consolidation
Act 1935
4—Substitution
of heading to Part 3 Division 1A
Heading to Part 3 Division 1A—delete the heading and
substitute:
Division 1A—Criminal neglect, ill treatment
etc
Before section 14 insert:
13B—Interpretation
(1) In this Division—
act includes—
(a) an omission; and
(b) a course of conduct;
child means a person under 16 years of age;
cognitive impairment includes—
(a) a developmental disability (including, for example, an intellectual
disability, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or an autistic spectrum
disorder);
(b) an acquired disability as a result of illness or injury (including,
for example, dementia, a traumatic brain injury or a neurological
disorder);
(c) a mental illness;
unlawful—an act is unlawful if it—
(a) constitutes an offence; or
(b) would constitute an offence if committed by an adult of full legal
capacity;
vulnerable adult means a person aged 16 years or above who is
significantly impaired through physical disability, cognitive impairment,
illness or infirmity.
(2) In this Division, the following terms and phrases have the same
meaning as in Division 7A (subject to
subsections (3)
and
(4)
):
(a) cause;
(b) harm;
(c) serious harm;
(3) For the purposes of
this Division, a reference to harm will be taken to include
detriment caused to the physical, mental or emotional wellbeing or development
of a child or vulnerable adult (whether temporary or permanent).
(4) For the purposes of
this Division, in determining whether a child has suffered a protracted
impairment of a part of the body or a physical or mental
function—
(a) the impairment may be determined to be protracted even where the
healing time of the impairment in a particular child is significantly shorter
than a similar impairment in an adult; and
(b) the determination is to be made having regard to all of the
circumstances of the child (and, in particular, to their age and
development).
(5) For the purposes of this Division, a defendant has a duty of
care to a victim if the defendant is a parent or guardian of the victim
or has assumed responsibility for the victim's care.
6—Amendment
of section 14—Criminal neglect
(1) Section 14(1), penalty provision, (b)—delete "5 years" and
substitute:
10 years
(2) Section 14(2)—after "act may" insert:
not
(3) Section 14(3) and (4)—delete subsections (3) and (4)
7—Insertion
of sections 14A and 14B
After section 14 insert:
14A—Ill treatment
(1) A person (the defendant) is guilty of the offence of ill
treatment if—
(a) a child or a vulnerable adult (the victim) dies or
suffers harm as a result of any act; and
(b) the defendant had, at the time of the act, a duty of care to the
victim; and
(c) the defendant was, or ought to have been, aware that there was an
appreciable risk that harm would be caused to the victim by the act;
and
(d) the defendant failed to take steps that the defendant could reasonably
be expected to have taken in the circumstances to protect the victim from harm
and the defendant's failure to do so was, in the circumstances, so serious that
a criminal penalty is warranted.
Maximum penalty:
(a) where the victim dies—imprisonment for 15 years; or
(b) where the victim suffers serious harm—imprisonment for
10 years; or
(c) in any other case—imprisonment for 3 years.
(2) If a defendant
is charged with an offence against this section in respect of a course of
conduct—
(a) it is not necessary to prove that the defendant was, or ought to have
been, aware that there was an appreciable risk that harm would be caused to the
victim by each act making up the course of conduct; and
(b) the information need not—
(i) allege particulars of each act with the degree of particularity that
would be required if the act were charged as an offence under a different
section of this or any other Act; or
(ii) identify particular acts of ill treatment or the occasions on which,
places at which or order in which acts of ill treatment occurred; or
(iii) identify particular acts of ill treatment as causing, wholly or
partly, particular harm to the child.
(3) If a jury considering a charge against a defendant under this section
finds that—
(a) there is reasonable doubt as to the identity of the person who
committed the act that caused the victim's death or harm to the victim;
but
(b) the act can only have been the act of the defendant or some other
person who, on the evidence, may have committed the act,
the jury may find the defendant guilty of the charge of the offence against
this section even though of the opinion that the act may not have been the act
of the defendant.
(4) A defendant may be charged with an offence against this section in
respect of a course of conduct even if some of the acts making up the course of
conduct occurred before the commencement of this section.
14B—Failing to provide food etc in certain
circumstances
If—
(a) a person is liable to provide necessary food, clothing or
accommodation to a child or vulnerable adult; and
(b) the person, without lawful excuse, fails to provide that food,
clothing or accommodation,
that person is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 3 years.
8—Amendment
of section 21—Interpretation
Section 21—after its present contents (now to be designated as
subsection (1)) insert:
(2) For the purposes of this Division, in determining whether a child has
suffered a protracted impairment of a part of the body or a physical or mental
function—
(a) the impairment may be determined to be protracted even where the
healing time of the impairment in a particular child is significantly shorter
than a similar impairment in an adult; and
(b) the determination is to be made having regard to all of the
circumstances of the child (and, in particular, to the age and development of
the child).
Section 30—delete the section