"assessment officer" , in relation to a relevant agency, means a person
appointed or designated by the head of the agency as an assessment officer of
the agency for the purposes of an arrangement under this section.
(a) (subject to paragraph (b)) the person
who is the chief executive officer, or who exercises the functions of chief
executive officer, of the agency, or
may, in
accordance with the terms of the arrangement, refer to an assessment officer
of the agency any matter that the staff member would otherwise be required to
report to the Secretary under that section.
(4) If, in accordance
with the assessment guidelines, the matter is assessed as a matter that should
be reported to the Secretary under section 27, the assessment officer or
the staff member is, as soon as practicable after the assessment, to report
the matter to the Secretary under that section. Any such requirement applies
in relation to the assessment officer as though the officer was a person to
whom section 27 applies.
(5) If, in accordance with the assessment
guidelines, the matter is assessed as a matter that should not be reported to
the Secretary under section 27, the assessment officer or the staff member
may, if the officer or staff member has concerns for the well-being of the
child to whom the matter relates, make such referral or take such action as
the officer or staff member considers necessary or appropriate (or as is
reasonably available) to safeguard or promote the safety, welfare and
well-being of the child.
(6) If a matter is referred to an assessment officer
in accordance with an arrangement under this section, the staff member making
the referral is taken to have satisfied his or her obligations under
section 27 in relation to the matter concerned.
(7) Sections 29 and 29AA
apply in relation to a referral that is made to an assessment officer under
this section in the same way as they apply to a report to which those sections
apply. For that purpose, a reference in section 29 or 29AA to the making of a
report includes a reference to the referral of a matter to an
assessment officer in accordance with an arrangement under this section.
(8)
A certificate purporting to be signed by an assessment officer that a document
relating to a child is a referral that has been made to the assessment officer
under this section is admissible in any proceedings and, in the absence of
evidence to the contrary, is proof that the document is such a referral.
(9)
The following provisions apply in relation to the appointment or designation
of assessment officers for the purposes of this section--
(b) any such appointment or designation may (without
limitation) be made by reference to the holder of a specified position or to a
specified class of persons,
(c) a person may be appointed or designated as an
assessment officer in relation to a relevant agency even though the person is
employed in or engaged by another agency.
(10) The regulations may extend the
operation of this section, with such exclusions and modifications as may be
prescribed by the regulations, to any person (or a class of persons) who is a
person (or class of persons) to whom section 27 applies but who is or are not
employed in or engaged by a relevant agency.
(11) For avoidance of doubt, the
head of the NSW Health Service or the Health Executive Service is, for the
purposes of this section, the Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
(12) A
staff member of a relevant agency may, in accordance with the terms of an
arrangement under this section, refer any of the following matters to an
assessment officer of the agency--
