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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Children's Protection (Long-term Removal Review Panel)
Amendment Bill 2012
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Children's
Protection Act 1993.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1Short
title
2Commencement
3Amendment
provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Children's
Protection Act 1993
4Amendment of section
6—Interpretation
5Insertion of heading to Part 5 Division 2
Subdivision 1
6Amendment of section 37—Application for
care and protection order
7Insertion of Part 5 Division 2 Subdivision
2
Subdivision 2—Long-term guardianship
orders
44ALong-term Removal
Review Panel
44BTerms
and conditions of appointment
44CPresiding member
44DPanel's procedures
44EPanel's powers
44FConfidentiality of
information
44GMinister to refer certain proposed applications to
Long-term Removal Review Panel
44HMinister may refer other matters to Long-term
Removal Review Panel
8Amendment of section 52—Review of
circumstances of child under long term guardianship of Minister
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Children's Protection (Long-term Removal
Review Panel) Amendment Act 2012.
This Act will come into operation 3 months after the day on which it
is assented to by the Governor.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Children's Protection
Act 1993
4—Amendment
of section 6—Interpretation
Section 6(1)—after the definition of licensed children's
residential facility insert:
Long-term Removal Review Panel—see
section 44A;
5—Insertion
of heading to Part 5 Division 2 Subdivision 1
Part 5 Division 2—before section 37 insert:
Subdivision 1—Orders of Youth
Court
6—Amendment
of section 37—Application for care and protection
order
Section 37(1) and (2)—after "the Minister may" wherever
occurring insert:
, subject to Subdivision 2 (Long-term guardianship orders),
7—Insertion
of Part 5 Division 2 Subdivision 2
After section 44 insert:
Subdivision 2—Long-term guardianship
orders
44A—Long-term Removal Review
Panel
(1) The Long-term Removal Review Panel is established.
(2) The Panel consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor, of
whom—
(a) 2 members must be child psychologists; and
(b) 1 member must have expertise, knowledge or experience in relation
to family preservation models; and
(c) 1 member must be a legal practitioner of at least 5 years
standing; and
(d) 1 member must be a person who is regularly appointed to act as a
child's advocate at family care meetings.
(3) The child psychologists appointed to the Panel must be persons who
have not, in the preceding 2 years, been employed or engaged by the
Minister or the Department.
44B—Terms and conditions of
appointment
(1) A member of the Panel will be appointed on conditions determined by
the Minister and for a term, not exceeding 3 years, specified in the
instrument of appointment and, at the expiration of a term of appointment, is
eligible for reappointment.
(2) However, a member of the Panel may not hold office for consecutive
terms that exceed 6 years in total.
(3) The Governor
may remove a member of the Panel from office—
(a) for breach of, or non-compliance with, a condition of appointment;
or
(b) for misconduct; or
(c) for failure or incapacity to carry out official duties
satisfactorily.
(4) The office of a member of the Panel becomes vacant if the
member—
(a) dies; or
(b) completes a term of office and is not reappointed; or
(c) resigns by written notice to the Minister; or
(d) ceases to satisfy the qualification by virtue of which the member was
eligible for appointment to the Panel; or
(e) is removed from office under
subsection (3).
44C—Presiding member
The Minister must appoint a member of the Panel to preside at meetings of
the Panel.
44D—Panel's procedures
The Panel will, subject to direction by the Minister as to the procedures
it is to adopt, determine its own procedures.
44E—Panel's powers
(a) inform itself as to any matter under consideration by the Panel in
such manner as the Panel thinks fit; and
(b) invite
interested persons to make written or oral submissions in relation to any matter
under consideration by the Panel; and
(c) by notice in
writing signed by a member of the Panel—
(i) request any person who may be in a position to do so to produce
documents, to allow access to documents or other information, or to provide
information (in writing) that may be relevant to a matter under consideration by
the Panel; or
(ii) request any person to attend at a specified time and place before the
Panel to answer questions relevant to a matter under consideration by the
Panel.
