Question Without Notice No. 623 asked in the Legislative Council on 14 September 2017 by Hon Nick Goiran
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY SERVICES ACT
623. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the Leader of the House representing the Minister for Child Protection:
(1) Has the minister commissioned a review of the Children and Community Services Act 2004?
(2) If yes to (1), who is reviewing the act, which stakeholders are being consulted, and when is the review scheduled to be completed?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I provide the following response on behalf of the Leader of the House.
(1) Yes.
(2) The Department of Communities is currently conducting a statutory review of the Children and Community Services Act 2004 on my behalf. The terms of reference for the review are: to examine the operation and effectiveness of the act as a whole and, in particular, changes to support the introduction of consistent high-quality foster carer standards through a single decision-maker for approvals and revocations; the principles relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in sections 12 to 14 and the consultation requirement in section 81; any changes necessary to support the safety and wellbeing of adults and children subject to family and domestic violence; the provisions relating to secure care arrangements for children at high risk; and issues relating to the intersection between child protection proceedings under part 5 of the act and proceedings in the Family Court.
A consultation paper was released on 1 December 2016 and submissions closed on 31 March 2017. Thirty-seven submissions were received from a range of stakeholders. In addition, further targeted consultations occurred with Aboriginal communities throughout the state. A legislative review committee, including external stakeholders, has been established to consider the submissions and stakeholder feedback received. Additionally, a legal working group has been convened to specifically focus on terms of reference 5 as stated above. A final report will be tabled in Parliament by the end of the year.