South Australian Current Acts

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE (SAFETY) ACT 2017 - SECT 63

63—Legal practitioners to comply with this section when representing child or young person

        (1)         In acting for a child or young person under this Act, a legal practitioner must, to the extent that it is consistent with the legal practitioner's duty to the court to do so, comply with the following provisions:

            (a)         the legal practitioner must, as far as is reasonably practicable, act in accordance with any instructions given by the child or young person;

            (b)         to the extent that the child or young person has not given, or is not capable of giving, instructions, the legal practitioner must act in accordance with the legal practitioner's own view of the best interests of the child or young person;

            (c)         the legal practitioner must, in a manner appropriate to the capacity of the child or young person to understand, explain to the child or young person the nature of the legal practitioner's role in relation to the child or young person (including any limitations on the legal practitioner's ability to act in accordance with their instructions);

            (d)         in any proceedings before the Court, the legal practitioner must explain to the Court the basis on which submissions are made, having regard to the preceding paragraphs.

        (2)         A legal practitioner cannot, in complying with this section, be held to have breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics, or to have departed from any accepted form of professional conduct.