New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) ACT 1998 - SECT 3

3 Definitions

(1) In this Act--

"Aboriginal" --see section 5.

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young Persons Principle" --see section 12A(1).

"accredited adoption service provider" has the same meaning as in the Adoption Act 2000 .

"administrator" , of the Guardian Ad Litem Panel, means--

(a) the Secretary, or

(b) the person prescribed by the regulations as the administrator of the Guardian Ad Litem Panel.

"alternative dispute resolution" --see section 244A.

"authorised carer" --see section 137.

"authorised officer" has the same meaning as it has in the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 .

"authorised residential care worker" --see section 137AA.

"care application" --see section 60.

"care order" --see section 60.

"care plan" means a plan to meet the needs of a child or young person--

(a) that is developed through agreement with the parents of the child or young person, or

(b) that represents a set of proposals for consideration by the Children's Court.

Note : A care plan is not enforceable except to the extent to which aspects of it are endorsed by an order of the Children's Court.

"care proceedings" --see section 60.

"care responsibility" means the authority to exercise the functions specified in section 157.

"carer applicant" means a person who has applied to a designated agency to be authorised as an authorised carer and whose application has not been withdrawn or finally determined.

"child" means a person who is under the age of 16 years.

"Children's Court" means the Children's Court of New South Wales constituted by the Children's Court Act 1987 .

"Children's Court Clinic" means the Children's Court Clinic referred to in section 15B of the Children's Court Act 1987 .

"Children's Guardian" means the Children's Guardian appointed under section 115 of the Children's Guardian Act 2019 .

"Children's Registrar" means a Children's Registrar within the meaning of the Children's Court Act 1987 .

"contact order" --see section 86(1).

"contract breach notice" --see section 38E.

"Department" means the Department of Communities and Justice.

"designated agency" has the same meaning as in the Children's Guardian Act 2019 .

"direct legal representative" --see section 99A(1).

"entity" includes--

(a) a person, and

(b) an unincorporated body.

"exercise" a function includes perform a duty.

"function" includes--

(a) a power, and

(b) an authority, and

(c) a duty.

"guardian" --see section 79A.

"Guardian Ad Litem Panel" means the panel constituted as the Guardian Ad Litem Panel by the administrator.

"guardianship order" --see section 79A(2).

"high level identification information" , in relation to a child or young person who is in the care responsibility of the Secretary (whether under a temporary care arrangement or otherwise) or who is in out-of-home care, means the following--

(a) the surnames of the authorised carer of the child or young person and of any other person living in the household of the authorised carer,

(b) the street address and locality of the authorised carer of the child or young person,

(c) the telephone number of the authorised carer of the child or young person,

(d) details of the employment or activities of the authorised carer of the child or young person that would be sufficient to identify the authorised carer,

(e) the name of the school that the child or young person is attending,

(f) any other type of information prescribed by the regulations.

"independent legal representative" --see section 99A(2).

"kin" of a child or young person means a person who shares a cultural, tribal or community connection with the child or young person that is recognised by that child or young person's family or community.

"legal representative" means an Australian legal practitioner.

"non-court proceedings" means any aspect of care proceedings that is not conducted before the Children's Court and includes, but is not limited to, the following--

(a) any counselling,

(b) any dispute resolution conference under section 65 or 91D,

(c) any other alternative dispute resolution process.

"out-of-home care" --see section 135.

"parent" of a child or young person means a person having parental responsibility for the child or young person.

"parent capacity order" --see section 91A.

"parent responsibility contract" --see section 38A.

"parental responsibility" , in relation to a child or young person, means all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law, parents have in relation to their children.

"permanency plan" means a plan that makes provision with respect to permanency planning.

"permanency plan involving restoration" --see section 84.

"permanency planning" --see section 78A.

"permanent placement" --see section 10A(1).

"permanent placement principles" --see section 10A(3).

"primary care-giver" , in relation to a child or young person, means each person who is primarily responsible for the care and control, including the day-to-day care and control, of the child or young person (whether or not that person is the person with parental responsibility or care responsibility for the child or young person).

"principal officer" --see section 5A.

"principle of active efforts" --see section 9A.

"prohibition order" --see section 90A(1).

"prospective guardian" means a person whose suitability to have parental responsibility for a child or young person allocated to the person under a guardianship order is being considered (whether by the Secretary, a designated agency or the Children's Court) and who has agreed to an assessment of the person's suitability under section 79B(1A) (including as applied by section 38(4)).

"Registrar" means the following--

(a) a Children's Registrar within the meaning of the Children's Court Act 1987 ,

(b) a Registrar of the Children's Court referred to in section 11 of that Act,

(c) any authorised justice within the meaning of the Bail Act 2013 .

"relative" of a child or young person means any of the following--

(a) a parent, step-parent, or spouse of a parent or step-parent, of the child or young person,

(b) a grandparent, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, cousin, niece or nephew, uncle or aunt (whether by blood, marriage, affinity or adoption) of the child or young person,

(c) a person who has parental responsibility for the child or young person (not being the Minister, the Secretary or a person who has parental responsibility other than in his or her personal capacity),

(d) a person who has care responsibility for the child or young person under the Adoption Act 2000 (not being the Minister, the Secretary or a person who has care responsibility other than in his or her personal capacity),

(e) in the case of a child or young person who is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander--a person who is part of the extended family or kin of the child or young person.

"report" means a report made under section 24, 25 or 27.

"rules" means rules made under the Children's Court Act 1987 .

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department.

"Torres Strait Islander" --see section 5.

"young person" means a person who is aged 16 years or above but who is under the age of 18 years.

Note : The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

(2) In this section,
"spouse" of a person means--

(a) a person to whom the person is legally married (including a husband or wife of the person), or

(b) the person's de facto partner,

but if more than one person would so qualify as a spouse, means only the latest person to so qualify.

Note :
"De facto partner" is defined in section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987 .