Children and Young People (Safety) Act Review

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:37): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection on the topic of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act review.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: In February 2023, the state government released the report of the review of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017. That review had reached over 900 people, and many provided detailed responses, sharing not just their personal insights and experiences with the child protection system but their recommendations for reform. The report provided an overview of the key themes from those consultations and identified potential opportunities for legislative change for the government and the minister's consideration. On the child protection department website dated 23 February it was stated:

What are the next steps?

The government is considering the report and the opportunities identified. It has committed to introduce any changes to the legislation this year following a further period of consultation.

There is now one day left of the sitting year and there is no legislation. My question to the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection is: where is the legislation?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:38): I thank the honourable member for her question. Whilst I am certainly happy to refer it to the minister in the other place, I would say as a general comment that the level of consultation that is required for any changes in such an important area of government is incredibly important, and I know that the minister in the other place certainly is dedicated to having full consultation. So I suspect that may have some aspect of it, but I will refer the details of the question and bring back a response.