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Queensland
Family Responsibilities
Commission Bill 2008
Queensland
Family Responsibilities Commission
Bill 2008
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
Division 1 Introduction
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3 Act binds all persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Division 2 Objects and principles of Act
4 Main objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5 Principles for administering Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Division 3 Interpretation
6 Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7 Meaning of community member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
8 Meaning of welfare recipient. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
Division 1 Establishment, functions and powers of commission
9 Establishment of commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
10 Commission's functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11 Commission's powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Division 2 Membership
12 Membership of commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13 Selection of commissioner and deputy commissioners . . . . . . . . 15
14 Selection of local commissioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
15 Term of appointment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
16 Conditions of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
17 Eligibility for appointment as commissioner or deputy
commissioner ................................. 16
18 Eligibility for appointment as local commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Contents
19 Disqualification from being commissioner or deputy
commissioner .................................. 17
20 Disqualification from being local commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
21 Vacation of office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Division 3 Functions and powers of commissioner
22 Commissioner's functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
23 Commissioner's powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
24 Delegation by commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
25 When deputy commissioner to act as commissioner . . . . . . . . . . 21
Division 4 Miscellaneous
26 Independence of commission and commission member . . . . . . . 21
27 Report about person's criminal history or domestic violence
history ........................................ 22
28 Information about child safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
29 Requirement to disclose changes in criminal history or domestic
violence history. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
30 Commission is statutory body under the Financial
Administration and Audit Act 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
31 Commission is not a tribunal under Ombudsman Act 2001, s 16. 25
Part 3 The registry
32 Establishment of registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
33 Registry staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
34 Eligibility for appointment as registrar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
35 Registrar's functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
36 Registrar's powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
37 Delegation by registrar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
38 Function of local registry coordinators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
39 When staff of registry are subject to direction of commissioner . . 28
Part 4 Agency notices
Division 1 Requirements about giving agency notices
40 Notice about school attendance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
41 Notice about school enrolment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
42 Notice about child safety and welfare matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
43 Notice about offences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
44 Notice about residential tenancy agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Division 2 Miscellaneous
45 Entity not under obligation to investigate particular matters . . . . . 36
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Contents
Part 5 Commission's conferences about agency notices
Division 1 Preliminary
46 Purpose of conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
47 Commissioner's decision to hold conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
48 Matters commissioner or commission may have regard to in
considering whether a person is a community member . . . . . . . . 38
Division 2 Jurisdiction and operation
49 Holding conferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
50 Constitution of commission for conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
51 Nomination and appointment of local commissioners for
conference ..................................... 39
52 Disclosure of interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
53 Reconstituting commission for particular conference . . . . . . . . . . 40
54 Representation at conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
55 Conference privileged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Division 3 Conference procedures
56 Procedure generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
57 Time and place of conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
58 When commission must hold conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
59 Conference not limited to particular agency notice . . . . . . . . . . . 43
60 Participation in conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
61 Notice of conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
62 Obtaining views of persons not attending conference . . . . . . . . . 44
63 Particular matters about conduct of conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
64 Adjournment of conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
65 Rescheduling conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
66 Commission may proceed in absence of person . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
67 Record of conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Part 6 Commission's decisions at conferences
Division 1 Decisions
68 Decision to enter into agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
69 Other decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Division 2 Notice of decisions
70 Notice of decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Division 3 Criteria for making decisions
71 Matters commission has regard to in making particular
decisions ..................................... 51
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Contents
72 Matters commission has regard to in making decision about
child safety notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Division 4 Other matters
73 Notice about requirement to attend community support service . 52
74 Notice to centrelink secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
75 Revocation of notice to centrelink secretary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Part 7 Provisions about case plans
Division 1 Case plans
Subdivision 1 Preliminary
76 Meaning of case plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Subdivision 2 Particular provisions about case plans
77 Recording of case plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
78 Preparation and endorsement of particular case plans . . . . . . . . 55
79 Commissioner may ask registrar to amend compulsory case
plan .......................................... 55
80 Registrar to give copy of, and explain, compulsory case plan . . . 55
Division 2 Noncompliance with compulsory case plans
81 Definition for div 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
82 Show cause notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
83 How oral representations may be made. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
84 Commission to consider oral representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
85 Constitution of commission for show cause process . . . . . . . . . . 58
86 Ending show cause process without taking proposed action . . . . 59
87 Commission may decide to take proposed action . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
88 Limitation on increasing period of income management . . . . . . . 61
89 Notice to centrelink secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Part 8 Information exchange
Division 1 Preliminary
90 Definition for pt 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
91 What is relevant information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Division 2 Particular provisions about information exchange
92 Commissioner may give information to particular entities . . . . . . 64
93 Information requirement made by commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
94 Education chief executive may give particular information . . . . . . 66
95 Giving of information protected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
96 Interaction with other laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Contents
Part 9 Amending or ending family responsibilities agreements or
orders
97 Application to amend or end family responsibilities agreement
or order .......................................... 69
98 Constitution of commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
99 Decision about application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
100 Inquiry about application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
101 Failure to decide application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
102 Notice to centrelink secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
103 Limitation on increasing period of income management . . . . . . . 73
104 Amendment of case plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Part 10 Voluntary referrals to commission
105 Purpose of pt 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
106 Asking for referral to community support services or income
management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
107 Responding to request about referral to community support
service ........................................ 74
108 Responding to request about referral to income management . . 75
109 Amendment or ending of voluntary agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Part 11 Appeals
110 Who may appeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
111 Starting appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
112 Court can not stay decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
113 Hearing procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
114 Court's powers on appeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
115 Appeal to District Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Part 12 Family Responsibilities Board
Division 1 Establishment and functions
116 Establishment of Family Responsibilities Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
117 Board's functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Division 2 Membership
118 Membership of board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
119 Term of appointment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
120 Conditions of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
121 Vacation of office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Division 3 Business of board
122 Conduct of business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Contents
123 Board meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Division 4 Miscellaneous
124 Commission or commission member not subject to direction
by board ....................................... 82
Part 13 Particular offences and legal proceedings
Division 1 Offences
125 False or misleading statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
126 False or misleading documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
127 Retaliation against official or official's family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
128 Reprisal and grounds for reprisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
129 Offence of taking reprisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
130 Damages entitlement for reprisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
131 Offence to disrupt conference or other proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . 84
132 Summary offences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
133 Limitation on time for starting summary offence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
134 Allegations of false or misleading information or document . . . . . 85
Division 2 Evidentiary provisions
135 Appointments and authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
136 Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
137 Other evidentiary aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Part 14 Other matters
Division 1 General matters about commission's operations
138 Commission's notices to centrelink secretary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
139 Decision-making by commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
140 Constitution of commission in particular circumstances. . . . . . . . 88
141 Commissioner to destroy particular documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
142 Registrar to give notice of decisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
143 Annual report on operation of commission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
144 Other reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
145 Commission guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
146 Commissioner may ask registrar to amend case plan--change
of address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Division 2 Miscellaneous
147 Preservation of confidentiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
148 Protecting officials from liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
149 Approved forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Contents
150 Regulation-making power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
151 Expiry of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Part 15 Transitional provisions
152 Commission's first annual report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
153 Commission's first quarterly report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
154 Vacation of office on expiry of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
155 When particular agreements or family responsibilities
orders end .................................... 94
Schedule Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Page 7
2008
A Bill
for
An Act to establish the Family Responsibilities Commission,
and for related matters
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Division 1 Introduction 3
1 Short title 4
This Act may be cited as the Family Responsibilities 5
Commission Act 2008. 6
2 Commencement 7
This Act, other than the following provisions, commences on 8
a day to be fixed by proclamation-- 9
(a) section 6; 10
(b) section 94; 11
(c) schedule, to the extent it inserts the definitions 12
compulsory school age, education chief executive, 13
non-State school, school, State school and student. 14
3 Act binds all persons 15
(1) This Act binds all persons, including the State and, as far as 16
the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the 17
Commonwealth and the other States. 18
(2) Subsection (1) does not make the State, the Commonwealth or 19
another State liable to be prosecuted for an offence against 20
this Act. 21
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 4]
Division 2 Objects and principles of Act 1
4 Main objects 2
(1) The main objects of this Act are-- 3
(a) to support the restoration of socially responsible 4
standards of behaviour and local authority in welfare 5
reform community areas; and 6
(b) to help people in welfare reform community areas to 7
resume primary responsibility for the wellbeing of their 8
community and the individuals and families of the 9
community. 10
(2) The objects are to be achieved mainly by establishing the 11
Family Responsibilities Commission-- 12
(a) to hold conferences about agency notices; and 13
(b) to deal with the matters to which the notices relate in a 14
way that-- 15
(i) encourages community members the subject of a 16
conference to engage in socially responsible 17
standards of behaviour; and 18
(ii) promotes the interests, rights and wellbeing of 19
children and other vulnerable persons living in a 20
welfare reform community area. 21
5 Principles for administering Act 22
(1) The Act is to be administered under the principle that the 23
wellbeing and best interests of a child are paramount. 24
(2) Subject to subsection (1), this Act is also to be administered 25
under the following principles-- 26
(a) in a conference about an agency notice, the commission 27
should deal with the matters to which the notice relates 28
in a way that-- 29
(i) facilitates early intervention in relation to the 30
matters; and 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 6]
(ii) supports the restoration of socially responsible 1
standards of behaviour and local authority in 2
welfare reform community areas; and 3
(iii) makes appropriate use of community support 4
services; 5
(b) in a conference about an agency notice involving a 6
child, the child's views and wishes should be taken into 7
account in a way that has regard to the child's age and 8
ability to understand; 9
(c) Aboriginal tradition and Island custom must be taken 10
into account in matters involving Aboriginal people or 11
Torres Strait Islanders; 12
(d) the commission should deal with agency notices in a 13
timely way. 14
Division 3 Interpretation 15
6 Definitions 16
The dictionary in the schedule defines particular words used 17
in this Act. 18
7 Meaning of community member 19
A person is a community member if-- 20
(a) the person is a welfare recipient; and 21
(b) either-- 22
(i) the person's usual place of residence is, or was on 23
the commencement of this section, in a welfare 24
reform community area; or 25
(ii) the person has, at any time after the 26
commencement of this section, lived in a welfare 27
reform community area for at least 3 months. 28
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 8]
8 Meaning of welfare recipient 1
A person is a welfare recipient if-- 2
(a) under the Social Security Act, part 3B, the person or the 3
person's partner is an eligible recipient of a category P 4
welfare payment; or 5
