CW v Chief Executive, Public Safety Business Agency

The case of CW v Chief Executive, Public Safety Business Agency involved Mr CW, who was applying for a Blue Card under the Queensland Children and Young People and Child Protection Act 1998. Mr CW had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, but had abstained from these substances for over a decade. The Chief Executive had issued a negative notice to Mr CW, meaning he was deemed unsuitable for the role he was seeking. Mr CW appealed this decision to the Tribunal, which upheld the negative notice. The court was required to decide whether the recent offences committed by Mr CW were such that they demonstrated a change in behaviour, whether the offences related to harm to children, and if an exceptional case existed that would warrant a positive notice.

The court found that Mr CW's history of drug and alcohol abuse, along with his recent criminal convictions for possession of drugs and firearms, demonstrated a lack of change in behaviour. The court was not convinced that Mr CW had sufficiently distanced himself from his past to warrant a positive notice. The court also found that the offences were related to harm to children, as they involved the possession of firearms and drugs, which could potentially harm children if Mr CW were to work with them. Finally, the court found that an exceptional case did not exist, as Mr CW had not demonstrated the level of change in behaviour required to warrant a positive notice.

The court confirmed the decision of the Chief Executive to issue Mr CW a negative notice and prohibited the publication of certain material relating to the case. The court found that Mr CW's history of drug and alcohol abuse, along with his recent criminal convictions, demonstrated a lack of change in behaviour and that the offences were related to harm to children. The court was not convinced that an exceptional case existed that would warrant a positive notice. The orders of the court were that the decision of the Chief Executive to issue Mr CW a negative notice was confirmed and that the Tribunal prohibited the publication of certain material relating to the case.