New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) ACT 1998 - SECT 9A

9A Principle of making "active efforts"

(1) The Secretary must act in accordance with the principle of active efforts in exercising functions under this Act.

(2) The
"principle of active efforts" means--

(a) in taking action to safeguard or promote the safety, welfare and well-being of a child or young person--making active efforts to prevent the child or young person from entering out-of-home care, and

(b) for a child and young person who has been removed from the child's or young person's parents or family--

(i) making active efforts to restore the child or young person to the child's or young person's parents, or

(ii) for a child or young person for whom it is not practicable or in the child's or young person's best interests to be restored to the child's or young person's parents--to place the child or young person with family, kin or community.

Note--: See the permanent placement principles in section 10A and the placement principles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young persons in section 13.

(3) Under the principle of active efforts, the Secretary must also ensure active efforts are--

(a) timely, and

(b) practicable, thorough and purposeful, and

(c) aimed at addressing the grounds on which the child or young person is considered to be in need of care and protection, and

(d) conducted, to the greatest extent possible, in partnership with the child or young person and the family, kin and community of the child or young person, and

(e) culturally appropriate, and

(f) otherwise in accordance with any requirements prescribed by the regulations.

(4) Without limiting subsections (1)-(3), active efforts include--

(a) providing, facilitating or assisting with access to support services and other resources, and

(b) if appropriate services or resources do not exist or are not available--considering alternative ways of addressing the relevant needs of the child or young person and the family, kin or community of the child or young person, and

(c) activities directed at finding and contacting the family, kin and community of the child or young person, and

(d) the use of any of the following--

(i) a parent responsibility contract,

(ii) a parent capacity order,

(iii) a temporary care arrangement under Chapter 8, Part 3, Division 1,

(iv) alternative dispute resolution under section 37, and

(e) another matter, activity or action prescribed by the regulations.

(5) To avoid doubt, this section is subject to the requirement under section 9(1) that this Act is to be administered under the principle that, in any action or decision concerning a particular child or young person, the safety, welfare and well-being of the child or young person are paramount.