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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Community Justice Centres
Amendment Bill 2007
No , 2007
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Community Justice Centres Act 1983 with respect to the staff
and administration of Community Justice Centres, the abolition of the Community
Justice Centres Council and the conduct of certain mandatory mediation; and for
other purposes.
Clause 1 Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Community Justice Centres Amendment Act 2007. 3
2 Commencement 4
(1) Except as provided by subsection (2), this Act commences on the date 5
of assent. 6
(2) Schedule 1 [4], [7], [8], [17], [18], [20], [30], [32] and [33] and 7
Schedule 2.1 and 2.2 commence on a day or days to be appointed by 8
proclamation. 9
3 Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983 No 127 10
The Community Justice Centres Act 1983 is amended as set out in 11
Schedule 1. 12
4 Amendment of other Acts and Regulation 13
Each Act and Regulation specified in Schedule 2 is amended as set out 14
in that Schedule. 15
5 Repeal of Act 16
(1) This Act is repealed on the day following the day on which all of the 17
provisions of this Act have commenced. 18
(2) The repeal of this Act does not, because of the operation of section 30 19
of the Interpretation Act 1987, affect any amendment made by this Act. 20
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Community Justice 1
Centres Act 1983 2
(Section 3) 3
[1] Section 3 4
Insert after section 2: 5
3 Object of Act 6
The object of this Act is to provide for the establishment and 7
operation of Community Justice Centres for the purpose of: 8
(a) providing dispute resolution and conflict management 9
services, including the mediation of disputes, and 10
(b) training persons to be mediators, and 11
(c) promoting alternative dispute resolution, and 12
(d) contributing to the development of alternative dispute 13
resolution in New South Wales by entering into 14
connections and partnerships with the legal profession, 15
courts, tribunals, the academic sector and other providers 16
of alternative dispute resolution services, and 17
(e) undertaking other matters incidental to the provision of 18
dispute resolution and conflict management services. 19
[2] Section 4 Definitions 20
Omit the definitions of Council, Deputy Director and member from section 4 21
(1). 22
[3] Section 4 (1), definition of "Director" 23
Omit the definition. Insert instead: 24
Director means the person holding the office of the Director of 25
Community Justice Centres under Chapter 1A of the Public 26
Sector Employment and Management Act 2002. 27
[4] Section 4 (1), definition of "mediator" 28
Omit paragraph (b) of the definition. Insert instead: 29
(b) a person employed under Chapter 1A of the Public Sector 30
Employment and Management Act 2002 as a mediator for 31
Community Justice Centres. 32
[5] Part 2, Division 1 The Council 33
Omit the Division. 34
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Schedule 1 Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983
[6] Section 10 Director 1
Omit the section. 2
[7] Section 11 3
Omit the section. 4
[8] Section 12 5
Omit the section. Insert instead: 6
12 Staff 7
The Director and the staff of Community Justice Centres 8
(including mediators) are to be employed under and in 9
accordance with Chapter 1A of the Public Sector Employment 10
and Management Act 2002. 11
[9] Section 13 Delegation by Director 12
Omit "the Deputy Director or" from section 13 (1). 13
[10] Section 13A 14
Insert after section 13: 15
13A Director may seek advice relating to Director's functions and 16
object of Act 17
(1) The Director may consult any other person or body the Director 18
considers appropriate in relation to the carrying out of the 19
Director's functions under this Act and the achievement of the 20
object of this Act. 21
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Director may establish 22
advisory committees to give advice in relation to the exercise of 23
the Director's functions under this Act and the achievement of 24
the object of this Act. 25
(3) Any or all of the members of an advisory committee may be 26
persons who are not members of staff of Community Justice 27
Centres. 28
(4) The procedure for the calling of meetings of an advisory 29
committee established by the Director and for the conduct of 30
business at those meetings is to be as determined by the 31
committee (subject to any determination of the Director). 32
(5) The Minister may determine the remuneration (if any) and the 33
term of office of members of an advisory committee established 34
under this section. 35
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983 Schedule 1
[11] Section 14 Establishment of Community Justice Centres 1
Omit "providing mediation services". 2
Insert instead "achieving the purposes referred to in section 3 (a)-(e)". 3
[12] Section 15 Premises of Community Justice Centres 4
Omit "published in the Gazette". 5
[13] Section 16 Place of operation of Community Justice Centres 6
Omit ", subject to the policy guidelines determined by, and any directions of, 7
the Council," from section 16 (2). 8
[14] Section 17 Records 9
Omit the section. 10
[15] Section 18 11
Omit the section. Insert instead: 12
18 Centres to be part of Attorney General's Department 13
