New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) ACT 1998 - SECT 245A

245A Object and principles of Chapter

(1) The object of this Chapter is to facilitate the provision of services to children and young persons by agencies that have responsibilities relating to the safety, welfare or well-being of children and young persons--

(a) by authorising or requiring those agencies to provide, and by authorising those agencies to receive, information that is relevant to the provision of those services, while protecting the confidentiality of the information, and

(b) by requiring those agencies to take reasonable steps to co-ordinate the provision of those services with other such agencies.

(2) The principles underlying this Chapter are as follows--

(a) agencies that have responsibilities relating to the safety, welfare or well-being of children or young persons should be able to provide and receive information that promotes the safety, welfare or well-being of children or young persons,

(b) those agencies should work collaboratively in a way that respects each other's functions and expertise,

(c) each such agency should be able to communicate with each other agency so as to facilitate the provision of services to children and young persons and their families (including, where applicable, prioritised access to services to children and young persons at risk of significant harm and to their families),

(d) because the safety, welfare and well-being of children and young persons are paramount--

(i) the need to provide services relating to the care and protection of children and young persons, and

(ii) the needs and interests of children and young persons, and of their families, in receiving those services,

take precedence over the protection of confidentiality or of an individual's privacy.