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Amendment (Disclosure of
Information) Bill 1996
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
any children who are believed, on reasonable grounds, to have been (or
to be in danger of being) abused, and
*
children under the age of 16 who are believed, on reasonable grounds,
to be in need of care (within the meaning of the Act).
The Bill also provides for notifications to the Director-General of suspected
abuse of a child aged 16 or 17. (The Act currently provides only for
notifications in respect of children aged 15 or less.)
The Bill also provides that the provisions of the Act that afford protection
from liability for defamation and certain other proceedings in relation to
notifications of suspected child abuse also apply to the exchange of
information permitted by the proposed Act.
The Bill also inserts a provision permitting the making of savings and
transitional regulations consequent on the enactment of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on the date of
assent.
Clause 3 is a formal provision giving effect to the amendments to the
Children (Cure and Protection) Act 1987 set out in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 [1] inserts proposed
Subsection (1A) in section 22 (Notification
of child abuse) of the Act. The proposed subsection allows a person who
forms the belief on reasonable grounds that a child aged 16 or 17 has been, or
is in danger of being, abused to notify the Director-General accordingly.
Schedule 1 [2] inserts proposed subsections (7A), (7B) and (7C) in section
22.
Proposed subsection (7A) allows the Director-General to investigate a
notification of suspected child abuse relating to a child aged 16 or 17 and to
take action on it in the same way as he or she may take action on such
notifications relating to children aged 15 or less.
Proposed subsection (7B) permits the Director-General, for the purposes of
any investigation into a notification of suspected child abuse (or of any action
arising out of an investigation), to furnish a prescribed body (which is
defined to include the Police Service, a Government Department, a public
authority, a school, hospitals of various kinds and an area health service) with
information concerning the welfare of a particular child or class of children,
and to direct such a body to furnish the Director-General with information of
that kind.
Proposed subsection (7C) requires a person to whom such a direction is given
to comply with it.
Explanatory note page 2
Schedule 1 [3][6] extends the application of section 22 (8) (a), (b) and (c) to
cover notifications made under proposed section 22 (1A) and information
furnished under proposed section 22 (7B) or (7C). Section 22 (8) (a), (b) and
(c) currently afford certain protections (such as protection from liability for
defamation) to persons who notify the Director-General, under section 22 (1)
or (4), of suspected child abuse. Schedule 1 [3] and [6] make it clear that
section 22 (d) and (e), which currently provide that notifications under
section 22
or (4) are not admissible (and the persons who made them
cannot be compelled to produce them or give evidence of their contents) in
legal proceedings, extend to notifications made under proposed section 22
(1A), but not to information furnished under proposed section 22 (7B) or
(7C).
Schedule 1 [7] inserts proposed subsection (8A) in section 22. The proposed
subsection makes it clear that the protections afforded by section 22 (8) in
relation to information furnished under section 22 (7B) or (7C) extend to any
information furnished under the relevant subsection in good faith and with
reasonable care.
Schedule 1 [8] inserts proposed subsections (12) and (13) in section 22.
Proposed subsection (12) overrides any other provision of an Act or law that
prohibits or restricts the disclosure of information, but only to the extent that
the other provision would prevent the disclosure of information permitted or
required to be furnished under section 22.
Proposed subsection (13) defines the term prescribed body that is used in
proposed section 22 (7B).
Schedule 1 [9] permits the making of savings and transitional regulations
consequent on the enactment of the proposed Act.
Explanatory note p a g e 3