CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2008 - SECT 371 Care and protection appraisal—visual examination and

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2008 - SECT 371

    (1)     If section 370 applies in relation to a child or young person, the director-general may carry out an appraisal that consists only of—

        (a)     a visual examination of the child or young person; and

        (b)     an interview of the child or young person.

    (2)     If the child or young person is a student at a school, a patient at a health facility or being cared for by a childcare service, the director-general—

        (a)     may enter the school, health facility or childcare service to visually examine or interview the child or young person; and

        (b)     if entering the school, health facility or childcare service, must—

              (i)     produce the director-general's identity card; and

              (ii)     tell the person in charge of the school, health facility or childcare service the purpose of the entry.

    (3)     After the director-general visually examines or interviews the child or young person, the director-general must take reasonable steps to tell at least 1 parent or other person who has daily care responsibility for the child or young person that the examination or interview has been carried out.

    (4)     Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to a person if the director-general suspects on reasonable grounds that telling the person—

        (a)     is not in the best interests of the child or young person; or

        (b)     would be likely to jeopardise a criminal investigation.

    (5)     This section does not affect the director-general's capacity to—

        (a)     do anything mentioned in section 360 (4) (Director-general to act on child concern report) or section 361 (3) (Director-general action on child protection report); or

        (b)     take emergency action in relation to the child or young person under section 406 (Emergency action—criteria for taking emergency action); or

        (c)     apply to the Childrens Court for a care and protection order under section 424 (Care and protection order—application by director-general); or

        (d)     give information under part 25.3 (Sharing protected information).

Note to div 11.2.3

The director-general may ask the chief police officer for assistance in taking action under an appraisal order. The chief police officer must, if asked, give assistance to the director-general by assigning police officers to assist the director-general in carrying out the action (see  s 679).