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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-13 Daily Xml
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CHILDREN'S PROTECTION (NOTIFICATION) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

Received from the House of Assembly and read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (13:01): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Bill I present to the House today seeks to meet the Government's stated intention to work expediently to enact the recommended legislative amendments which were set out in the Royal Commission 2012-2013 Report of the Independent Education Inquiry prepared by the Hon Bruce Debelle AO QC.

The amendments proposed in this Bill address recommendations 26 and 27 of Justice Debelle's report and will enhance the current mandatory notification provisions in section 11 of the Children's Protection Act 1993. This section currently requires a mandated notifier who forms the view that a child has been, or is being, abused or neglected to report this suspicion to the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL).

The amendments in the Bill before you will create defence provisions for mandated notifiers in relation to their obligation to make a report in particular circumstances. In line with the Royal Commission recommendations, a defence will be established when a mandated notifier has failed to notify a reasonable suspicion of neglect or abuse of a child because:

the person became aware of such circumstances as a result of information imparted to them by a police officer [recommendation 26]

the mandated notifier became aware of the child's situation from another mandated notifier who has already made a report in respect of the situation [recommendation 27]

In the context of setting out recommendation 26, Justice Debelle expressed the view that the very fact that police are investigating an allegation of child abuse or neglect demonstrated that a child had been identified as being at risk, which was the purpose of the police investigation. Justice Debelle stated that '[t]here is an element of circularity, if not absurdity' to require a mandated notifier to make a report to CARL in circumstances where they learn of the allegations of abuse or neglect from the police in the course of the conduct of such an investigation.

The circumstances considered by Justice Debelle in making recommendation 27 related to the responsibilities of teachers as mandated notifiers and accordingly, and was framed to relate only to teachers in an educational institution. However, in Justice Debelle's report, he raised the question as to whether teachers should be the only class of mandated notifiers considered in implementation of his recommended exemption from notifying CARL in circumstances where a fellow employee passes on information about the abuse or neglect of a child.

The proposed amendment addresses this point by extending a defence to all mandated notifiers prescribed in section 11 of the Children's Protection Act 1993. By expressing the amendment as a defence provision, rather than an exemption, the requirement to report child abuse remains the default position, and does not prevent a number of notifications being made in respect of the same child.

I implore Members from all sides of politics to support this Bill—for the sake of police officers, doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers and other mandated notifiers. This Bill, enacting recommendations made by Justice Debelle, will make the jobs of these essential workers easier so that they can focus on the things that matter, that is, the protection of children in this State.

I commend the Bill to Members

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Children's Protection Act 1993

4—Amendment of section 11—Notification of abuse or neglect

This clause amends section 11 of the principal Act to insert two defences to charges against subsection (1). First, new subsection (2a) applies where the defendant only formed a suspicion because he or she is informed of the suspected abuse or neglect by a police officer acting in the course of his or her official duties. Second, new subsection (2a) applies where the defendant's suspicion was due solely to having been informed of the suspected abuse or neglect by another mandatory notifier, and the defendant believed on reasonable grounds that the other person had given a notification in respect of the suspected abuse or neglect.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.


[Sitting suspended from 13:02 to 14:17]


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