(2) If a person to whom a request is addressed under
subsection (1)(c)
refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the request, the
person is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(3) A person who, having attended before the Panel in response to a
request under
subsection (1)(c),
refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse, to answer a question relevant to a
matter under consideration by the Panel is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(4) However—
(a) a person commits no offence by refusing to comply with a request under
subsection (1)(c),
or to answer a question, if the information sought would tend to incriminate the
person of an offence and the person refuses to comply with the request or to
answer the question on that ground; and
(b) a person commits no offence by refusing to comply with a request under
subsection (1)(c),
or to answer a question, if the document or other information to which the
request or question relates is protected by legal professional privilege and the
person refuses to comply with the request or to answer the question on that
ground; and
(c) a request cannot be validly made of a person to disclose or allow
access to information that is subject to the operation of Part 7 or 8
of the Health
Care Act 2008.
(5) A person does not, by making submissions to the Panel under
subsection (1)(b)
or complying with a request or answering a question under
subsection (1)(c),
contravene—
(a) a statutory prohibition against the disclosure of confidential
information; or
(b) any rule of the common law or equity; or
(c) any principle of professional ethics.
44F—Confidentiality of
information
(1) Information about
individual cases disclosed to the Panel or a member of the Panel's staff is to
be kept confidential and is not liable to disclosure under the Freedom
of Information Act 1991.
(2) A member of the Panel, or a person who has been employed in duties
related to the functions of the Panel, must not disclose confidential
information obtained as a result of his or her official position.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
44G—Minister to refer certain proposed applications
to Long-term Removal Review Panel
(1) The Minister must, if proposing to apply to the Court for an order in
respect of a child under section 38(1)(d)—
(a) notify the Long-term Removal Review Panel of his or her intention to
make the application; and
(b) provide the Panel with all information and material held by the
Department in respect of the child and the child's family; and
(c) identify for the Panel any information or material on which he or she
intends to rely in support of the application.
(2) The Panel may, following consideration of the
proposal—
(a) recommend that the application proceed as proposed by the Minister;
or
(b) recommend that the Minister instead seek an order in respect of the
child under section 38(1)(c); or
(c) make any other recommendation in connection with the proposal or in
relation to the child (including a recommendation as to consequential orders
that should be sought by the Minister in connection with an application for an
order in respect of the child).
(3) The Panel must provide the Minister with written reasons for its
recommendation.
(4) If the Panel recommends that the Minister should not proceed with a
proposal to apply to the Court for an order in respect of a child under
section 38(1)(d), the Minister should not proceed with the application
unless the Minister considers, after having due regard to the reasons for the
recommendation, that such an order would be in the best interests of the
child.
(5) The Minister must follow any other recommendation made by the Panel
unless he or she considers, after having due regard to the reasons for the
recommendation, that to follow the recommendation would not be in the best
interests of the child to whom the recommendation relates.
(6) The Panel must, when considering a proposal of the Minister, and in
formulating recommendations to be made in relation to a proposal, keep under
constant consideration the best interests of the child to whom the proposal
relates.
(7) If the Minister
decides not to follow a recommendation of the Panel—
(a) the Minister must
provide the Panel with a written report of his or her decision and the reasons
for the decision; and
(b) a summary of the report that does not identify the individual case and
does not disclose information that could be expected to lead to the
identification of any person to whom the decision relates must be included in
the annual report of the Department for the year in which the decision was
made.
(8) If the Minister applies to the Court for an order in respect of a
child under section 38(1)(d), the Minister must provide the Court with a
copy of the Panel's recommendation in respect of the application and, if the
Minister has decided not to follow the recommendation, a copy of his or her
report to the Panel under
subsection (7)(a).
44H—Minister may refer other matters to Long-term
Removal Review Panel
(1) The Minister may
refer any other matter relating to long term guardianship of children for the
consideration of the Panel.
(2) After considering a matter referred under
subsection (1), the
Panel must provide the Minister with a written report setting out the Panel's
conclusions and the reasons for those conclusions.
(3) Despite
section 44F(1), a
report prepared for the Minister pursuant to a referral under
subsection (1) is
liable to disclosure under the Freedom
of Information Act 1991.
8—Amendment
of section 52—Review of circumstances of child under long term
guardianship of Minister
(1) Section 52(2)—delete "a panel appointed by the Minister for
the purpose" and substitute:
the Long-term Removal Review Panel
(2) Section 52(3)—delete "panel carrying out a review must" and
substitute:
Panel must, in carrying out a review,
(3) Section 52(4)—delete "a review panel" and
substitute:
the Panel
(4) Section 52(5)—delete "the panel's" and
substitute:
the Panel's