Statutes Amendment (Rights of Foster Parents, Guardians and Kinship Carers) Act 2016 (SA)

South Australia

Statutes Amendment (Rights of Foster Parents, Guardians and Kinship Carers) Act 2016

An Act to amend the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 and the Family and Community Services Act 1972.

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:

Part 1Preliminary1Short title

This Act may be cited as the Statutes Amendment (Rights of Foster Parents, Guardians and Kinship Carers) Act 2016.

2Commencement

This Act will come into operation 6 months after the day on which it is assented to by the Governor.

3Amendment provisions

In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a specified Act amends the Act so specified.

Part 2Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 19964Insertion of Part 6 Division 3A

Part 6—after Division 3 insert:

Division 3A—Notification by court appointed guardians

38A—Notification by court appointed guardians

1. (1)

   A person may give notice to the Registrar that a person named in the notice was a court appointed guardian (other than a parent) of a person who has died at the time of the death.

2. (2)

   A notice under subsection (1) must—

   1. (a)

      be given as soon as reasonably practicable after the death of the deceased; and

   2. (b)

      be in writing in a form approved by the Registrar; and

   3. (c)

      include a copy of the order of the Youth Court of South Australia placing the child under the guardianship of the person named in the notice; and

   4. (d)

      include the information required by the Registrar.

3. (3)

   The Registrar may require a person giving notice under subsection (1)—

   1. (a)

      to provide further specified information or documents within a specified time; and

   2. (b)

      to verify, by statutory declaration, information provided for the purposes of the notice.

4. (4)

   In this section—

court appointed guardian means a person (other than a Minister) to whom guardianship of another person is given by the Youth Court of South Australia under section 38(1)(d) of the Children's Protection Act 1993.

5Amendment of section 39 – Registration

Section 39—after subsection (2) insert:

1. (3)

   If the Registrar has received a notice under section 38A, the Registrar must include the name of the guardian of the deceased named in the notice in the entry of the Register relating to the death of the deceased.

Part 3Amendment of Family and Community Services Act 19726Insertion of section 85

After section 84 insert:

85—Agreement for funeral arrangements of child under care

1. (1)

   If—

   1. (a)

      a child who is under the guardianship of a court appointed guardian or the Minister, or of whom the Minister has custody, dies while in the care of an approved carer; and

   2. (b)

      the approved carer and the person who is responsible for arranging the deceased's funeral and for the disposal of the deceased's remains disagree about those arrangements,

the Chief Executive Officer may, at the request of 1 or both of the parties, endeavour to assist the parties to reach an agreement about those arrangements.

1. (2)

   In this section—

approved carer means—

1. (a)

   an approved foster parent; or

2. (b)

   a court appointed guardian; or

3. (c)

   a person who, under a scheme established by the Department, maintains and cares for a child in the person's home for the purposes of this Act or the Children's Protection Act 1993;

court appointed guardian means a person (other than a Minister) to whom guardianship of another person is given by the Youth Court of South Australia under section 38(1)(d) of the Children's Protection Act 1993.