(b) under the Social Security Act, part 3B, neither the 6
person nor the person's partner is an eligible recipient of 7
a category P welfare payment, but the person or the 8
person's partner is an eligible recipient of a category R 9
welfare payment; or 10
(c) the person is a CDEP Scheme participant. 11
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities 12
Commission 13
Division 1 Establishment, functions and 14
powers of commission 15
9 Establishment of commission 16
The Family Responsibilities Commission is established. 17
10 Commission's functions 18
(1) The commission has the following functions-- 19
(a) to hold conferences and make decisions under this Act 20
about agency notices in relation to community 21
members; 22
(b) to deal with, under part 7, division 2, a person's 23
noncompliance with a compulsory case plan; 24
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 11]
(c) to hear applications to the commission to amend or end 1
a family responsibilities agreement or family 2
responsibilities order. 3
(2) The commission also has the other functions given to the 4
commission under this or another Act. 5
11 Commission's powers 6
(1) The commission has the powers necessary or convenient to 7
perform the commission's functions. 8
(2) The commission also has the other powers given to the 9
commission under this or another Act. 10
Division 2 Membership 11
12 Membership of commission 12
(1) The members of the commission are-- 13
(a) the commissioner; and 14
(b) the deputy commissioners, if deputy commissioners are 15
appointed; and 16
(c) the local commissioners. 17
(2) The commission members are to be appointed by the 18
Governor in Council. 19
(3) The Minister may recommend to the Governor in Council for 20
appointment as many deputy commissioners or local 21
commissioners as the Minister considers necessary to ensure 22
the effective and efficient operation of the commission. 23
(4) A local commissioner is to be appointed as a local 24
commissioner for a particular welfare reform community area. 25
(5) All commission members are appointed under this Act and 26
not the Public Service Act 1996. 27
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 13]
13 Selection of commissioner and deputy commissioners 1
Before selecting a person for recommendation to the 2
Governor in Council for appointment as the commissioner or 3
a deputy commissioner, the Minister must consult with the 4
board about the proposed appointment. 5
14 Selection of local commissioners 6
(1) This section applies for selecting persons for recommendation 7
to the Governor in Council for appointment as local 8
commissioners for a welfare reform community area. 9
(2) The Minister must ask the community justice group for the 10
area, or if there is no community justice group for the area, as 11
many relevant community groups for the area as the Minister 12
considers appropriate, to nominate persons the group or 13
groups consider suitable for appointment as local 14
commissioners for the area. 15
(3) In nominating a person under this section, a community 16
justice group or relevant community group-- 17
(a) must have regard to the matters mentioned in section 18 18
about a person's eligibility for appointment as a local 19
commissioner; and 20
(b) must give the Minister a notice stating the group is 21
satisfied the person is a suitable person to perform the 22
duties of a local commissioner. 23
(4) A person nominated by a community justice group or relevant 24
community group may, but need not be, a member of the 25
group. 26
(5) If the Minister considers not enough eligible persons are 27
nominated for appointment as local commissioners for a 28
welfare reform community area, the Minister may nominate 29
persons the Minister considers suitable for appointment. 30
(6) In selecting persons for recommendation to the Governor in 31
Council for appointment as local commissioners for a welfare 32
reform community area, the Minister must-- 33
(a) if practicable-- 34
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 15]
(i) ensure the local commissioners for the area 1
represent the clan or family groups in the area; and 2
(ii) subject to subsection (5), only select persons 3
nominated by a community justice group or 4
relevant community group; and 5
(b) have regard to the need to have both male and female 6
local commissioners for conferences. 7
15 Term of appointment 8
A commission member is appointed for the term stated in the 9
member's instrument of appointment. 10
16 Conditions of appointment 11
(1) A commission member is to be paid the remuneration and 12
allowances decided by the Governor in Council. 13
(2) A commission member holds office on the terms and 14
conditions, not provided for by this Act, that are decided by 15
the Governor in Council. 16
17 Eligibility for appointment as commissioner or deputy 17
commissioner 18
A person is eligible for appointment as the commissioner or a 19
deputy commissioner only if-- 20
(a) the person is a lawyer of a least 5 years standing; and 21
(b) the Minister considers the person has an appropriate 22
understanding of the history and culture of Aboriginal 23
people and Torres Strait Islanders; and 24
(c) the Minister considers the person has-- 25
(i) appropriate experience in mediation or alternative 26
dispute resolution; or 27
(ii) other knowledge or experience making the person 28
appropriate to be the commissioner or a deputy 29
commissioner. 30
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 18]
18 Eligibility for appointment as local commissioner 1
A person is eligible for appointment as a local commissioner 2
only if-- 3
(a) the person is an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait 4
Islander who-- 5
(i) is a member of a community justice group or 6
relevant community group; or 7
(ii) is an elder or other respected person of a welfare 8
reform community area; or 9
(iii) is another person who the Minister is satisfied is of 10
good standing and lives in, or has a close 11
connection with, a welfare reform community 12
area; and 13
(b) the Minister is satisfied the person is a suitable person to 14
perform the duties of a local commissioner. 15
19 Disqualification from being commissioner or deputy 16
commissioner 17
(1) A person can not become, or continue as, the commissioner or 18
a deputy commissioner if-- 19
(a) the person-- 20
(i) is, or has been, convicted of an offence and the 21
conviction is not a spent conviction; or 22
(ii) is an insolvent under administration within the 23
meaning of the Corporations Act, section 9; or 24
(iii) is a public service employee, a police officer or an 25
employee of the Commonwealth public service; or 26
(b) at any time after 5 years before the commencement of 27
this section, a protection order has been made against 28
the person; or 29
(c) the Minister has received a notice from the child 30
protection chief executive under section 28 advising the 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 20]
Minister that the child protection chief executive 1
considers the person may pose a risk to a child's safety. 2
(2) Also, a person can not become the commissioner or a deputy 3
commissioner if the person does not consent to the Minister 4
requesting-- 5
(a) a report about the person's criminal history and 6
domestic violence history under section 27; or 7
(b) a notice about the person under section 28. 8
(3) In this section-- 9
offence means-- 10
(a) an indictable offence; or 11
(b) an offence under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986, other than 12
an indictable offence; or 13
(c) an offence under the Liquor Act 1992, section 168B. 14
20 Disqualification from being local commissioner 15
(1) A person can not become, or continue as, a local 16
commissioner if-- 17
(a) the person-- 18
(i) is, or has been, convicted of a serious offence and 19
the conviction is not a spent conviction; or 20
(ii) is an insolvent under administration within the 21
meaning of the Corporations Act, section 9; or 22
(iii) is, or has been, the subject of a family 23
responsibilities agreement or a decision of the 24
commission under section 69(1)(b); or 25
(b) at any time after 5 years before the commencement of 26
this section, a protection order has been made against 27
the person; or 28
(c) the Minister has received a notice from the child 29
protection chief executive under section 28 advising the 30
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 21]
Minister that the child protection chief executive 1
considers the person may pose a risk to a child's safety. 2
(2) Also, a person can not become a local commissioner if the 3
person does not consent to the Minister requesting-- 4
(a) a report about the person's criminal history and 5
domestic violence history under section 27; or 6
(b) a notice about the person under section 28. 7
(3) In this section-- 8
serious offence means-- 9
(a) a serious violent offence of which an offender is 10
convicted under the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, 11
section 161A; or 12
(b) a serious offence as defined under the Commission for 13
Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 14
2000, other than an offence mentioned in paragraph (a); 15
or 16
(c) an offence under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986, other than 17
an offence mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b); or 18
(d) an offence under the Liquor Act 1992, section 168B. 19
21 Vacation of office 20
(1) The office of a commission member becomes vacant if the 21
member-- 22
(a) resigns the member's office by signed notice of 23
resignation given to-- 24
(i) for the commissioner or a deputy 25
commissioner--the Minister; or 26
(ii) for a local commissioner--the commissioner; or 27
(b) can not continue as a member under section 19 or 20; or 28
(c) is removed from office by the Governor in Council 29
under subsection (2). 30
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 22]
(2) The Governor in Council may remove a commission member 1
from office if the member-- 2
(a) is incapable of properly discharging the commission's 3
functions; or 4
(b) is performing the member's duties-- 5
(i) carelessly, incompetently or inefficiently; or 6
(ii) without proper regard to the principles stated in 7
section 5. 8
Division 3 Functions and powers of 9
commissioner 10
22 Commissioner's functions 11
(1) The commissioner has the following functions-- 12
(a) ensuring the efficient and quick discharge of the 13
commission's business; 14
(b) ensuring the local commissioners and the staff of the 15
registry receive regular and appropriate training; 16
(c) preparing the annual report; 17
(d) making commission guidelines; 18
(e) carrying out the activities the commissioner reasonably 19
considers necessary to achieve the objects of this Act. 20
(2) The commissioner also has the other functions given to the 21
commissioner under this or another Act. 22
23 Commissioner's powers 23
(1) The commissioner has the powers necessary or convenient to 24
perform the commissioner's functions. 25
(2) The commissioner also has the other powers given to the 26
commissioner under this or another Act. 27
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 24]
24 Delegation by commissioner 1
(1) The commissioner may delegate the commissioner's functions 2
under this Act to a deputy commissioner. 3
(2) Also, the commissioner may delegate the commissioner's 4
functions under this Act, other than a function under a 5
prescribed provision, to the registrar. 6
(3) In this section-- 7
functions includes powers. 8
prescribed provision means section 49, 50, 51, 53, 68(9), 85, 9
98 or 108(2). 10
25 When deputy commissioner to act as commissioner 11
(1) A deputy commissioner, nominated by the Minister, is to act 12
as the commissioner if-- 13
(a) the commissioner is not available to perform the 14
commissioner's functions; or 15
(b) there is a vacancy in the office of the commissioner. 16
(2) This section does not limit the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, 17
section 24B. 18
Division 4 Miscellaneous 19
26 Independence of commission and commission member 20
(1) In performing or exercising its functions or powers, the 21
commission-- 22
(a) must act independently and impartially; and 23
(b) is not subject to direction by the Minister. 24
(2) A commission member, in exercising the member's functions 25
or powers, is not subject to direction by the Minister. 26
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 27]
27 Report about person's criminal history or domestic 1
violence history 2
(1) To decide whether a person is disqualified from membership 3
of the commission under section 19(1)(a)(i) or (b) or section 4
20(1)(a)(i) or (b), the Minister may ask the commissioner of 5
police for-- 6
(a) a written report about the person's criminal history or 7
domestic violence history; and 8
(b) if the request is about the person's criminal history--a 9
brief description of the circumstances of a conviction 10
mentioned in the criminal history. 11
(2) The commissioner of police must comply with the request. 12
(3) However, the Minister may make a request under subsection 13
(1) about a person who is not a commission member only if 14
the person has given the Minister written consent for the 15
request. 16
(4) The duty imposed on the commissioner of police to comply 17
with the request applies only to information in the 18
commissioner's possession or to which the commissioner has 19
access. 20
(5) If the Minister receives a report about a person under this 21
section, the Minister must give a copy of the report to the 22
person. 23
(6) The Minister must ensure a report given to the Minister under 24
this section is destroyed as soon as practicable after it is no 25
longer needed for the purpose for which it was requested. 26
28 Information about child safety 27
(1) To decide whether a person is disqualified from membership 28
of the commission under section 19(1)(c) or 20(1)(c), the 29
Minister may ask the child protection chief executive to give 30
the Minister a notice about whether the child protection chief 31
executive considers the person may pose a risk to a child's 32
safety. 33
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 29]
(2) The child protection chief executive must comply with the 1
request. 2
(3) Also, if the child protection chief executive considers a person 3
who is a commission member may pose a risk to a child's 4
safety, the child protection chief executive must give the 5
Minister a notice stating the child protection chief executive 6
considers the person may pose a risk to a child's safety. 7
(4) In considering whether, in the child protection chief 8
executive's opinion, a person may pose a risk to a child's 9
safety, the child protection chief executive may have regard to 10
any information that-- 11
(a) is in the child protection chief executive's possession or 12
to which the child protection chief executive has access; 13
and 14
(b) has been obtained under the Child Protection Act 1999. 15
(5) The Minister may make a request under subsection (1) about a 16
person who is not a commission member only if the person 17
has given the Minister written consent for the request. 18
(6) The duty imposed on the child protection chief executive 19
under this section applies only to information in the child 20
protection chief executive's possession or to which the child 21
protection chief executive has access. 22
(7) If the Minister receives a notice about a person under this 23
section, the Minister must give a copy of the notice to the 24
person. 25
(8) The Minister must ensure a notice given to the Minister under 26
this section is destroyed as soon as practicable after it is no 27
longer needed for the purpose for which it was requested. 28
29 Requirement to disclose changes in criminal history or 29
domestic violence history 30
(1) If there is a change in the criminal history or domestic 31
violence history of the commissioner or a deputy 32
commissioner, the commissioner or deputy commissioner 33
must, unless the commissioner or deputy commissioner has a 34
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 2 The Family Responsibilities Commission
[s 29]
reasonable excuse, immediately disclose the change to the 1
Minister. 2
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 3
(2) If there is a change in the criminal history or domestic 4
violence history of a local commissioner, the local 5
commissioner must, unless the local commissioner has a 6
reasonable excuse, immediately disclose the change to the 7
commissioner. 8
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 9
(3) Immediately after a local commissioner discloses a change in 10
criminal history or domestic violence history to the 11
commissioner under subsection (2), the commissioner must 12
give the Minister notice of the disclosure. 13
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 14
(4) For a person who does not have a criminal history or domestic 15
violence history, there is taken to be a change in the person's 16
criminal history or domestic violence history if the person 17
acquires a criminal history or domestic violence history. 18
(5) To comply with subsection (1) or (2)-- 19
(a) the information disclosed by the person about a 20
conviction for an offence in the person's criminal history 21
must include the following-- 22
(i) the existence of the conviction; 23
(ii) when the offence was committed; 24
(iii) details adequate to identify the offence; 25
(iv) whether or not a conviction was recorded; 26
(v) the sentence imposed on the person; and 27
(b) the information disclosed by the person about a 28
protection order for the person's domestic violence 29
history must include the following-- 30
(i) the existence of the protection order; 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 3 The registry
[s 30]
(ii) when the protection order was made against the 1
person. 2
30 Commission is statutory body under the Financial 3
Administration and Audit Act 1977 4
The commission is a statutory body under the Financial 5
Administration and Audit Act 1977. 6
31 Commission is not a tribunal under Ombudsman Act 7
2001, s 16 8
The commission is not a tribunal for the purposes of the 9
Ombudsman Act 2001, section 16(2)(a). 10
Part 3 The registry 11
32 Establishment of registry 12
(1) The Family Responsibilities Commission Registry is 13
established. 14
(2) The registry is the registry for the commission. 15
33 Registry staff 16
(1) The registry consists of-- 17
(a) the registrar; and 18
(b) the other staff of the registry necessary for the 19
