[Index] [Search] [Download] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Children's Protection (Guardianship) Amendment
Bill 2016
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the
Children's
Protection Act 1993
.
Contents
Part 2—Amendment of Children's
Protection Act 1993
3Insertion of Part 5 Division 1A
Division 1A—Foster parents who wish to
become guardians
36BCertain foster parents and
kinship carers may apply for guardianship
36CPreliminary assessment of
application
36EIndependent
Assessment Panel
36FAssessment of
proposed guardianship arrangement
36GChief Executive to apply to
Court for order to give effect to proposed guardianship
arrangement
4Amendment of section 37—Application for
care and protection order
5Amendment of section 38—Court's powers to
make orders
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Children's Protection (Guardianship)
Amendment Act 2016.
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 Children's Protection
Act 1993
3—Insertion
of Part 5 Division 1A
After section 36 insert:
Division 1A—Foster parents who wish to become
guardians
36A—Purpose and interpretation
(1) The purpose of this Division is to assist suitable foster parents and
kinship carers who have been responsible for the care and control of a child for
more than 2 years to become guardians of the child.
(2) A reference in this Division to a proposed guardianship
arrangement will be taken to be a reference to a guardianship
arrangement sought by a foster parent or kinship carer in respect of such a
child.
36B—Certain foster parents and kinship carers may
apply for guardianship
(1) An application
in respect of a proposed guardianship arrangement may be made by, or on behalf
of—
(a) a foster parent of a child or young person; or
(b) a kinship carer of a child or young person,
in whose care the child or young person has been for a period of at least 2
years (or such shorter period as the Chief Executive may determine) (the
applicant).
(2) An application under
subsection (1)
—
(a) must be made in a manner and form determined by the Chief Executive;
and
(b) must be accompanied by such information and documents as the Chief
Executive may require; and
(c) must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(3) In this section—
kinship carer, of a child or young person, means a
step-parent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandfather or grandmother of the
child or young person with whom a child or young person has been placed under
this Act or the
Family
and Community Services Act 1972
.
36C—Preliminary assessment of
application
(1) The Chief
Executive must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after receiving an
application, cause an assessment to be undertaken of whether the applicant is
suitable to be the guardian of the child or young person to whom the application
relates.
(2) The regulations may make further provision in relation to an
assessment under
subsection (1)
.
36D—Case plan to be prepared
(1) If, following an assessment under
section 36C
, the Chief Executive is satisfied that an applicant is suitable to be the
guardian of a child or young person, the Chief Executive must cause a plan (a
case plan) to be prepared in respect of each child or young person
who is to be placed under the guardianship of the applicant.
(2) A case plan must contain the information required by the regulations
(and may contain any other information the Chief Executive thinks
fit).
36E—Independent Assessment
Panel
(1) The Minister must establish a panel (the Independent Assessment
Panel) for the purposes of making recommendations in respect of proposed
guardianship arrangements.
(2) The panel
consists of up to 6 members appointed by the Minister, being persons who
collectively have, in the opinion of the Minister, the knowledge, skills and
experience necessary to enable the panel to carry out its functions under this
Division.
(3) The Minister
must, before appointing a member to the panel, call for expressions of interest
under a scheme determined by the Minister for the purposes of this
section.
(4) Subject to this Act, a member of the independent assessment panel will
hold office on conditions, and for a term (not exceeding 2 years),
determined by the Minister and specified in the instrument of appointment and
is, at the expiration of a term of office, eligible for reappointment.
(5) The Minister may appoint a person to be the deputy of a member of the
panel.
(6) A deputy may act as a member of the panel during any period of absence
of the member in relation to whom the deputy has been appointed.
(7) The panel is
subject to the direction and control of the Minister (however the Minister must
not give directions in relation to a decision of the panel in a particular
case).
(8) A member of the panel may be removed by the Minister for any reason
the Minister thinks fit.
(9) The panel may, by agreement with the Minister responsible for an
administrative unit of the Public Service, make use of the services of the
staff, equipment or facilities of that administrative unit.
(10) Subject to this Act and any direction of the Minister, the panel may
determine its own procedures.
(11) An act or proceeding of the panel is not invalid by reason only of a
vacancy in its membership or a defect in the appointment of a member.
36F—Assessment of proposed guardianship
arrangement
(1) The Chief Executive must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after a
case plan is prepared in respect of each child or young person the subject of an
application under this Part, cause the proposed guardianship arrangement to be
assessed in accordance with this section.
(2) As assessment of a proposed guardianship arrangement must comply with
the following provisions:
(a) the assessment must be undertaken by the Independent Assessment
Panel;
(b) the panel must consider—
(i) whether the proposed guardianship arrangement is, in all of the
circumstances, in the best interests of the child; and
(ii) whether the proposed guardianship arrangement is consistent with the
objects of this Act; and
(iii) whether the panel wishes to make any submissions to be put before
the Youth Court in an application for orders under Division 2;
(c) the assessment must comply with any other requirement set out in the
regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.
(3) On completing an assessment, the Independent Assessment Panel must
prepare a report for the Chief Executive setting out—
(a) the panel's recommendations as to whether orders should, or should
not, be made placing a child or young person under the guardianship of the
applicant (and, if the panel recommends that such orders should not be made, the
reasons for the recommendation); and
(b) if the panel wishes to make submissions to be put before the Youth
Court in an application for orders under Division 2—those
submissions.
36G—Chief Executive to apply to Court for order to
give effect to proposed guardianship arrangement
(1) The Chief
Executive must, if the Independent Assessment Panel so recommends, apply to the
Court for such orders under Division 2 as the Chief Executive considers
necessary or appropriate to give effect to a proposed guardianship
arrangement.
(2) The Chief Executive must cause a copy of any submissions made by the
Independent Assessment Panel in respect of a proposed guardianship arrangement
to be put before the Youth Court.
(3) The Chief Executive must cause a copy of the case plan in respect of a
child who is the subject of a proposed guardianship plan to be filed with the
Youth Court.
(4) An application to the Youth Court under
subsection (1)
must be made without undue delay.
4—Amendment
of section 37—Application for care and protection
order
Section 37—after subsection (3) insert:
(4) If the Chief Executive is acting pursuant to section 36G, the Chief
Executive may apply to the Youth Court for an order under this
Division.
5—Amendment
of section 38—Court's powers to make orders
Section 38(2)—delete subsection (2) and substitute:
(2) If a person objects to the making of an order by the Youth Court
arising out of an application under section 37(4), or any consequential or
ancillary order, the onus is on the person to prove to the Youth Court that the
order should not be made.