Community Justice Centres are taken for all purposes to form 14
part of the Attorney General's Department. 15
[16] Section 19 Use of certain words or letters 16
Omit "Council" from section 19 (1) (b). Insert instead "Director". 17
[17] Section 19 (1A) 18
Omit "person holding a current accreditation as a mediator under section 11". 19
Insert instead "mediator". 20
[18] Section 19 (1A) 21
Omit "holds a current accreditation as a mediator". 22
Insert instead "is a mediator". 23
[19] Section 20 Provision of mediation services generally 24
Omit ", subject to the policy guidelines determined by, and any directions of, 25
the Council," from section 20 (1). 26
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Schedule 1 Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983
[20] Section 20A 1
Insert after section 20: 2
20A Provision of mandatory mediation services 3
(1) This section applies to a dispute that has been referred to 4
Community Justice Centres for mediation by an order of a court 5
or tribunal under a provision of another Act or of a statutory rule 6
and without the consent of all of the parties to the dispute. 7
(2) The Director may accept, or decline to accept, a dispute to which 8
this section applies for mediation under this Act. 9
(3) If the Director accepts a dispute to which this section applies for 10
mediation: 11
(a) the Director may assign the mediator or mediators who are 12
to conduct the mediation sessions in relation to the dispute, 13
and 14
(b) a mediator assigned by the Director to conduct the 15
mediation sessions in relation to the dispute is taken to be 16
the mediator appointed by the court or tribunal that made 17
the order referring the dispute for mediation or the 18
mediator specified in the order, as the case may be. 19
(4) Unless otherwise provided by the regulations: 20
(a) the provisions of this Act (except sections 23 (1) and (3), 21
27, 28 and 29) apply to the mediation under this Act of a 22
dispute to which this section applies and to the mediators 23
conducting the mediation sessions in relation to the 24
dispute, and 25
(b) the provisions of the Act or statutory rule under which an 26
order was made referring such a dispute for mediation 27
under this Act, and the terms of the order: 28
(i) apply to the mediation of the dispute under this Act 29
and to the mediators conducting the mediation 30
sessions in relation to the dispute in the same way as 31
they apply to mediation under the Act or statutory 32
rule under which the referring order was made and 33
mediators conducting mediation under that Act or 34
statutory rule, and 35
(ii) so apply except to the extent to which they are 36
inconsistent with subsection (3) or the other 37
provisions of this Act applied by paragraph (a). 38
(5) If the Director accepts a dispute to which this section applies for 39
mediation under this Act, the Director is to provide a written 40
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983 Schedule 1
report on the outcome of the mediation or attempted mediation to 1
the court or tribunal that referred the matter for mediation. 2
(6) If the Director declines to accept a dispute to which this section 3
applies for mediation under this Act, the Director is to give the 4
court or tribunal that referred the matter for mediation notice in 5
writing of the Director's decision and the reason for the decision. 6
[21] Section 21 Conduct of mediation sessions 7
Omit "shall, subject to the policy guidelines determined by, and any directions 8
of, the Council," from section 21 (1). 9
Insert instead "is to". 10
[22] Section 22 Disputes 11
Omit "Council" from section 22 (1). Insert instead "Director". 12
[23] Section 26 Evaluations 13
Insert at the end of the section: 14
(2) The Director is to ensure that such records relating to the 15
activities of Community Justice Centres are made and kept as are 16
necessary or appropriate to enable a proper evaluation of 17
Community Justice Centres to be made under this section. 18
[24] Section 27 Exoneration from liability 19
Omit section 27 (1) (a) and (b). 20
[25] Section 27 (1) (d) 21
Omit ", the Deputy Director". 22
[26] Section 27 (4) 23
Omit "or Deputy Director" wherever occurring. 24
[27] Section 28 Privilege 25
Omit section 28 (6) (a). Insert instead: 26
(a) where the persons in attendance at the mediation session 27
consent to admission of the evidence or document, or 28
[28] Section 28 (7) 29
Omit "A member of the Council or a sub-committee of the Council, a 30
mediator, the Director, the Deputy Director". 31
Insert instead "A mediator, the Director". 32
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Schedule 1 Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983
[29] Section 29 Secrecy 1
Omit "a member of the Council or a sub-committee of the Council," from 2
section 29 (2). 3
[30] Section 29 (2) (c1) 4
Insert after section 29 (2) (c): 5
(c1) where the disclosure is made for the purposes of section 6
29A, 7
[31] Section 29 (2) (e) 8
Omit "Council". Insert instead "Director". 9
[32] Section 29A 10
Insert after section 29: 11
29A Mandatory reporting 12
If a mediator has reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at 13
risk of harm (within the meaning of section 23 of the Children 14
and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998) and those 15
grounds arise during the course of or from the mediator's work as 16