commission to effectively and efficiently perform its 20
functions. 21
(2) The staff of the registry must include a local registry 22
coordinator appointed for each welfare reform community 23
area. 24
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 3 The registry
[s 34]
(3) The registrar and the other staff are to be appointed under the 1
Public Service Act 1996. 2
34 Eligibility for appointment as registrar 3
A person is eligible for appointment as the registrar only if the 4
person is-- 5
(a) a lawyer who has an appropriate understanding of the 6
history and culture of Aboriginal people and Torres 7
Strait Islanders; or 8
(b) another person who-- 9
(i) has appropriate expertise and experience in matters 10
relating to the operation of a registry of a court or 11
tribunal; and 12
(ii) has an appropriate understanding of the history and 13
culture of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait 14
Islanders. 15
35 Registrar's functions 16
(1) Subject to the directions of the commissioner, the registrar is 17
responsible for managing the registry and the administrative 18
affairs of the commission. 19
(2) The registrar has all the following functions-- 20
(a) providing administrative support to the commission to 21
help the commission hold conferences; 22
(b) keeping the records and information the registrar or the 23
commissioner considers appropriate; 24
(c) coordinating the provision of appropriate support or 25
training for local commissioners and the staff of the 26
registry; 27
(d) helping the commissioner prepare the annual report and 28
make commission guidelines; 29
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 3 The registry
[s 36]
(e) preparing case plans relating to a person's attendance at 1
a community support service; 2
(f) if, under a family responsibilities agreement or family 3
responsibilities order, a person is required to attend a 4
community support service under a case 5
plan--monitoring the person's compliance with the 6
plan; 7
(g) if the registrar monitors a person's compliance with a 8
case plan--giving the commission reports about the 9
person's compliance; 10
(h) collecting statistical data and other information relevant 11
to the operation of the commission for inclusion in the 12
annual report; 13
(i) performing other functions the registrar or 14
commissioner considers appropriate for the effective 15
and efficient operation of the commission; 16
(j) any other functions given under this Act. 17
36 Registrar's powers 18
(1) The registrar has the powers reasonably necessary to perform 19
the registrar's functions. 20
(2) The registrar also has the other powers given to the registrar 21
under this Act. 22
37 Delegation by registrar 23
(1) The registrar may delegate the registrar's functions under this 24
Act to an appropriately qualified member of the staff of the 25
registry. 26
(2) In this section-- 27
appropriately qualified, for a member of the staff of the 28
registry to whom a function may be delegated, includes 29
having the qualifications, experience or standing appropriate 30
for the function. 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 3 The registry
[s 38]
Example of standing of member of the staff of the registry-- 1
a person's seniority level as a member of the staff of the registry 2
functions includes powers. 3
38 Function of local registry coordinators 4
The function of a local registry coordinator is to support the 5
efficient and effective operation of the commission in the 6
welfare reform community area for which the coordinator is 7
appointed, including, for example, by-- 8
(a) taking appropriate steps to facilitate the holding of 9
conferences; and 10
(b) nominating appropriate local commissioners for a 11
conference; and 12
(c) providing information about community support 13
services and the operation of the commission to persons 14
living in the area; and 15
(d) keeping the records and information the registrar 16
considers appropriate. 17
39 When staff of registry are subject to direction of 18
commissioner 19
In performing or exercising their functions or powers under 20
this Act, the registrar and other staff of the registry are only 21
subject to the direction of the commissioner on matters 22
relating to the management of the registry and the 23
administrative affairs of the commission. 24
Page 28
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 40]
Part 4 Agency notices 1
Division 1 Requirements about giving agency 2
notices 3
40 Notice about school attendance 4
(1) Subsection (2) applies if-- 5
(a) a student at a school in a welfare reform community area 6
is absent from the school for all or part of any 3 school 7
days during a school term; and 8
(b) the principal of the school is not satisfied there is a 9
reasonable explanation for the absences. 10
(2) The principal must give notice of the absences to the 11
commission as soon as practicable but not more than 10 12
school days after the third absence happens. 13
(3) Subsection (4) applies if-- 14
(a) a student at a school that is not in a welfare reform 15
community area is absent from the school for all or part 16
of any 3 school days during a school term; and 17
(b) the principal of the school is not satisfied there is a 18
reasonable explanation for the absences; and 19
(c) the principal is, or becomes, aware the student or a 20
parent of the student lives, or at any time after the 21
commencement of this section has lived, in a welfare 22
reform community area. 23
(4) The principal must give notice of the absences to the 24
commission-- 25
(a) if the principal is aware of a matter mentioned in 26
subsection (3)(c) when the third absence happens--as 27
soon as practicable but not more than 10 school days 28
after the third absence happens; or 29
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 41]
(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply--as soon as practicable 1
but not more than 10 school days after becoming aware 2
of the matter. 3
(5) A notice under this section must be in the approved form. 4
(6) The approved form must include provision for the 5
following-- 6
(a) the student's name and date of birth; 7
(b) the name and address, if known, of the parents of the 8
student; 9
(c) the days the student was absent from school; 10
(d) the duration of the student's absences; 11
(e) the reason, if any, recorded by the school for the 12
absences. 13
(7) In considering whether a student is absent, or there is a 14
reasonable explanation for a student's absence, from a school, 15
the principal of the school must have regard to any 16
commission guidelines relating to matters about student 17
attendance at schools. 18
41 Notice about school enrolment 19
(1) This section applies if the education chief executive becomes 20
aware-- 21
(a) a child of compulsory school age is not enrolled at a 22
school; and 23
(b) the child or a parent of the child lives, or at any time 24
after the commencement of this section has lived, in a 25
welfare reform community area. 26
(2) The education chief executive must as soon as practicable give 27
the commission notice of the child's non-enrolment. 28
(3) The notice must be in the approved form. 29
(4) The approved form must include provision for-- 30
(a) the name and, if known, the address of the child; and 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 42]
(b) the name and address, if known, of the parents of the 1
child. 2
(5) This section does not apply to a child of compulsory school 3
age if-- 4
(a) an exemption under the Education (General Provisions) 5
Act 2006, chapter 9, part 3, is in force for the child; or 6
(b) the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006, section 7
176(1) does not apply in relation to the child because of 8
chapter 9, part 4 of that Act. 9
42 Notice about child safety and welfare matters 10
(1) This section applies if the child protection chief executive-- 11
(a) becomes aware, whether because of notification given to 12
the chief executive or otherwise, of alleged harm or 13
alleged risk of harm to a child; and 14
(b) becomes aware the allegation is in relation to-- 15
(i) conduct that is happening, or has happened, in a 16
welfare reform community area; or 17
(ii) conduct of a person who lives, or at any time after 18
the commencement of this section has lived, in a 19
welfare reform community area. 20
(2) The child protection chief executive must give the 21
commission notice of the alleged harm or alleged risk of harm 22
to the child. 23
(3) The notice must be given to the commission-- 24
(a) if an authorised officer under the Child Protection Act 25
1999 investigates the allegation to assess the child's 26
need of protection--within 5 business days after the 27
investigation and assessment of the allegation ends; or 28
(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply--within 5 business days 29
after the later of the following to happen-- 30
Page 31
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 43]
(i) the child protection chief executive becomes aware 1
of the alleged harm or alleged risk of harm to the 2
child; 3
(ii) the child protection chief executive becomes aware 4
of a matter mentioned in subsection (1)(b). 5
(4) The notice must be in the approved form. 6
(5) The approved form must include provision for the 7
following-- 8
(a) the day the child protection chief executive became 9
aware of the alleged harm or alleged risk of harm; 10
(b) whether the allegation was investigated as mentioned in 11
subsection (3)(a); 12
(c) the name and, if known, the address of the child 13
allegedly harmed or allegedly at risk of harm; 14
(d) the name and address, if known, of the parents of the 15
child; 16
(e) the name and address, if known, of any person allegedly 17
causing harm to the child, or allegedly causing the child 18
to be at risk of harm; 19
(f) details of the alleged harm or alleged risk of harm to the 20
child; 21
(g) information to identify the welfare reform community 22
area where-- 23
(i) the conduct the subject of the allegation is 24
happening or has happened; or 25
(ii) the person whose conduct is the subject of the 26
allegation lives or lived. 27
(6) In this section-- 28
harm, to a child, see the Child Protection Act 1999, section 9. 29
43 Notice about offences 30
(1) Subsection (2) applies if-- 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 43]
(a) in a proceeding before a Magistrates Court sitting in a 1
welfare reform community area, Cooktown or 2
Mossman, a person is convicted of an offence; or 3
(b) in a proceeding before another Magistrates Court, a 4
person is convicted of an offence and the clerk of the 5
court has been advised that the person lives, or at any 6
time after the commencement of this section has lived, 7
in a welfare reform community area. 8
(2) The clerk of the court in which the proceeding was heard must 9
give the commission notice of the conviction. 10
(3) The notice must be given to the commission-- 11
(a) if subsection (1)(a) applies--as soon as practicable but 12
not more than 10 business days after the person is 13
convicted; or 14
(b) otherwise--as soon as practicable but not more than 10 15
business days after the clerk of the court has been 16
advised about a matter mentioned in subsection (1)(b). 17
(4) The notice must be in the approved form. 18
(5) The approved form must include provision for all the 19
following-- 20
(a) the day of the conviction; 21
(b) the name and, if known, the address of the person 22
convicted; 23
(c) information to identify the offence of which the person 24
was convicted and the Magistrates Court for the 25
proceeding; 26
(d) information to identify the welfare reform community 27
area where-- 28
(i) the conduct the subject of the conviction happened; 29
or 30
(ii) the person against whom the conviction is made 31
lives or lived. 32
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 44]
44 Notice about residential tenancy agreement 1
(1) Subsection (2) applies in relation to a tenant of premises if the 2
lessor of the premises-- 3
(a) is satisfied the premises have been, or are being, used by 4
the tenant for an illegal purpose; or 5
(b) becomes aware that the tenant has not complied with a 6
remedy notice relating to-- 7
(i) the tenant causing a nuisance by the use of the 8
premises; or 9
(ii) the tenant interfering with the reasonable peace, 10
comfort or privacy of a neighbour of the tenant; or 11
(iii) the tenant not keeping the premises and its 12
inclusions clean, having regard to their condition 13
when the tenant entered into the residential tenancy 14
agreement for the premises; or 15
(iv) the tenant maliciously damaging, or allowing 16
someone else to maliciously damage, the premises 17
or its inclusions; or 18
(c) becomes aware that the rent payable by the tenant under 19
the residential tenancy agreement (the outstanding 20
amount) has remained unpaid in breach of the 21
agreement for at least 7 days and the tenant-- 22
(i) has not responded to a remedy notice relating to 23
the outstanding amount; or 24
(ii) has not entered into an agreement with the lessor to 25
pay the outstanding amount; or 26
(iii) has breached an agreement entered into with the 27
lessor to pay the outstanding amount. 28
(2) The lessor must, within 5 business days after being satisfied or 29
becoming aware of a matter mentioned in subsection (1), give 30
the commission notice of the matter. 31
(3) Subsection (4) applies in relation to a tenant of premises if the 32
lessor of the premises has, after the commencement of this 33
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 44]
section and within a period of not more than 6 months, given 1
the tenant more than 1 remedy notice relating to-- 2
(a) any of the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(b); or 3
(b) rent remaining unpaid, in breach of the residential 4
tenancy agreement for the premises, for at least 7 days. 5
(4) The lessor must, within 5 business days after giving a second 6
remedy notice to the tenant, give the commission notice of the 7
giving of the remedy notice and the matter to which it relates. 8
(5) A notice under subsection (2) or (4) must be in the approved 9
form. 10
(6) The approved form must include provision for the 11
following-- 12
(a) the name of the tenant; 13
(b) the address of the tenanted premises; 14
(c) details of the matter to which the notice relates. 15
(7) In this section-- 16
housing department means the department in which the 17
Housing Act 2003 is administered. 18
lessor, in relation to premises that are social housing, means 19
the entity that provides the housing. 20
remedy notice means a notice to remedy breach under the 21
Residential Tenancies Act 1994. 22
social housing means housing that-- 23
(a) is in a welfare reform community area; and 24
(b) is directly provided, for residential use, by the housing 25
department, a local government or another entity 26
prescribed under a regulation. 27
tenant means-- 28
(a) a person who is a party to a residential tenancy 29
agreement relating to premises that are social housing; 30
or 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 4 Agency notices
[s 45]
(b) a person who-- 1
(i) was, at any time after the commencement of this 2
definition, a party to a residential tenancy 3
agreement relating to premises that are social 4
housing; and 5
(ii) is a party to a residential tenancy agreement 6
relating to premises, not in a welfare reform 7
community area, directly provided by the housing 8
department for residential use. 9
Division 2 Miscellaneous 10
45 Entity not under obligation to investigate particular 11
matters 12
(1) This section applies to an entity that, under this part, must 13
give the commission an agency notice on becoming aware 14
that-- 15
(a) a person lives, or lived, in a welfare reform community 16
area; or 17
(b) a person's conduct to which an allegation mentioned in 18
section 42(1) relates is happening, or has happened, in a 19
welfare reform community area. 20
(2) The duty imposed on the entity to give the commission an 21
agency notice in relation to the person or the person's conduct 22
does not require the entity to conduct an investigation about 23
the person or the person's conduct. 24
Page 36
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 5 Commission's conferences about agency notices
[s 46]
Part 5 Commission's conferences 1
about agency notices 2
Division 1 Preliminary 3
46 Purpose of conference 4
The purpose of a conference held under this part is to provide 5
a forum for the commission-- 6
(a) to discuss the matters to which an agency notice relates 7
with a relevant person for the notice who is a 8
community member; and 9
(b) if practicable, to reach agreement with the person about 10
the appropriate action to be taken in relation to the 11
matters to help achieve the objects of this Act; and 12
(c) if agreement is not reached--to make decisions under 13
section 69 to help achieve the objects of this Act. 14
47 Commissioner's decision to hold conference 15
In deciding whether to hold a conference, the commissioner-- 16
(a) must have regard to the objects of this Act; and 17
(b) may have regard to other matters the commissioner 18
considers relevant, including, for example-- 19
(i) whether the commission has previously received 20
an agency notice relating to the person the subject 21
of the proposed conference; and 22
(ii) the nature of the matters raised in any agency 23
notice relating to the person; and 24
(iii) if the proposed conference is about a school 25
attendance notice--the extent to which a student 26
mentioned in the notice has been absent from 27
school. 28
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[s 48]
48 Matters commissioner or commission may have regard to 1
in considering whether a person is a community member 2
In considering, for the purpose of section 7(b), whether a 3
relevant person for an agency notice is a community member, 4
the commissioner or commission may have regard to any of 5
the following matters-- 6
(a) the postal address, or address of the place of residence, 7
of the person last known to the centrelink secretary; 8
(b) whether a child of the person is enrolled at a school in a 9
welfare reform community area; 10
(c) whether the person is or has been a party to a residential 11
tenancy agreement relating to premises in a welfare 12
reform community area; 13
(d) if the person is an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait 14
Islander--the person's usual place of residence, having 15
regard to the person's family or kinship relationships; 16
(e) the frequency and duration of, and reasons for, any 17
