EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 61

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Home Affairs

 

Crimes Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 2)

 

Section 91 of the Crimes Act 1914 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

The Crimes Amendment (Working with Children – Criminal History) Act 2010 (Crimes Amendment Act) recently amended the Act to permit pardoned, quashed and spent convictions, of a person who works or seeks to work with children, to be disclosed to (section 85ZZGB refers), taken into account (section 85ZZGC refers) and disclosed by (section 85ZZGD refers) prescribed persons or bodies. The disclosure and use of this information is limited to the purpose of assessing a person’s suitability to work with children.

 

Criminal history information is only permitted to be disclosed to and dealt with by a person or body that: a) is required or permitted by a Commonwealth or State or Territory (state) law to deal with this information; b) the Minister for Home Affairs (the Minister) is satisfied meets certain requirements; and c) is prescribed in the Crimes Regulations 1990 (the Principal Regulations).

 

These Regulations amend the Principal Regulations and list the prescribed bodies the Minister is satisfied meets the requirements set out in the Act.

 

These Regulations also specify the relevant Commonwealth or state legislation that permits or requires those bodies to obtain or use criminal history information.

 

Section 85ZZGE of the Crimes Amendment Act requires the Minister be satisfied that the person or body:

·                    is required or permitted by or under a Commonwealth or state law to obtain and deal with information about persons who work, or seek to work, with children; and

·                    complies with applicable Commonwealth or state law relating to privacy, human rights and records management; and

·                    complies with the principles of natural justice and has risk assessment frameworks and appropriately skilled staff to assess risks to children’s safety.

 

The Minister is satisfied that ten bodies from Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory meet the requirements and those bodies have been prescribed.

 

The Regulations also specify the relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation which permits or requires those ten bodies to obtain or use criminal history information.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments

 

Pursuant to section 17 of the Legislative Instruments Act consultation has been undertaken with State and Territory officers in the Exchange of Criminal History Information for People Working with Children working group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authority: Section 91 of the Crimes Act 1914