Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Act 2007 (NSW)

An Act to amend the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998 in relation to background checking of applicants for employment, the functions and status of the Child Death Review Team and other matters; and to amend the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 in relation to the audit of child-related conduct declarations.

1Name of Act

This Act is the Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Act 2007.

2Commencement

This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act.

3Amendment of Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998 No 146

The Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998 is amended as set out in Schedule 1.

4Amendment of Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 No 41

The Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 is amended as set out in Schedule 2.

5Repeal of other Acts

The following Acts are repealed:

• (a)

  the Child Protection Legislation Amendment Act 2002,

• (b)

  the Child Protection Legislation Amendment Act 2003.

6Repeal of this Act(1)

This Act is repealed on the day following the day on which this Act commences.

(2)

The repeal of this Act does not, because of the operation of section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987, affect any amendment made by this Act.

Schedule 1Amendment of Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998

(Section 3)

[1]Section 26 Provisions relating to reports to Parliament

Omit “Annual Reports (Departments) Act 1985” from section 26 (6).

Insert instead “Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984”.

[2]Section 33 Definitions

Omit “interstate restraint order (within the meaning of Part 15A” from paragraph (b) of the definition of relevant apprehended violence order in section 33 (1).

Insert instead “external protection order (within the meaning of Division 10 of Part 15A”.

[3]Section 33 (1), definition of “relevant employment proceedings”

Omit “disciplinary proceedings (in this State or elsewhere)”.

Insert instead “proceedings (including disciplinary proceedings), in this State or elsewhere,”.

[4]Section 33A Child-related employment to which Part does not apply

Omit the section.

[5]Section 33P Self-employed persons

Insert after section 33P (2) (c):

(c1)

the charging of fees for the issue of such certificates, being fees prescribed by the regulations,

[6]Section 33PA

Insert after section 33P:

33PAChild-related employment to which Division does not apply(1)

This Division does not apply to the employment of a person in child-related employment if:

• (a)

  all the children with whom the person is required to have contact in that employment are related to the person, or

• (b)

  all the children with whom the person is required to have contact in that employment are related to the employer and the person is related to the employer.

(2)

For the purposes of this section, a person is related to another person if:

• (a)

  the person is a relative of the other person, or

• (b)

  the person is the guardian of the other person or a person having the custody of or parental responsibility for the other person (otherwise than as the holder of a public office), or

• (c)

  the spouse of the person is related to the other person (as referred to in paragraph (a) or (b)).

(3)

In this section:

relative of a person means the spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, niece or nephew of the person, whether the relationship is of the whole or the half-blood and whether the relationship is natural or depends on the adoption of a person.

spouse of a person includes any person who is living with that other person as that other person’s partner on a bona fide domestic basis.

[7]Section 35 Guidelines relating to procedures and standards for background checking

Omit section 35 (5).

[8]Section 39 Duties of employers with respect to relevant employment proceedings

Omit section 39 (1A). Insert instead:

(1A)

For the purposes of this Part, relevant employment proceedings are taken to have been completed when a finding has been made by the employer as to whether the alleged reportable conduct, or the alleged commission of an act of violence, occurred or may have occurred, and a decision has been made by the employer as to what action (if any) is to be taken against the employee in respect of the finding.

[9]Section 39 (2)

Omit the subsection. Insert instead:

(2)

The employer who notifies the Commission of information under subsection (1) must also notify sufficient details of the proceedings concerned to the Commission and each approved screening agency that requests the information:

• (a)

  for the purposes of background checking by the Commission or that approved screening agency, or

• (b)

  for the purposes of the Commission exercising its function under section 36 (1) (a) of maintaining a database of completed relevant employment proceedings.

[10]Section 39 (3)

Omit “disciplinary”.

[11]Section 45B

Omit the section. Insert instead:

45BEstablishment of the Team

A committee of the Commission, to be known as the Child Death Review Team, is established by this Act.

[12]Section 45N Functions of the Team

Insert after section 45N (1):

(1A)

Any function of the Team with respect to child deaths occurring in New South Wales may also be exercised by the Team in connection with the death of a child dying outside the State while ordinarily resident in the State.

(1B)

The Convenor may enter into an agreement or other arrangement for the exchange of information between the Team and a person or body having functions under the law of another State or a Territory that are substantially similar to the functions of the Team, being information relevant to the exercise of the functions of the Team or that person or body.

[13]Section 45U Confidentiality of information

Insert after section 45U (1) (c) (iv):

(v)

giving effect to any agreement or other arrangement entered into under section 45N (1B), or

[14]Section 48 Protection from liability

Insert “or omitted” after “was done”.

[15]Schedule 3 Savings, transitional and other provisions

Insert at the end of clause 1 (1):

Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Act 2007

[16]Schedule 3, Part 6

Insert after clause 11:

Part 6Provisions consequent on enactment of Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Act 200712Meaning of “amending Act”

In this Part:

amending Act means the Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Act 2007.

13Abolition of old Child Death Review Team

The Child Death Review Team constituted as a corporation by section 45B (as in force immediately before the repeal and re-enactment of that section by the amending Act), is abolished.

14Continuation of existing membership of Child Death Review Team

A person who, immediately before the repeal and re-enactment of section 45B by the amending Act, held office as a member of the Child Death Review Team established by that section continues to hold office as a member of the Child Death Review Team established by section 45B as re-enacted for the balance of his or her term of office, subject to this Act.

Schedule 2Amendment of Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912

(Section 4)

Insert after section 81N:

81NADuty of persons to assist the CYP Commission(1)

It is the duty of a prescribed person to provide the CYP Commission with full and unrestricted access to records that are under the person’s control, or whose production the person may, in an official capacity, reasonably require, being records to which the CYP Commission reasonably requires access for the purpose of exercising its functions under this Part.

(2)

A provision of any Act or law that restricts or denies access to records does not prevent a person to whom subsection (1) applies from complying, or affect the person’s duty to comply, with that subsection.

(3)

Access to which the CYP Commission is entitled under subsection (1) includes:

• (a)

  the right to inspect and, on request, to be provided with copies of, any record referred to in that subsection, and

• (b)

  the right to inspect any non-documentary evidence associated with any such record.

(4)

In this section:

prescribed person means any of the following persons:

• (a)

  the Registrar or other proper officer of a court,

• (b)

  the Commissioner of Police,

• (c)

  any person holding a statutory office prescribed by the regulations,

• (d)

  any person employed under Chapter 1A (The Government Service) of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 to hold a position or an office prescribed by the regulations.

record means any document or other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form or on film, or by electronic process, or in any other manner or by any other means.