periods the person spends outside of a welfare reform 18
community area; 19
(f) anything else the commissioner or commission 20
considers relevant. 21
Division 2 Jurisdiction and operation 22
49 Holding conferences 23
The commission may hold a conference in relation to a 24
relevant person for an agency notice only if the commissioner 25
considers the relevant person for the notice is a community 26
member. 27
50 Constitution of commission for conference 28
(1) For a conference, the commission is to be constituted by-- 29
(a) the commissioner; and 30
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[s 51]
(b) 2 local commissioners appointed for the welfare reform 1
community area in which the commissioner considers 2
the person the subject of the conference lives or lived. 3
(2) The local commissioners mentioned in subsection (1)(b) are 4
to be nominated by a local registry coordinator, and appointed 5
by the commissioner, under section 51. 6
51 Nomination and appointment of local commissioners for 7
conference 8
(1) The local commissioners for a conference are to be-- 9
(a) nominated by the local registry coordinator for the 10
welfare reform community area in consultation with the 11
local commissioners appointed for the area; and 12
(b) appointed by the commissioner. 13
(2) A person can not be nominated under subsection (1) unless 14
the person has successfully completed the training reasonably 15
required by the Minister to ensure the person can properly 16
perform the person's duties on the commission. 17
(3) In nominating or appointing the local commissioners for a 18
conference, the local registry coordinator and commissioner 19
must-- 20
(a) if the person the subject of the conference is an 21
Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander--consider 22
whether the nominees or appointees are appropriate, 23
having regard to the clan or family group to which the 24
person belongs; and 25
(b) having regard to the matter to which the agency notice 26
relates, consider whether the local commissioners 27
should be male or female; and 28
(c) if practicable and appropriate in the circumstances, 29
ensure that 1 of the local commissioners is female. 30
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[s 52]
52 Disclosure of interests 1
(1) This section applies to a commission member constituting the 2
commission for a conference if-- 3
(a) the member becomes aware of a direct or indirect 4
interest, financial or otherwise, the member has in a 5
matter being considered or about to be considered at the 6
conference; and 7
(b) the interest could conflict with the proper performance 8
of the member's duties for considering the matter. 9
(2) The commission member must immediately disclose the issue 10
giving rise to the conflict to the other commission members 11
constituting the commission for the conference. 12
(3) The commission member may take part in the conference only 13
with the agreement of the other commission members 14
constituting the commission for the conference. 15
53 Reconstituting commission for particular conference 16
(1) This section applies if a constituting member for a conference 17
stops being a member or for any reason is not available for the 18
conference. 19
(2) The commissioner may direct that the commission for the 20
conference be constituted by the commissioner, the remaining 21
constituting member and another local commissioner 22
appointed by the commissioner. 23
(3) In appointing another local commissioner, the commissioner 24
must have regard to the matters mentioned in section 51(2) 25
and (3). 26
(4) The commission as reconstituted must continue and finish the 27
conference, and, for that purpose, may have regard to any 28
record relating to the conference made by the commission as 29
previously constituted. 30
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[s 54]
54 Representation at conference 1
(1) A person attending the commission at a conference must 2
represent himself or herself. 3
(2) Despite subsection (1), the person the subject of a conference 4
may be represented at the conference by a lawyer if the 5
commission considers it appropriate in the interests of justice 6
to allow the person to be represented by a lawyer. 7
55 Conference privileged 8
(1) This section applies to-- 9
(a) anything said or admitted during a conference (the 10
information); and 11
(b) a document, or a copy of a document, prepared for or in 12
the course of a conference. 13
(2) The information, document or copy is not admissible as 14
evidence in a proceeding before a court, tribunal or 15
disciplinary body. 16
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to the information, document or 17
copy for the purposes of an appeal under part 11. 18
Division 3 Conference procedures 19
56 Procedure generally 20
(1) In a conference, the commission-- 21
(a) must observe natural justice; and 22
(b) must act quickly, and with as little formality and 23
technicality, as is consistent with a fair and proper 24
consideration of the issues before it; and 25
(c) is not bound by the rules of evidence; and 26
(d) may inquire into, and inform itself, of anything in the 27
way it considers appropriate. 28
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[s 57]
(2) The commission may, in appropriate cases, hold a conference 1
by using any technology allowing reasonably 2
contemporaneous and continuous communication between 3
persons taking part in the conference. 4
(3) To the extent a matter relating to the commission's conduct of 5
a conference is not provided for by this Act, the commission 6
may decide its own procedure. 7
57 Time and place of conference 8
(1) The commission may hold a conference at the time and place 9
decided by the commissioner. 10
(2) In deciding a time and place for a conference, the 11
commissioner must have regard to-- 12
(a) the need for the commission to respond in a timely way 13
to the agency notice to which the conference relates; and 14
(b) the location of the person the subject of the conference; 15
and 16
(c) the availability of other persons the commissioner 17
considers appropriate to attend the conference; and 18
(d) Aboriginal tradition and Island custom, if the 19
conference involves Aboriginal people or Torres Strait 20
Islanders. 21
(3) Subsection (2) does not limit the matters to which the 22
commissioner may have regard. 23
58 When commission must hold conference 24
(1) The commission must hold a conference within whichever is 25
the longer of the following periods-- 26
(a) 1 year after receiving the agency notice to which the 27
conference relates; 28
(b) if the person the subject of the conference is a prisoner 29
when the notice was received, or becomes a prisoner 30
within the period mentioned in paragraph (a) and before 31
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[s 59]
the commission holds a conference--6 months after the 1
person stops being a prisoner; 2
(c) if paragraph (b) does not apply and the commission has 3
taken reasonable steps to find the person but has not 4
found the person within 6 months after receiving the 5
notice--6 months after the person is found. 6
(2) In this section-- 7
prisoner means a prisoner in a corrective services facility 8
under the Corrective Services Act 2006. 9
59 Conference not limited to particular agency notice 10
If the commissioner considers it appropriate in the 11
circumstances, a conference may be about-- 12
(a) more than 1 agency notice relating to a particular 13
person; and 14
(b) more than 1 relevant person for an agency notice. 15
60 Participation in conference 16
(1) The following persons may take part in a conference-- 17
(a) the person the subject of the conference; 18
(b) someone the person mentioned in paragraph (a) chooses 19
to provide support to the person; 20
(c) any other person the commission considers may help the 21
commission deal with the issues raised in the agency 22
notice to which the conference relates, including, for 23
example, a member of the family of the person 24
mentioned in paragraph (a). 25
(2) Also, if the registrar has under section 61 given notice of a 26
conference to the notifying agency for the agency notice to 27
which the conference relates, and the notice requires the 28
agency to attend the conference, the agency or a person 29
representing the agency must attend, and may take part in, the 30
conference. 31
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[s 61]
(3) Subject to subsections (1) and (2), a conference must be held 1
in private. 2
61 Notice of conference 3
(1) Before the commission holds a conference, the registrar must 4
give notice of the conference to-- 5
(a) the person the subject of the conference; and 6
(b) any other person the commissioner considers likely to 7
make a useful contribution to the conduct of the 8
conference. 9
(2) Also, before the commission holds a conference the registrar 10
may give notice of the conference to the notifying agency for 11
the agency notice to which the conference relates. 12
(3) The notice must include the following details of the proposed 13
conference-- 14
(a) the day, time and place for the conference; 15
(b) the purpose of the conference; 16
(c) information about the particular issues to be considered 17
at the conference; 18
(d) information about the conduct of the conference. 19
(4) A notice given to a notifying agency under subsection (2) 20
must state whether or not the commission requires the 21
notifying agency to attend the conference. 22
62 Obtaining views of persons not attending conference 23
(1) The commissioner must take reasonable steps to ascertain 24
before the conference, and make known at the conference, the 25
views relevant to the conference of all the following-- 26
(a) a person given a notice under section 61(1)(b) who 27
notifies the commissioner that he or she will not be 28
attending the conference; 29
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[s 63]
(b) if the person the subject of the conference is an 1
Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander--a member 2
of the clan or family group of the person who has not 3
been given a notice under section 61(1)(b) but whose 4
views the commissioner considers should be obtained. 5
(2) However, the commissioner-- 6
(a) is required to act under subsection (1) in relation to the 7
views of a particular person only if the views may 8
reasonably be ascertained and the commissioner does 9
not expect the person to be attending the conference; 10
and 11
(b) may make known at the conference a person's views 12
only if the registrar has, at least 3 days before the 13
conference, given the person the subject of the 14
conference notice of the views. 15
63 Particular matters about conduct of conference 16
The commission must take reasonable and practicable 17
measures to ensure-- 18
(a) a conference is conducted in a way that recognises and 19
is responsive to the needs of persons taking part in the 20
conference, including, for example, their customs and 21
traditions; and 22
(b) people taking part in a conference-- 23
(i) understand the commission's role in the conference 24
and the conference procedures; and 25
(ii) have an opportunity to participate in the 26
conference and have their submissions considered; 27
and 28
(c) if the first language of the person the subject of the 29
conference is not English--appropriate arrangements 30
are made to facilitate the person's understanding of, and 31
full participation in, the conference. 32
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[s 64]
64 Adjournment of conference 1
(1) In considering whether to adjourn a conference, the 2
commission must take into account the impact that the 3
adjournment may have on the commission's ability to deal in 4
a timely way with the issues raised in the agency notice to 5
which it relates. 6
(2) If the commission adjourns a conference, it must-- 7
(a) give reasons for the adjournment; and 8
(b) state any matters it requires a party to the conference to 9
address during the adjournment. 10
65 Rescheduling conference 11
(1) This section applies if a person who is given a notice under 12
section 61(1)(a) to attend a conference (the first conference) 13
fails to attend the conference. 14
(2) The commission must reschedule the conference and the 15
registrar must give notice of the rescheduled conference to-- 16
(a) the person; and 17
(b) any other person given notice of the first conference 18
under section 61(1)(b) or (2). 19
(3) The notice must state the time and place of the rescheduled 20
conference. 21
66 Commission may proceed in absence of person 22
(1) If a person the subject of a rescheduled conference fails to 23
attend the conference, the commission may hold the 24
conference, and make a decision under part 6 about the 25
agency notice to which it relates, in the absence of the person. 26
(2) However, the commission may make the decision only if 27
satisfied-- 28
(a) it has enough information to make an informed decision 29
about the agency notice, having regard to the objects of 30
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Part 6 Commission's decisions at conferences
[s 67]
this Act and the wellbeing of the person the subject of 1
the conference or any other person; and 2
(b) the person the subject of the conference has, under 3
section 65, received notice of the rescheduled 4
conference or reasonable steps were taken to give the 5
person notice of the rescheduled conference. 6
67 Record of conference 7
(1) The commission must keep a record of each conference. 8
(2) The record must include all the following information-- 9
(a) the day the conference was held and its duration; 10
(b) the names of the persons who took part in the 11
conference; 12
(c) the commission's decision on the conference and the 13
reasons for the decision; 14
(d) if the commission's decision is not unanimous--the 15
decision, and the reasons for the decision, of the 16
commission members who did not agree with the 17
commission's decision. 18
(3) Subsection (2) does not limit the information the record may 19
include. 20
Part 6 Commission's decisions at 21
conferences 22
Division 1 Decisions 23
68 Decision to enter into agreement 24
(1) After holding a conference, the commission may decide to 25
enter into an agreement (a family responsibilities agreement) 26
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[s 68]
with the person the subject of the conference if satisfied the 1
person is a community member. 2
(2) A family responsibilities agreement must be about-- 3
(a) the person attending an appropriate community support 4
service under a case plan; or 5
(b) the commission giving the centrelink secretary a notice 6
requiring that the person be subject to income 7
management. 8
(3) However, if the person is a CDEP Scheme participant, a notice 9
mentioned in subsection (2)(b) may only require the person to 10
be subject to income management if the person is also a 11
welfare recipient under section 8(a) or (b). 12
(4) Before making a decision mentioned in section 69(1)(b)(iii) or 13
(iv), the commission must take reasonable steps to enter into a 14
family responsibilities agreement with the person if the 15
commission considers it appropriate in the circumstances. 16
(5) If a family responsibilities agreement is about a person 17
attending a community support service under a case plan, the 18
agreement must state-- 19
(a) the period, of not more than 1 year, for which the person 20
is required to attend the community support service; and 21
(b) details of the community support service; and 22
(c) information about the preparation of the case plan under 23
this Act. 24
(6) If a family responsibilities agreement is about the commission 25
giving the centrelink secretary a notice requiring that a person 26
be subject to income management, the agreement must 27
state-- 28
(a) the period, of at least 3 months but not more than 1 year, 29
for which the person will be subject to income 30
management; and 31
(b) the proportion of the person's welfare payments that is 32
required to be deducted under income management. 33
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[s 69]
(7) Subsections (5) and (6) do not limit the matters that may be 1
included in a family responsibilities agreement. 2
(8) Before entering into a family responsibilities agreement with 3
a person, the commission must take the reasonable and 4
appropriate steps to ensure the terms of the agreement are 5
fully understood by the person. 6
(9) A family responsibilities agreement for a person must be 7
signed by-- 8
(a) the person; and 9
(b) the commissioner or a constituting member for the 10
conference. 11
69 Other decisions 12
(1) If, after holding a conference about an agency notice, the 13
commission does not enter into a family responsibilities 14
agreement with the person the subject of the conference, the 15
commission may decide-- 16
(a) to take no further action in relation to the notice; or 17
(b) to do 1 or more of the following, if the commission is 18
satisfied the person is a community member-- 19
(i) reprimand the person; 20
(ii) recommend that the person attend an appropriate 21
community support service; 22
(iii) direct the person to attend an appropriate 23
community support service under a case plan for 24
not more than 1 year; 25
(iv) give the centrelink secretary a notice requiring that 26
the person be subject to income management for at 27
least 3 months but not more than 1 year. 28
(2) Before making a decision mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(iv), 29
the commission must consider whether it is more appropriate 30
in all the circumstances merely to direct the person to attend 31
an appropriate community support service under a case plan. 32
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[s 70]
(3) If the person is a CDEP Scheme participant, a decision 1
mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(iv) may only require the 2
person to be subject to income management if the person is 3
also a welfare recipient under section 8(a) or (b). 4
(4) If the commission makes a decision under this section, the 5
commission must take the reasonable and appropriate steps to 6
ensure the person fully understands the decision. 7
Division 2 Notice of decisions 8
70 Notice of decision 9
(1) As soon as practicable after the commission makes a decision 10
under section 69, the registrar must give the person the subject 11
of the conference notice of the decision. 12
(2) The notice of the decision must state all of the following-- 13
(a) the decision and the reasons for it; 14