a mediator, it is the duty of the mediator to make a report, as soon 17
as practicable, under section 24 of that Act. 18
[33] Section 30 Power to accept appointment 19
Omit the section. 20
[34] Section 31 21
Omit the section. Insert instead 22
31 Regulations 23
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this 24
Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required 25
or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to 26
be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. 27
(2) In particular, regulations may be made for or with respect to the 28
following: 29
(a) fees and charges for services provided by Community 30
Justice Centres and mediators, 31
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983 Schedule 1
(b) without limiting paragraph (a), fees and charges for 1
services relating to mediation referred to in section 20A 2
(whether or not requested or agreed to), 3
(c) the waiver or refund of the whole or part of any such fee or 4
charge. 5
[35] Schedule 1 Constitution and procedure of Community Justice Centres 6
Council 7
Omit the Schedule. 8
[36] Schedule 4 Savings and transitional provisions 9
Insert before clause 1: 10
Part 1 Preliminary 11
1A Regulations 12
(1) The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or 13
transitional nature consequent on the enactment of the following 14
Acts: 15
Community Justice Centres Amendment Act 2007 16
(2) Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect 17
from the date of assent to the Act concerned or a later date. 18
(3) To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date 19
that is earlier than the date of its publication in the Gazette, the 20
provision does not operate so as: 21
(a) to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than 22
the State or an authority of the State), the rights of that 23
person existing before the date of its publication, or 24
(b) to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or 25
an authority of the State) in respect of anything done or 26
omitted to be done before the date of its publication. 27
Part 2 Provisions consequent on enactment of 28
this Act 29
[37] Schedule 4, clause 1 30
Omit "this Schedule" wherever occurring. Insert instead "this Part". 31
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Schedule 1 Amendment of Community Justice Centres Act 1983
[38] Schedule 4, Part 3, heading 1
Insert after clause 16: 2
Part 3 Provision consequent on enactment of 3
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) 4
Act (No 3) 1992 5
[39] Schedule 4, Part 4 6
Insert after clause 17: 7
Part 4 Provisions consequent on enactment of 8
Community Justice Centres Amendment 9
Act 2007 10
18 Community Justice Centres Council 11
On the repeal of Division 1 of Part 2 by the Community Justice 12
Centres Amendment Act 2007, the Community Justice Centres 13
Council is abolished. 14
19 Existing accredited mediators 15
(1) On the repeal of section 11 by the Community Justice Centres 16
Amendment Act 2007 and despite section 12, a person accredited 17
as a mediator under section 11 whose accreditation is in force 18
immediately before that repeal is taken to be appointed as a 19
mediator for the remainder of the period for which the person was 20
accredited. 21
(2) Despite subclause (1), the Director may revoke the appointment 22
of a person who is taken by that subclause to have been appointed 23
as a mediator. 24
(3) No application may be made to the Administrative Decisions 25
Tribunal in relation to a person because of the operation of this 26
clause or anything done under this clause. 27
(4) No compensation is payable to any person because of the 28
operation of this clause or anything done under this clause. 29
20 Reporting by mediators 30
Section 29A does not apply in relation to the work of a mediator 31
occurring before the commencement of that section. 32
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Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Amendment of other Acts and Regulation Schedule 2
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts and 1
Regulation 2
(Section 4) 3
2.1 Civil Procedure Act 2005 No 28 4
[1] Section 26 Referral by court 5
Insert after section 26 (2): 6
(2A) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), the court may refer 7
proceedings or part of proceedings for mediation under the 8
Community Justice Centres Act 1983. 9
[2] Section 34 Mediation otherwise than under this Part 10
Insert "without having being referred under section 26" after "Community 11
Justice Centres Act 1983" in section 34 (b). 12
2.2 Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act 2001 No 82 13
[1] Section 59 Referral by Tribunal 14
Insert after section 59 (2): 15
(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), the Tribunal may refer 16
a matter arising in proceedings for mediation under the 17
Community Justice Centres Act 1983. 18
[2] Section 64 Other measures not precluded 19
Insert "without having being referred under section 59" after "Community 20
Justice Centres Act 1983" in section 64 (b). 21
Page 11
Community Justice Centres Amendment Bill 2007
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts and Regulation
2.3 Freedom of Information Regulation 2005 1
Schedule 3 Public authorities 2
Omit the matter relating to the Community Justice Centres Council from 3
Part 3. 4
Page 12
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