(b) if the decision is, or includes, a direction to the person to 15
attend a community support service under a case plan-- 16
(i) the period, of not more than 1 year, for which the 17
person is required to attend the community support 18
service; and 19
(ii) details of the community support service; and 20
(iii) information about the preparation of the case plan 21
under this Act; 22
(c) if the decision is to give, or includes giving, the 23
centrelink secretary a notice requiring that the person be 24
subject to income management-- 25
(i) the period, of at least 3 months but not more than 1 26
year, for which the person will be subject to 27
income management; and 28
(ii) the proportion of the person's welfare payments 29
that is required to be deducted under income 30
management. 31
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[s 71]
(3) If the notice is for a decision mentioned in subsection (2)(b) or 1
(c), the notice must be accompanied by an appeal notice for 2
the decision. 3
Division 3 Criteria for making decisions 4
71 Matters commission has regard to in making particular 5
decisions 6
(1) This section applies to a decision under section 69-- 7
(a) to direct a person to attend a community support service 8
under a case plan; or 9
(b) to give the centrelink secretary a notice requiring that a 10
person be subject to income management. 11
(2) In making the decision, the commission-- 12
(a) must have regard to-- 13
(i) the nature of the matters to which the agency 14
notice for the conference relates; and 15
(ii) how the decision is likely-- 16
(A) to facilitate early intervention in relation to 17
the matters; and 18
(B) to help the person engage in socially 19
responsible standards of behaviour; and 20
(b) may have regard to-- 21
(i) any action taken by the notifying agency for the 22
agency notice in relation to the matters to which 23
the notice relates; and 24
(ii) any other agency notices received by the 25
commission in relation to the person; and 26
(iii) anything else the commission considers relevant. 27
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Part 6 Commission's decisions at conferences
[s 72]
72 Matters commission has regard to in making decision 1
about child safety notice 2
(1) This section applies to a decision at a conference about a child 3
safety notice if the decision is-- 4
(a) to enter into a family responsibilities agreement about 5
the person the subject of the conference attending a 6
community support service; or 7
(b) to recommend or direct that the person attend a 8
community support service. 9
(2) In making the decision, the commission must have regard to 10
any case plan prepared under the Child Protection Act 1999, 11
chapter 2, part 3A, in relation to a child the subject of the 12
allegation to which the child safety notice relates. 13
(3) This section does not limit section 71. 14
Division 4 Other matters 15
73 Notice about requirement to attend community support 16
service 17
(1) This section applies if the commission decides-- 18
(a) to enter into an agreement with a person about attending 19
a community support service; or 20
(b) to direct a person to attend a community support service. 21
(2) The commission must, as soon as practicable after making the 22
decision, inform the registrar of the decision. 23
74 Notice to centrelink secretary 24
(1) As soon as practicable after entering into a family 25
responsibilities agreement, or making a decision under section 26
69, requiring that a person be subject to income management, 27
the commission must give the centrelink secretary notice of 28
the agreement or decision. 29
(2) The notice must be in the approved form. 30
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[s 75]
(3) The approved form must include provision for the 1
following-- 2
(a) the person's name; 3
(b) the period, of at least 3 months but not more than 1 year, 4
for which the person will be subject to income 5
management; 6
(c) the proportion of the person's welfare payments that is 7
required to be deducted under income management. 8
(4) The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the family 9
responsibilities agreement or other decision of the 10
commission relating to the requirement for the person to be 11
subject to income management. 12
75 Revocation of notice to centrelink secretary 13
(1) This section applies if-- 14
(a) a person is subject to income management because of a 15
notice (the original notice) given to the centrelink 16
secretary; and 17
(b) the commission decides, at a conference, to give the 18
centrelink secretary a further notice requiring that the 19
person be subject to income management. 20
(2) The further notice must be accompanied by a notice revoking 21
the original notice. 22
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Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 76]
Part 7 Provisions about case plans 1
Division 1 Case plans 2
Subdivision 1 Preliminary 3
76 Meaning of case plan 4
(1) A case plan is a written plan-- 5
(a) prepared by the registrar; and 6
(b) relating to a person's attendance at a community support 7
service; and 8
(c) including all the following matters-- 9
(i) the goal to be achieved by implementing the plan; 10
(ii) details of the community support service to which 11
the plan relates; 12
(iii) information about whether a person's attendance at 13
a community support service under the plan is 14
compulsory; 15
(iv) if a person's attendance at a community support 16
service under the plan is compulsory--information 17
about the consequences of not complying with the 18
plan. 19
(2) Subsection (1)(c) does not limit the matters a case plan may 20
include. 21
Subdivision 2 Particular provisions about case 22
plans 23
77 Recording of case plan 24
The registrar must record each case plan in the approved form. 25
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[s 78]
78 Preparation and endorsement of particular case plans 1
(1) This section applies if the registrar must prepare a case plan (a 2
compulsory case plan) for-- 3
(a) a family responsibilities agreement; or 4
(b) a decision of the commission directing a person to 5
attend a community support service under a case plan. 6
(2) The registrar must prepare the case plan as soon as practicable 7
after the decision is made. 8
(3) Within 7 days after the case plan is prepared, the 9
commissioner must endorse the plan unless section 79 10
applies. 11
79 Commissioner may ask registrar to amend compulsory 12
case plan 13
(1) This section applies if the commissioner is satisfied a 14
compulsory case plan prepared for a particular person, or 15
something in the plan, does not adequately address the issues 16
of concern to the commission in making the decision for 17
which the plan was prepared. 18
(2) The commissioner may ask the registrar to amend the case 19
plan to the extent necessary to adequately address the issues 20
mentioned in subsection (1). 21
(3) The commissioner must endorse the amended plan if the 22
commissioner considers it satisfactorily addresses the issues 23
mentioned in subsection (1). 24
(4) The commissioner may act under subsection (2) more than 25
once. 26
80 Registrar to give copy of, and explain, compulsory case 27
plan 28
As soon as practicable after a compulsory case plan for a 29
particular person has been recorded in the approved form and 30
endorsed by the commissioner, the registrar must-- 31
(a) give a copy of the plan to the person; and 32
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Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 81]
(b) explain the plan to the person in a way that ensures the 1
person fully understands it. 2
Division 2 Noncompliance with compulsory 3
case plans 4
81 Definition for div 2 5
In this division-- 6
proposed action, for a show cause notice given to a person, 7
means the following actions-- 8
(a) if the person is subject to income management when the 9
notice is given-- 10
(i) increasing the period for which the person will be 11
subject to income management; or 12
(ii) increasing the proportion of the person's welfare 13
payments that is required to be deducted under 14
income management; 15
(b) if the person is not subject to income management when 16
the notice is given--giving the centrelink secretary a 17
notice requiring that the person be subject to income 18
management. 19
82 Show cause notice 20
(1) This section applies if the commissioner reasonably believes a 21
person who is a welfare recipient has not complied with a 22
requirement under a compulsory case plan about the person 23
attending a community support service. 24
(2) The commissioner must give the person a notice under this 25
section (a show cause notice). 26
(3) The show cause notice must state all the following-- 27
(a) the proposed action the commission is considering 28
taking under this part; 29
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Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 83]
(b) if the proposed action is to increase the period for which 1
the person will be subject to income management--the 2
proposed increase; 3
(c) if the proposed action is to increase the proportion of the 4
person's welfare payments that is required to be 5
deducted under income management--the proposed 6
increase; 7
(d) an outline of the facts and circumstances forming the 8
basis of the commissioner's reasonable belief about the 9
person's noncompliance; 10
(e) that the person may make oral representations to the 11
commission, at the stated time and place, to show why 12
the proposed action should not be taken. 13
(4) The stated time must be at least 28 days after the person is 14
given the show cause notice. 15
(5) In deciding a place for the person to make the representations, 16
the commission must have regard to where the person lives. 17
83 How oral representations may be made 18
(1) Subject to this part, the commission may allow the person to 19
make oral representations about the proposed action stated in 20
the show cause notice in the way the commission considers 21
appropriate. 22
(2) If asked by the person, the commission must allow another 23
person (a person's representative) to make oral 24
representations to the commission to show why the proposed 25
action should not be taken. 26
(3) However, a person's representative may be a lawyer only if 27
the commission considers it appropriate in the interests of 28
justice to allow the representations to be made by a lawyer. 29
(4) The commission may, in appropriate cases, allow a person to 30
make oral representations by using any technology allowing 31
reasonably contemporaneous and continuous communication 32
between the person and the commission. 33
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Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 84]
84 Commission to consider oral representations 1
The commission must consider all representations (the 2
accepted representations) made under section 83. 3
85 Constitution of commission for show cause process 4
(1) For acting under this division, the commission is to be 5
constituted by-- 6
(a) the commissioner; and 7
(b) 2 local commissioners appointed for the welfare reform 8
community area in which the commissioner considers 9
the person the subject of the show cause notice lives or 10
lived. 11
(2) The local commissioners mentioned in subsection (1)(b) are 12
to be-- 13
(a) if practicable, the local commissioners who were 14
constituting members for the conference at which the 15
decision to which the show cause notice relates was 16
made; or 17
(b) otherwise--nominated by the local registry coordinator 18
for the welfare reform community area, and appointed 19
by the commissioner, under section 51. 20
(3) For subsection (2)(b), section 51 applies-- 21
(a) as if a reference in the section to a conference were a 22
reference to the show cause process; and 23
(b) as if the reference in the section to the agency notice 24
were a reference to the show cause notice. 25
(4) In dealing with a show cause notice under this division, the 26
commission-- 27
(a) must observe natural justice; and 28
(b) must act quickly, and with as little formality and 29
technicality, as is consistent with a fair and proper 30
consideration of the issues before it; and 31
(c) is not bound by the rules of evidence; and 32
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 86]
(d) may inquire into, and inform itself, of anything in the 1
way it considers appropriate. 2
86 Ending show cause process without taking proposed 3
action 4
(1) If, after considering the person's accepted representations for 5
the show cause notice, the commission is satisfied it is not 6
appropriate to take the proposed action stated in the notice, 7
the commission may decide-- 8
(a) to take no further action about the notice; or 9
(b) to ask the registrar to amend the compulsory case plan 10
for the person to the extent necessary to adequately 11
address the issues that gave rise to the notice. 12
(2) The registrar must as soon as practicable give the person 13
notice of the commission's decision under this section. 14
(3) A compulsory case plan amended by the registrar under 15
subsection (1)(b) must be endorsed by the commissioner. 16
(4) If a person's compulsory case plan is amended under 17
subsection (1)(b), the registrar must-- 18
(a) give the person a copy of the amended plan; and 19
(b) explain the amended plan to the person in a way that 20
ensures the person fully understands it. 21
(5) An amendment of a compulsory case plan must not result in 22
the person being required to attend a community service, 23
under the plan, for more than 1 year. 24
87 Commission may decide to take proposed action 25
(1) This section applies if-- 26
(a) there are no accepted representations for the show cause 27
notice; or 28
(b) after considering the accepted representations for the 29
show cause notice, the commission reasonably believes 30
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 87]
it is appropriate to take the proposed action stated in the 1
notice-- 2
(i) to help the person engage in socially responsible 3
standards of behaviour; or 4
(ii) to help restore local authority in a welfare reform 5
community area. 6
(2) The commission may-- 7
(a) if the proposed action was to increase the period for 8
which the person will be subject to income 9
management--give the centrelink secretary a notice to 10
increase the period for not longer than the proposed 11
period stated in the show cause notice; or 12
(b) if the proposed action was to increase the proportion of 13
the person's welfare payment that is required to be 14
deducted under income management--give the 15
centrelink secretary a notice to increase the proportion 16
by not more than the proposed increase stated in the 17
show cause notice; or 18
(c) if the proposed action was to give the centrelink 19
secretary a notice requiring that the person be subject to 20
income management--give the centrelink secretary a 21
notice requiring that the person be subject to income 22
management for at least 3 months but not more than 1 23
year. 24
(3) If the person is a CDEP Scheme participant, a decision may 25
only require the person to be subject to income management if 26
the person is also a welfare recipient under section 8(a) or (b). 27
(4) If the commission decides to take action under subsection (2), 28
the commission must as soon as practicable give the person 29
notice of the decision. 30
(5) The notice must state all the following-- 31
(a) the decision and the reasons for it; 32
(b) for a decision mentioned in subsection (2)(a)--the 33
period for which the person will be subject to income 34
management; 35
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 7 Provisions about case plans
[s 88]
(c) for a decision mentioned in subsection (2)(b)--the 1
proportion of the person's welfare payments that is 2
required to be deducted under income management; 3
(d) for a decision mentioned in subsection (2)(c)-- 4
(i) the period, of at least 3 months but not more than 1 5
year, the person will be subject to income 6
management; and 7
(ii) the proportion of the person's welfare payments 8
that is required to be deducted under income 9
management. 10
(6) The notice must be accompanied by an appeal notice for the 11
decision. 12
(7) A decision to increase the proportion of a person's welfare 13
payment that is required to be deducted under income 14
management takes effect on the day the centrelink secretary, 15
after receiving notice of the decision, acts under the Social 16
Security Act to give effect to the decision. 17
88 Limitation on increasing period of income management 18
(1) This section applies if, in relation to a decision of the 19
commission under part 6, the commission proposes to 20
increase the period for which a person will be subject to 21
income management. 22
(2) The proposed increase must not result in the person being 23
subject to income management, in relation to the decision, for 24
more than 1 year. 25
89 Notice to centrelink secretary 26
(1) A notice given to the centrelink secretary under section 87(2) 27
must be in the approved form. 28
(2) The approved form must include provision for-- 29
(a) if the notice is about increasing the period for which a 30
person will be subject to income management-- 31
Page 61
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 90]
(i) the person's name; and 1
(ii) the period for which the person will be subject to 2
income management; and 3
(b) if the notice is about increasing the proportion of a 4
person's welfare payments that is required to be 5
deducted under income management-- 6
(i) the person's name; and 7
(ii) the proportion of the person's welfare payments 8
that is required to be deducted under income 9
management; and 10
(c) if the notice requires that a person be subject to income 11
management-- 12
(i) the person's name; and 13
(ii) the period, of at least 3 months but not more than 1 14
year, for which the person will be subject to 15
income management; and 16
(iii) the proportion of the person's welfare payments 17
that is required to be deducted under income 18
management. 19
Part 8 Information exchange 20
Division 1 Preliminary 21
90 Definition for pt 8 22
In this part-- 23
prescribed entity means-- 24
(a) the chief executive of a department that is mainly 25
responsible for any of the following matters-- 26
Page 62
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 91]
(i) child protection services; 1
(ii) education; 2
(iii) housing services; 3
(iv) adult corrective services; 4
(v) criminal justice matters; or 5
(b) the police commissioner; or 6
(c) the principal of a school that is accredited, or 7
provisionally accredited, under the Education 8
(Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001; or 9
(d) the chief executive officer, however called, of an entity 10
that provides a community support service that is 11
attended by a person under a case plan. 12
91 What is relevant information 13
(1) Relevant information means information that the holder of 14
the information reasonably believes may-- 15
(a) help the commissioner or commission to properly 16
consider matters to which an agency notice relates; or 17
(b) help the commissioner to decide whether to hold a 18
conference about an agency notice; or 19
(c) help the commissioner or commission to decide whether 20
a relevant person for an agency notice is a community 21
member; or 22
(d) help the commissioner to identify appropriate persons to 23
attend a conference; or 24
(e) help the commission to make appropriate decisions 25
relating to a person the subject of a conference; or 26
(f) help the registrar to prepare case plans; or 27
(g) help the registrar to assess the effectiveness of, and to 28
monitor compliance with, a case plan. 29
(2) Relevant information may be information about-- 30
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 92]
(a) a relevant person for an agency notice; or 1
(b) a student the subject of a school attendance notice; or 2
(c) a child the subject of a child safety notice; or 3
(d) the family of a relevant person, student or child 4
mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c). 5
(3) Relevant information may be comprised of facts or opinion. 6
(4) Relevant information does not include information about a 7
person's criminal history to the extent it relates to a spent 8
conviction. 9
Division 2 Particular provisions about 10
information exchange 11
92 Commissioner may give information to particular entities 12
(1) The commissioner may give personal information about a 13
person to a prescribed entity if the commissioner reasonably 14
considers giving the information-- 15
(a) may help the entity to decide whether particular relevant 16
information should be given to the commissioner or 17
commission; or 18
(b) is necessary to help the commissioner, or the 19
commission, and the entity to coordinate any support 20
services for the person. 21
(2) The commissioner may, for the purposes of the Social 22
Security Act, section 123ZEA, give personal information 23
about a person to the centrelink secretary if the commissioner 24
reasonably considers giving the information may help the 25
commissioner or commission-- 26
(a) to decide whether a person is a community member; or 27
(b) to make an appropriate decision under this Act in 28
relation to the person. 29
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 93]
(3) Also, the commissioner may give personal information about 1
a person to a relevant entity if the commissioner reasonably 2
considers giving the information is necessary to help the 3
commissioner or entity to evaluate the effectiveness and 4
operation of the commission under this Act. 5
(4) In this section-- 6
personal information, about a person, means information or 7
an opinion, whether true or not, about an individual whose 8
identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from 9
the information or opinion. 10
relevant entity means the following-- 11
(a) the chief executive of the department in which the 12
Commission for Children and Young People and Child 13
Guardian Act 2000 is administered; 14
(b) the chief executive of a department that is mainly 15
responsible for any of the following matters-- 16
(i) child protection services; 17
(ii) education; 18
(iii) housing services; 19
(iv) criminal justice matters; 20
(c) the centrelink secretary. 21
93 Information requirement made by commissioner 22
(1) The commissioner may ask a prescribed entity for particular 23
relevant information in the entity's possession or control. 24
(2) However, the commissioner may ask a prescribed entity 25
mentioned in the definition prescribed entity, paragraph (d), 26
for relevant information only if the information is in relation 27
to a person who has been directed by the commission to attend 28
a community support service under a case plan. 29
(3) If the commissioner asks a prescribed entity for relevant 30
information under this section, the entity must comply with 31
the request unless the entity reasonably considers that-- 32
Page 65
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 94]
(a) giving the information could reasonably be expected-- 1
(i) to prejudice the investigation of a contravention or 2
possible contravention of a law in a particular case; 3
or 4
(ii) to prejudice an investigation under the Coroners 5
Act 2003; or 6
(iii) to enable the existence of a confidential source of 7
information, in relation to the enforcement or 8
administration of a law, to be ascertained; or 9
(iv) to identify a confidential source of information in 10
relation to the enforcement or administration of a 11
law; or 12
(v) to identify a person who has given the entity or 13
someone else information about a matter 14
mentioned in the Child Protection Act 1999, 15
section 186(1); or 16
(vi) to endanger a person's life or physical safety; or 17
(vii) to prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful method or 18
procedure for preventing, detecting, investigating 19
or dealing with a contravention or possible 20
contravention of a law; and 21
(b) it would not be in the public interest to give the 22
information. 23
(4) For subsection (1), information is not taken to be in the 24
prescribed entity's control merely because of an agreement 25
between the prescribed entity and another entity under which 26
the other entity must give the information to the prescribed 27
entity. 28
94 Education chief executive may give particular 29
information 30
(1) The education chief executive may give personal information 31
about a student to a relevant entity if the education chief 32
executive reasonably considers giving the information may 33
help the education chief executive and the entity to coordinate 34
Page 66
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 94]
or provide educational programs or services for students at 1
schools in welfare reform community areas. 2
(2) A relevant entity may record, disclose or use personal 3
information about a student given to the entity under this 4
section for the purpose of-- 5
(a) providing educational programs or services for the 6
student; or 7
(b) coordinating, with the education chief executive, the 8
provision of educational programs or services for the 9
student. 10
(3) In this section-- 11
personal information, about a student, means information or 12
an opinion, whether true or not, about a student whose identity 13
is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the 14
information or opinion. 15
relevant entity means an entity involved in the provision of 16
educational programs or services-- 17
(a) for students at schools in welfare reform community 18
areas; and 19
(b) that form part of a scheme relating to the 20
implementation of welfare reform and the provision of 21
educational programs and services in the welfare reform 22
community areas. 23
welfare reform community area means the following areas-- 24
(a) Aurukun area; 25
(b) Coen area; 26
(c) Hope Vale area; 27
(d) Mossman Gorge area; 28
(e) another area prescribed under a regulation. 29
Page 67
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 8 Information exchange
[s 95]
95 Giving of information protected 1
(1) This section applies if a person, acting honestly, gives 2
information or a record (the information) to the commission, 3
the commissioner, the registrar or another entity-- 4
(a) in compliance with this division; or 5
(b) otherwise under this Act. 6
(2) The person is not liable, civilly, criminally or under an 7
administrative process, for giving the information. 8
(3) Also, merely because the person gives the information, the 9
person can not be held to have-- 10
(a) breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics; or 11
(b) departed from accepted standards of professional 12
conduct. 13
(4) Without limiting subsection (2) or (3)-- 14
(a) in a proceeding for defamation, the person has a defence 15
of absolute privilege for publishing the information; and 16
(b) if the person would otherwise be required to maintain 17
confidentiality about the information under an Act, oath 18
or rule of law or practice, the person-- 19
(i) does not contravene the Act, oath or rule of law or 20
practice by giving the information; and 21
(ii) is not liable for disciplinary action for giving the 22
information. 23
96 Interaction with other laws 24
(1) This part does not limit a power or obligation under another 25
Act or law to give information. 26
(2) This part applies to information despite any other law that 27
would otherwise prohibit or restrict the giving of the 28
information. 29
Example of other law-- 30
Education (General Provisions) Act 2006, section 426 31
Page 68
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 9 Amending or ending family responsibilities agreements or orders
[s 97]
Part 9 Amending or ending family 1
responsibilities agreements or 2
orders 3
97 Application to amend or end family responsibilities 4
agreement or order 5
(1) A person the subject of a family responsibilities agreement or 6
family responsibilities order may apply to the commission to 7
amend or end the agreement or order. 8
(2) The application must state all the following-- 9
(a) the person's name and contact details; 10
(b) details of the agreement or order; 11
(c) the reasons that the person is seeking the amendment or 12
ending of the agreement or order; 13
(d) if the application is to amend the agreement or 14
order--details of the proposed amendment. 15
98 Constitution of commission 16
(1) For hearing an application under this part (the application 17
hearing), the commission is to be constituted by-- 18
(a) the commissioner; and 19
(b) 2 local commissioners appointed for the welfare reform 20
community area in which the commissioner considers 21
the applicant lives or lived. 22
(2) The local commissioners mentioned in subsection (1)(b) are 23
to be-- 24
(a) if practicable, the local commissioners who were 25
constituting members for the conference at which the 26
family responsibilities agreement was entered into or the 27
family responsibilities order was made; or 28
Page 69
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 9 Amending or ending family responsibilities agreements or orders
[s 99]
(b) otherwise--nominated by the local registry coordinator 1
for the welfare reform community area, and appointed 2
by the commissioner, under section 51. 3
(3) For subsection (2)(b), section 51 applies-- 4
(a) as if a reference in the section to a conference were a 5
reference to the application hearing; and 6
(b) as if the reference in the section to the agency notice 7
were a reference to the application hearing. 8
(4) For an application hearing, the commission-- 9
(a) must observe natural justice; and 10
(b) must act quickly, and with as little formality and 11
technicality, as is consistent with a fair and proper 12
consideration of the issues before it; and 13
(c) is not bound by the rules of evidence; and 14
(d) may inquire into, and inform itself, of anything in the 15
way it considers appropriate. 16
99 Decision about application 17
(1) The commission must consider the application and decide-- 18
(a) to amend, or refuse to amend, the family responsibilities 19
agreement or family responsibilities order; or 20
(b) to end, or refuse to end, the agreement or order. 21
(2) Despite subsection (1), the commission may dismiss the 22
application, and refuse to amend or end the family 23
responsibilities agreement or family responsibilities order, if 24
the commission considers the application is frivolous or 25
vexatious. 26
(3) The commission may amend or end the agreement or order 27
only if satisfied the amendment or ending of the agreement or 28
order is not likely to be detrimental to the interests, rights and 29
wellbeing of children, and other vulnerable persons living in a 30
welfare reform community area. 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 9 Amending or ending family responsibilities agreements or orders
[s 100]
(4) As soon as practicable after deciding an application under this 1
section, the commission must give the applicant notice of the 2
decision and the reasons for the decision. 3
(5) The notice must be accompanied by an appeal notice for the 4
decision if the commission decides to refuse to amend or end 5
the family responsibilities agreement or family 6
responsibilities order. 7
(6) The amendment or ending of a family responsibilities 8
agreement or family responsibilities order takes effect on-- 9
(a) if the agreement or order is about income 10
management--the day the centrelink secretary, after 11
receiving notice of the amendment or ending, acts under 12
the Social Security Act to give effect to the amendment 13
or ending of the agreement or order; or 14
(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply, the later of the following 15
days-- 16
(i) the day the notice is given to the applicant; 17
(ii) the later day stated in the notice for that purpose. 18
100 Inquiry about application 19
(1) Before deciding an application under this part, the 20
commission may, by notice given to the applicant, require the 21
applicant to give the commission within the reasonable period 22
of at least 21 days stated in the notice, further information or a 23
document the commission reasonably requires to decide the 24
application. 25
(2) The applicant is taken to have withdrawn the application if, 26
within the stated period, the applicant does not comply with 27
the requirement. 28
(3) The information or document under subsection (1) must, if the 29
notice requires, be verified by statutory declaration. 30
Page 71
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 9 Amending or ending family responsibilities agreements or orders
[s 101]
101 Failure to decide application 1
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), if the commission fails to 2
decide an application within 2 months after its receipt, the 3
failure is taken to be a decision by the commission to refuse to 4
amend or end the family responsibilities agreement or family 5
responsibilities order. 6
(2) Subsection (3) applies if-- 7
(a) a person has made an application under this part; and 8
(b) the commission has, under section 100, required the 9
person to give the commission further information or a 10
document. 11
(3) The commission is taken to have refused to amend or end the 12
family responsibilities agreement or family responsibilities 13
order if the commission does not decide the application within 14
2 months after the commission receives the further 15
information or document, verified, if required, by statutory 16
declaration. 17
(4) If the application is refused under this section, the applicant is 18
entitled to be given an appeal notice for the decision. 19
102 Notice to centrelink secretary 20
(1) This section applies if the commission decides to amend or 21
end a family responsibilities agreement or family 22
responsibilities order relating to income management for a 23
person. 24
(2) The commission must give the centrelink secretary notice of 25
the amendment or ending of the family responsibilities 26
agreement or family responsibilities order. 27
(3) The notice must be in the approved form. 28
(4) The approved form must include provision for-- 29
(a) the person's name; and 30
(b) for a notice about amending a family responsibilities 31
agreement or family responsibilities order, details of the 32
amendment to-- 33
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 9 Amending or ending family responsibilities agreements or orders
[s 103]
(i) the period for which the person will be subject to 1
income management; or 2
(ii) the proportion of the person's welfare payment that 3
is required to be deducted under income 4
management. 5
(5) The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the decision 6
and the reasons for it. 7
103 Limitation on increasing period of income management 8
(1) This section applies if, under this part, the commission 9
proposes to amend a family responsibilities agreement or 10
family responsibilities order to increase the period for which a 11
person will be subject to income management. 12
(2) The proposed increase must not result in the person being 13
subject to income management for more than 1 year in 14
relation to the amended family responsibilities agreement or 15
family responsibilities order. 16
104 Amendment of case plan 17
(1) This section applies if the commission decides to amend a 18
family responsibilities agreement or family responsibilities 19
order in relation to a person's attendance at a community 20
support service under a case plan. 21
(2) The commissioner may ask the registrar to amend the 22
compulsory case plan for the person to the extent necessary to 23
adequately provide for the amendment. 24
(3) A compulsory case plan amended by the registrar under 25
subsection (2) must be endorsed by the commissioner. 26
(4) The registrar must as soon as practicable-- 27
(a) give the person a copy of the amended plan; and 28
(b) explain the amended plan to the person in a way that 29
ensures the person fully understands it. 30
Page 73
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 10 Voluntary referrals to commission
[s 105]
(5) An amendment of a compulsory case plan must not result in 1
the person being required to attend a community service, 2
under the case plan, for more than 1 year. 3
Part 10 Voluntary referrals to 4
commission 5
105 Purpose of pt 10 6
The purpose of this part is to provide for a process under 7
which a community member may voluntarily seek help from 8
the commission about the community member engaging in 9
socially responsible standards of behaviour. 10
106 Asking for referral to community support services or 11
income management 12
A person who is a community member may ask-- 13
(a) the local registry coordinator for a welfare reform 14
community area to refer the person to a community 15
support service; or 16
(b) the commission to give the centrelink secretary a notice 17
requiring that the person be subject to income 18
management for at least 3 months but not more than 1 19
year. 20
107 Responding to request about referral to community 21
support service 22
(1) This section applies if, under section 106, a community 23
member asks the local registry coordinator for a welfare 24
reform community area to refer the person to a community 25
support service. 26
(2) The registrar may appoint a case manager-- 27
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 10 Voluntary referrals to commission
[s 108]
(a) to prepare a case plan in relation to the community 1
member's attendance at the community support service; 2
and 3
(b) to help the community member attend the community 4
support service. 5
(3) Before acting under subsection (2), the local registry 6
coordinator may consult with any commission members about 7
the appropriateness of referring the community member to the 8
community support service. 9
108 Responding to request about referral to income 10
management 11
(1) This section applies if-- 12
(a) under section 106, a community member asks the 13
commission to give the centrelink secretary a notice 14
requiring that the person be subject to income 15
management; and 16
(b) after consultation with the community member, the 17
commissioner is satisfied the giving of the notice to the 18
centrelink secretary is in the best interests of the person, 19
a child of the person or another member of the person's 20
family. 21
(2) The commissioner may enter into an agreement (a voluntary 22
agreement) with the person about the proposed income 23
management. 24
(3) If the person is a CDEP Scheme participant, the agreement 25
may only require the person to be subject to income 26
management if the person is also a welfare recipient under 27
section 8(a) or (b). 28
(4) The agreement must-- 29
(a) be signed by the person; and 30
(b) state all the following-- 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 10 Voluntary referrals to commission
[s 109]
(i) the period, of at least 3 months but not more than 1 1
year, for which the person agrees to be subject to 2
income management; and 3
(ii) the proportion of the person's welfare payments 4
that is to be deducted under income management. 5
(5) The commissioner must take the reasonable and appropriate 6
steps to ensure the terms of the agreement are fully 7
understood by the person. 8
(6) If the commissioner enters into an agreement with a person 9
about income management, the commission must as soon as 10
practicable give the centrelink secretary notice, in the 11
approved form, of the agreement. 12
(7) The approved form must include provision for-- 13
(a) the person's name; and 14
(b) the details of the agreement. 15
109 Amendment or ending of voluntary agreement 16
(1) This section applies if-- 17
(a) a person has entered into a voluntary agreement about 18
income management with the commissioner; and 19
(b) the person asks the commissioner to amend or end the 20
agreement. 21
(2) The commissioner must amend or end the agreement, as 22
requested by the person, unless the commissioner is satisfied 23
the amendment or ending would be detrimental to the 24
interests, rights and wellbeing of children, and other 25
vulnerable persons living in a welfare reform community area. 26
(3) The commission must give the centrelink secretary notice of 27
the amendment or ending of the voluntary agreement. 28
(4) The notice must be in the approved form. 29
(5) The approved form must include provision for-- 30
(a) the person's name; and 31
Page 76
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 11 Appeals
[s 110]
(b) for a notice about amending a voluntary agreement, 1
details of the amendment to-- 2
(i) the period for which the person will be subject to 3
income management under the agreement; or 4
(ii) the proportion of the person's welfare payment that 5
is required to be deducted under income 6
management. 7
(6) The amendment or ending of the voluntary agreement takes 8
effect on the day the centrelink secretary, after receiving 9
notice of the amendment or ending, acts under the Social 10
Security Act to give effect to the amendment or ending of the 11
agreement. 12
(7) If the commissioner refuses to amend or end a person's 13
voluntary agreement, the registrar must give notice of the 14
decision, and the reasons for it, to the person. 15
(8) The notice mentioned in subsection (7) must be accompanied 16
by an appeal notice for the decision. 17
Part 11 Appeals 18
110 Who may appeal 19
A person who is given, or is entitled to be given, an appeal 20
notice for a decision may appeal against the decision to a 21
Magistrates Court, but only on a question of law. 22
111 Starting appeal 23
(1) An appeal may be started at a Magistrates Court sitting in or 24
near the welfare reform community area in which the person 25
lives or lived. 26
(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the Magistrates Court at which 27
the appeal may be started under the Uniform Civil Procedure 28
Rules 1999. 29
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 11 Appeals
[s 112]
(3) The notice of appeal under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1
1999 must be filed with the registrar of the court within 28 2
days after-- 3
(a) if the person is given an appeal notice for the 4
decision--the day the person is given the notice; or 5
(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply--the day the person 6
otherwise becomes aware of the decision. 7
(4) The court may, at any time, extend the period for filing the 8
notice of appeal. 9
112 Court can not stay decision 10
The court can not stay the operation of the decision. 11
113 Hearing procedures 12
In hearing the appeal, the court-- 13
(a) has the same powers as the commission as constituted 14
under this Act for the purpose of making the decision 15
appealed against (the decision maker); and 16
(b) is not bound by the rules of evidence; and 17
(c) must comply with natural justice. 18
114 Court's powers on appeal 19
(1) In deciding the appeal, the court may-- 20
(a) confirm or amend the decision appealed against; or 21
(b) set aside the decision and substitute another decision; or 22
(c) set aside the decision and return the issue to the decision 23
maker with the directions the court considers 24
appropriate. 25
(2) If the court amends the decision appealed against, or 26
substitutes another decision, the amended or substituted 27
decision is, for this Act, other than this part, taken to be the 28
decision maker's decision. 29
Page 78
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 12 Family Responsibilities Board
[s 115]
115 Appeal to District Court 1
An appeal lies to the District Court against a decision of a 2
Magistrates Court under this part, but only on a question of 3
law. 4
Part 12 Family Responsibilities Board 5
Division 1 Establishment and functions 6
116 Establishment of Family Responsibilities Board 7
The Family Responsibilities Board is established. 8
117 Board's functions 9
(1) The board has the following functions-- 10
(a) to give advice and make recommendations to the 11
Minister about the operation of the commission, 12
including, for example, advice and recommendations 13
about the action the board considers the State or 14
Commonwealth should take to help improve the 15
operation of the commission; 16
(b) if asked by the commissioner, to give advice and make 17
recommendations to the commission about the 18
performance of its functions; 19
(c) to consider reports given to the board under section 144. 20
(2) The board also has the other functions given to the board 21
under this Act or by the Minister. 22
Page 79
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 12 Family Responsibilities Board
[s 118]
Division 2 Membership 1
118 Membership of board 2
(1) The board consists of the following members-- 3
(a) 1 person nominated by the Minister; 4
(b) 1 person nominated by the Commonwealth; 5
(c) 1 person nominated by the Cape York Institute for 6
Policy and Leadership. 7
(2) The board members are to be appointed by the Governor in 8
Council. 9
(3) The board member mentioned in subsection (1)(a) is the 10
chairperson of the board. 11
(4) The Minister may recommend a person for appointment to the 12
Governor in Council only if satisfied the person has the 13
necessary expertise and experience for the performance of the 14
board's functions. 15
(5) All members are appointed under this Act and not the Public 16
Service Act 1996. 17
119 Term of appointment 18
A board member is appointed for the term stated in the 19
member's instrument of appointment. 20
120 Conditions of appointment 21
(1) A board member is to be paid the remuneration and 22
allowances decided by the Governor in Council. 23
(2) A board member holds office on the terms and conditions, not 24
provided for by this Act, that are decided by the Governor in 25
Council. 26
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 12 Family Responsibilities Board
[s 121]
121 Vacation of office 1
(1) The office of a board member becomes vacant if the 2
member-- 3
(a) resigns office by signed notice given to the Minister; or 4
(b) is removed from office by the Governor in Council 5
under subsection (2). 6
(2) The Governor in Council may remove a board member from 7
office if the member-- 8
(a) is incapable of properly discharging the board's 9
functions; or 10
(b) is not, or is no longer, a suitable person to hold the 11
office. 12
Division 3 Business of board 13
122 Conduct of business 14
Subject to this Act, the board may conduct its business, 15
including its meetings, in the way it considers appropriate. 16
123 Board meetings 17
(1) Board meetings are to be held at the times and places the 18
chairperson of the board decides. 19
(2) A board meeting must be held at least once in every 3 months. 20
(3) All board members must be present at a board meeting. 21
(4) A board meeting may be held by using any technology 22
allowing reasonably contemporaneous and continuous 23
communication between the board members. 24
(5) However, the board members must meet in person at least 25
once a year. 26
Page 81
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 13 Particular offences and legal proceedings
[s 124]
Division 4 Miscellaneous 1
124 Commission or commission member not subject to 2
direction by board 3
In performing or exercising a function or power, the 4
commission or a commission member is not subject to 5
direction by the board. 6
Part 13 Particular offences and legal 7
proceedings 8
Division 1 Offences 9
125 False or misleading statements 10
A person must not state anything to the commission or a 11
commission member the person knows is false or misleading 12
in a material particular. 13
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 14
126 False or misleading documents 15
(1) A person must not give to the commission or a commission 16
member a document containing information the person knows 17
is false or misleading in a material particular. 18
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 19
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if the person, when 20
giving the document-- 21
(a) tells the commission or commission member to the best 22
of the person's ability, how it is false or misleading; and 23
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Part 13 Particular offences and legal proceedings
[s 127]
(b) if the person has, or can reasonably obtain, the correct 1
information, gives the correct information. 2
127 Retaliation against official or official's family 3
A person must not, without reasonable excuse, cause, or 4
threaten to cause, any injury or detriment to an official or a 5
member of the family of an official in retaliation because of 6
anything lawfully done by the official under this Act. 7
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 8
128 Reprisal and grounds for reprisal 9
(1) A person must not cause, or attempt or conspire to cause, 10
detriment to another person because, or in the belief that-- 11
(a) an agency notice has been given to the commission; or 12
(b) the other person or someone else has helped or may help 13
the commission. 14
(2) Also, a person must not cause, or attempt or conspire to cause, 15
detriment to a member of a community justice group or a 16
relevant community group for a welfare reform community 17
area because the group did not nominate the person or 18
someone else as a local commissioner for the area. 19
(3) An attempt to cause detriment includes an attempt to induce a 20
person to cause detriment. 21
(4) A contravention of subsection (1) or (2) is a reprisal or the 22
taking of a reprisal. 23
(5) A ground mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) as the ground for 24
a reprisal is the unlawful ground for the reprisal. 25
(6) For the contravention mentioned in subsection (4) to happen, 26
it is sufficient if the unlawful ground is a substantial ground 27
for the act or omission that is the reprisal, even if there is 28
another ground for the act or omission. 29
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 13 Particular offences and legal proceedings
[s 129]
129 Offence of taking reprisal 1
A person must not take a reprisal. 2
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 3
130 Damages entitlement for reprisal 4
(1) A reprisal is a tort and a person who takes a reprisal is liable in 5
damages to any person who suffers detriment as a result. 6
(2) Any appropriate remedy that may be granted by a court for a 7
tort may be granted by a court for the taking of a reprisal. 8
(3) If the claim for damages goes to trial in the Supreme Court or 9
the District Court, it must be decided by a judge sitting 10
without a jury. 11
131 Offence to disrupt conference or other proceeding 12
In relation to a conference or other proceeding of the 13
commission under this Act, a person must not-- 14
(a) deliberately interrupt the conference or proceeding; or 15
(b) create or continue, or join in creating or continuing, a 16
disturbance in or near a place where the commission is 17
conducting the conference or other proceeding. 18
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 19
132 Summary offences 20
An offence against this Act is a summary offence. 21
133 Limitation on time for starting summary offence 22
A summary proceeding under the Justices Act 1886 for a 23
summary offence must start within whichever is the longer of 24
the following-- 25
(a) 1 year after the commission of the offence; 26
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 13 Particular offences and legal proceedings
[s 134]
(b) 6 months after the offence comes to the knowledge of 1
the complainant, but within 2 years after the 2
commission of the offence. 3
134 Allegations of false or misleading information or 4
document 5
In a proceeding for an offence against this Act defined as 6
involving false or misleading information, or a false or 7
misleading document, it is enough for a charge to state that 8
the information or document was, without specifying which, 9
`false or misleading'. 10
Division 2 Evidentiary provisions 11
135 Appointments and authority 12
In a proceeding, the following must be presumed unless a 13
party to the proceeding, by reasonable notice, requires proof 14
of it-- 15
(a) the appointment under this Act of a commission 16
member or a member of the staff of the registry; 17
(b) the authority of a commission member or a member of 18
the staff of the registry to do anything under this Act. 19
136 Signatures 20
A signature purporting to be the signature of a commission 21
member or the registrar is evidence of the signature it purports 22
to be. 23
137 Other evidentiary aids 24
(1) In a proceeding, a certificate purporting to be that of the 25
commissioner stating any of the following matters is evidence 26
of the matter-- 27
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 14 Other matters
[s 138]
(a) a stated document is an appointment or notice made or 1
given under this Act; 2
(b) a stated document is a document given to the 3
commission under this Act; 4
(c) a stated document is a copy of a document mentioned in 5
paragraph (a) or (b); 6
(d) on a stated day, a stated requirement was made of a 7
person. 8
(2) A statement in a complaint for an offence against this Act that 9
the matter of the complaint came to the knowledge of the 10
complainant on a stated day is evidence of when the matter 11
came to the complainant's knowledge. 12
Part 14 Other matters 13
Division 1 General matters about 14
commission's operations 15
138 Commission's notices to centrelink secretary 16
(1) Subsection (2) applies if the commission gives the centrelink 17
secretary notice of a family responsibilities agreement or 18
voluntary agreement about income management for a person 19
under section 74, 102 or 108. 20
(2) The notice may include, or be accompanied by-- 21
(a) a written direction to the centrelink secretary about the 22
exercise of a power of the centrelink secretary under a 23
relevant provision in relation to income management for 24
the person; or 25
(b) a recommendation from the commission about how the 26
centrelink secretary should exercise a power of the 27
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Part 14 Other matters
[s 138]
secretary under a relevant provision in relation to 1
income management for the person. 2
(3) Subsection (4) applies if the commission gives the centrelink 3
secretary a notice-- 4
(a) under section 74 about a family responsibilities order 5
requiring a person be subject to income management; or 6
(b) under section 87(2) about income management for a 7
person; or 8
(c) under section 102 about a family responsibilities order 9
relating to income management for a person. 10
(4) The notice may include, or be accompanied by-- 11
(a) a written direction to the centrelink secretary about how 12
the centrelink secretary should exercise a power of the 13
centrelink secretary under the Social Security Act, 14
section 123XM(3), 123XN(3), 123XO(3) or 123XP(3), 15
in relation to income management for the person; or 16
(b) a recommendation from the commission about how the 17
centrelink secretary should exercise a power of the 18
centrelink secretary under a relevant provision in 19
relation to income management for the person. 20
(5) Subsection (6) applies if the commission gives the centrelink 21
secretary a written direction or recommendation about how 22
the centrelink secretary should exercise a power of the 23
centrelink secretary under the Social Security Act, part 3B, 24
division 6, in relation to income management for a person (the 25
first person). 26
(6) The direction or recommendation may be accompanied by a 27
notice stating that a specified bank account held by another 28
person is a nominated third party account in relation to the 29
first person. 30
(7) In this section-- 31
relevant provision means any of the following provisions of 32
the Social Security Act-- 33
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Part 14 Other matters
[s 139]
(a) section 123XM(3), 123XN(3), 123XO(3) or 123XP(3); 1
(b) part 3B, division 6. 2
139 Decision-making by commission 3
(1) This section applies to the commission in making a 4
decision-- 5
(a) under part 6 at a conference; or 6
(b) under part 7, division 2 about a show cause notice; or 7
(c) under part 9 about an application to amend or end a 8
family responsibilities agreement or a family 9
responsibilities order. 10
(2) The commission must make every reasonable effort to reach a 11
unanimous decision. 12
(3) If the commission can not reach a unanimous decision, the 13
majority decision of the commission members is the decision 14
of the commission. 15
140 Constitution of commission in particular circumstances 16
(1) This section applies if-- 17
(a) under this Act, the commission is required or permitted 18
to do a thing; and 19
(b) the Act does not require the commission to be 20
constituted in a particular way for doing the thing. 21
(2) For the purpose of doing the thing, the commission is 22
constituted by the commissioner. 23
(3) If the commissioner does the thing, it is taken to have been 24
done by the commission. 25
141 Commissioner to destroy particular documents 26
(1) This section applies to an agency notice received by the 27
commission if the commissioner is satisfied no relevant 28
person for the notice is a community member. 29
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 14 Other matters
[s 142]
(2) The commissioner must destroy the agency notice and any 1
other documents obtained by the commission or the 2
commissioner for the purpose of deciding whether any 3
relevant person for the notice was a community member. 4
(3) The commissioner must act under subsection (2) as soon as 5
practicable after the commissioner is satisfied no relevant 6
person for the agency notice is a community member. 7
142 Registrar to give notice of decisions 8
(1) If asked by the notifying agency for an agency notice to which 9
a conference relates, the registrar must give the notifying 10
agency notice of the commission's decision at the conference 11
as soon as practicable after the conference ends. 12
(2) If, under section 86, 87 or 99, the commission makes a 13
decision (a subsequent decision) about a matter relating to the 14
decision mentioned in subsection (1), the registrar also must 15
give the notifying agency notice of the subsequent decision as 16
soon as practicable after it is made. 17
(3) A notifying agency may make a request as mentioned in 18
subsection (1) in relation to a particular agency notice or all 19
agency notices given by the notifying agency. 20
143 Annual report on operation of commission 21
(1) As soon as practicable after each financial year, but not later 22
than 31 October, the commissioner must prepare and give the 23
Minister a written report containing-- 24
(a) a review of the operation of the commission during the 25
financial year; and 26
(b) the other information, required by the Minister, relating 27
to the performance of the commission's functions under 28
this Act. 29
(2) However, the report must not contain information from which 30
a person could be identified as the subject of an agency notice. 31
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 14 Other matters
[s 144]
(3) The Minister must table a copy of the report in the Legislative 1
Assembly within 14 sitting days after receiving the report. 2
144 Other reports 3
(1) As soon as practicable after each quarter, the commissioner 4
must give the board a written report about the operation of the 5
commission in the quarter. 6
(2) The report must include information, required by the board, 7
relating to the operation of the commission. 8
(3) However, the report must not contain information from which 9
a person could be identified as the subject of an agency notice. 10
145 Commission guidelines 11
(1) The commissioner may make guidelines (commission 12
guidelines), consistent with this Act-- 13
(a) for dealing with information obtained by the 14
commission or the registry under this Act; or 15
(b) to provide guidance to persons about matters relating to 16
the operation of this Act or the commission. 17
(2) The purpose of the guidelines mentioned in subsection (1)(a) 18
is to ensure-- 19
(a) natural justice is afforded to the persons about whom the 20
information is obtained; and 21
(b) only relevant information is used in considering a matter 22
to which an agency notice relates; and 23
(c) decisions about relevant persons for an agency notice, 24
based on the relevant information, are made 25
consistently. 26
(3) A commission guideline may be amended or replaced by a 27
later guideline made under this section. 28
(4) The commissioner must give a copy of a commission 29
guideline to a person on request. 30
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 14 Other matters
[s 146]
(5) The commissioner must give a copy of each commission 1
guideline relating to matters about student attendance at 2
schools to-- 3
(a) the education chief executive; and 4
(b) the Association of Independent Schools of Queensland 5
Inc.; and 6
(c) the Queensland Catholic Education Commission. 7
146 Commissioner may ask registrar to amend case 8
plan--change of address 9
(1) This section applies if the commissioner becomes aware 10
that-- 11
(a) a person who is the subject of a family responsibilities 12
agreement or family responsibilities order directing the 13
person to attend a community support service has 14
changed the person's residential address since the 15
agreement was entered into or the order was given; and 16
(b) because of the change of residential address, the person 17
can no longer attend the community support service 18
under the case plan for the agreement or order. 19
(2) The commissioner may ask the registrar to amend the case 20
plan to the extent necessary to provide for the person to attend 21
an appropriate community support service under the case 22
plan. 23
(3) The commissioner must endorse the amended plan if the 24
commissioner considers it satisfactorily provides for the 25
person to attend an appropriate community support service. 26
(4) The commissioner may act under subsection (2) more than 27
once. 28
(5) As soon as practicable after the amended case plan has been 29
endorsed by the commissioner, the registrar must-- 30
(a) give a copy of the amended plan to the person; and 31
(b) explain the plan to the person in a way that ensures the 32
person fully understands it. 33
Page 91
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 14 Other matters
[s 147]
Division 2 Miscellaneous 1
147 Preservation of confidentiality 2
(1) A person must not record, disclose or use confidential 3
information gained by the person through involvement in the 4
administration of this Act, or otherwise under this Act, unless 5
the person does so-- 6
(a) for the purpose of this Act; or 7
(b) when authorised under this Act; or 8
(c) with the consent of the person to whom the information 9
relates, or if the person is a child unable to consent, with 10
the consent of a parent of the child. 11
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 12
(2) A person is not required-- 13
(a) to disclose confidential information to a court or 14
tribunal; or 15
(b) to produce a record containing confidential information 16
to a court or tribunal; 17
unless it is necessary to do so for the purpose of this Act. 18
(3) A person gains information through involvement in the 19
administration of this Act if the person gains the 20
information-- 21
(a) in the course of the involvement; or 22
(b) because of an opportunity provided by the involvement. 23
(4) The following persons are taken to be involved in the 24
administration of this Act-- 25
(a) a commission member; 26
(b) a board member; 27
(c) a member of the staff of the registry. 28
(5) In this section-- 29
confidential information includes-- 30
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Part 14 Other matters
[s 148]
(a) information or an opinion, whether true or not, about an 1
individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably 2
be ascertained, from the information or opinion; and 3
(b) information disclosed by an entity in an agency notice. 4
148 Protecting officials from liability 5
(1) An official is not civilly liable for an act done, or omission 6
made, honestly and without negligence under this Act. 7
(2) If subsection (1) prevents a civil liability attaching to an 8
official, the liability attaches instead to the State. 9
149 Approved forms 10
The chief executive may approve forms for use under this Act. 11
150 Regulation-making power 12
(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations under this 13
Act. 14
(2) A regulation that prescribes that an area is a welfare reform 15
community area, or an area adjacent to or contiguous with a 16
welfare reform community area is part of the area, expires 1 17
year after it is made. 18
151 Expiry of Act 19
This Act expires on 1 January 2012. 20
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Part 15 Transitional provisions
[s 152]
Part 15 Transitional provisions 1
152 Commission's first annual report 2
Despite section 143, the commission's first annual report must 3
relate to the period starting on the day that section commences 4
and ending on 30 June 2009. 5
153 Commission's first quarterly report 6
Despite section 144, the first report under that section must-- 7
(a) be given to the board after the end of the second full 8
quarter after the day section 144 commences; and 9
(b) relate to the period starting on the day section 144 10
commences and ending at the end of the full quarter. 11
154 Vacation of office on expiry of Act 12
(1) This section applies to a commission member or board 13
member holding office immediately before 1 January 2012. 14
(2) On 1 January 2012, the member's office is taken to have been 15
vacated. 16
155 When particular agreements or family responsibilities 17
orders end 18
(1) This section applies to any of the following in force 19
immediately before 1 January 2012-- 20
(a) a family responsibilities agreement; 21
(b) an agreement about income management entered into 22
under part 10; 23
(c) a family responsibilities order. 24
(2) On 1 January 2012, the agreement or order ends. 25
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Schedule
Schedule Dictionary 1
section 6 2
accepted representations see section 84. 3
agency notice means any of the following notices given to the 4
commission-- 5
(a) school attendance notice 6
(b) school enrolment notice; 7
(c) child safety notice; 8
(d) conviction notice; 9
(e) tenancy agreement notice. 10
annual report means the report prepared by the commissioner 11
under section 144. 12
appeal notice, for a decision under this Act, means a notice 13
stating-- 14
(a) that the person to whom the notice is given may, within 15
28 days after receiving the notice, appeal against the 16
decision to a Magistrates Court, but only on a question 17
of law; and 18
(b) how the person may appeal. 19
approved form means a form approved by the chief executive 20
under section 149. 21
Aurukun area means the following areas-- 22
(a) the area of the Aurukun Shire Council; 23
(b) an area, prescribed under a regulation, that is adjacent to 24
or contiguous with the area of the Aurukun Shire 25
Council. 26
board means the Family Responsibilities Board established 27
under section 116. 28
board member means a member of the board. 29
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Schedule
case manager, for a case plan, means the member of the staff 1
of the registry whose duties include helping the person the 2
subject of the case plan to access the community support 3
service the person has agreed, or been directed, to attend 4
under this Act. 5
case plan see section 76. 6
CDEP Scheme participant means a person who is a CDEP 7
Scheme participant under the Social Security Act 1991 8
(Cwlth), section 1188B. 9
centrelink secretary means the Secretary under the Social 10
Security Act. 11
child means an individual under 18 years. 12
child protection chief executive means the chief executive of 13
the department in which the Child Protection Act 1999 is 14
administered. 15
child safety notice means a notice given to the commission 16
under section 42. 17
Coen area means the following areas-- 18
(a) the area shown as the Coen area on plan no. AP19403 19
held by the department in which the Land Title Act 1994 20
is administered; 21
(b) an area, prescribed under a regulation, that is adjacent to 22
or contiguous with the area mentioned in paragraph (a). 23
Note-- 24
On the commencement of this definition, plan no. AP19403 was 25
available for inspection on the department's website at 26
. 27
commission means the Family Responsibilities Commission 28
established under section 9. 29
commission guidelines see section 145(1). 30
commission member means a member of the commission. 31
commissioner means the person appointed under section 12 32
as the commissioner for the commission. 33
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Schedule
community justice group, for a welfare reform community 1
area, means the community justice group established under 2
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities 3
(Justice, Land and Other Matters) Act 1984, part 4, division 1, 4
for an area that includes all or a part of the welfare reform 5
community area. 6
community member see section 7. 7
community support service means a service or activity that 8
provides information or help to an individual about matters 9
relating to-- 10
(a) the individual's wellbeing; or 11
(b) the wellbeing of a member of the individual's family; or 12
(c) the development and rebuilding of socially responsible 13
standards of behaviour. 14
Examples of a community support service-- 15
· a service relating to matters about health, education, employment or 16
training 17
· a service relating to money management or home budgeting 18
· a service providing help or education in relation to drug or alcohol 19
rehabilitation, or gambling or anger management 20
compulsory case plan see section 78(1). 21
compulsory school age see the Education (General 22
Provisions) Act 2006, section 9. 23
conference means a conference held by the commission under 24
part 5. 25
constituting member, for a conference, means a local 26
commissioner being 1 of the commission members 27
constituting the commission at the conference. 28
conviction means a finding of guilt by a court, or the 29
acceptance of a plea of guilty by a court, whether or not a 30
conviction is recorded. 31
conviction notice means a notice given to the commission 32
under section 43. 33
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Schedule
criminal history, of a person, means the person's criminal 1
history as defined under the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of 2
Offenders) Act 1986, other than spent convictions. 3
decision maker see section 113(a). 4
domestic violence history, of a person, means the history of 5
protection orders made against the person. 6
education chief executive means the chief executive of the 7
department in which the Education (General Provisions) Act 8
2006 is administered. 9
family responsibilities agreement see section 68(1). 10
family responsibilities order means a decision, under section 11
69, to direct a person to attend a community support service or 12
to give the centrelink secretary a notice requiring that a person 13
be subject to income management, and includes the order as 14
amended under this Act. 15
Hope Vale area means the following areas-- 16
(a) the area of the Hope Vale Shire Council; 17
(b) an area, prescribed under a regulation, that is adjacent to 18
or contiguous with the area of the Hope Vale Shire 19
Council. 20
income management means the income management regime 21
under the Social Security Act, part 3B. 22
indictable offence includes an indictable offence dealt with 23
summarily, whether or not the Criminal Code, section 659, 24
applies to the indictable offence. 25
local registry coordinator, for a welfare reform community 26
area, means the member of the staff of the registry who, under 27
section 33, is appointed as the local registry coordinator for 28
the area. 29
Mossman Gorge area means the following areas-- 30
(a) the area shown as the Mossman Gorge area on plan no. 31
AP19404 held by the department in which the Land Title 32
Act 1994 is administered; 33
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Schedule
(b) an area, prescribed under a regulation, that is adjacent to 1
or contiguous with the area mentioned in paragraph (a). 2
Note-- 3
On the commencement of this definition, plan no. AP19404 was 4
available for inspection on the department's website at 5
. 6
non-State school means a school that is provisionally 7
accredited, or accredited, under the Education (Accreditation 8
of Non-State Schools) Act 2001. 9
notice means written notice. 10
notifying agency, for an agency notice, means the entity that, 11
under this Act, gives the notice to the commission. 12
offender means a person who is convicted of an offence, 13
whether or not a conviction is recorded. 14
official means-- 15
(a) a commission member; or 16
(b) a board member; or 17
(c) a member of the staff of the registry; or 18
(d) a member of a community justice group or relevant 19
community group for a welfare reform community area. 20
parent, in relation to a child, see the Child Protection Act 21
1999, section 11(1) to (4). 22
prescribed entity, for part 8, see section 90. 23
proposed action, for part 7, division 2, see section 81. 24
protection order means a protection order under the Domestic 25
and Family Violence Protection Act 1989. 26
quarter means a 3 month period ending at the end of 31 27
March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December. 28
registrar means the person appointed under section 33 as the 29
registrar of the commission. 30
registry means the Family Responsibilities Commission 31
Registry established under section 32(1). 32
Page 99
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Schedule
relevant community group, for a welfare reform community 1
area, means-- 2
(a) any group of persons within the area, other than a 3
department of government, that is involved in the 4
provision of any of the following-- 5
(i) information to a court about Aboriginal or Torres 6
Strait Islander offenders; 7
(ii) diversionary, interventionist or rehabilitation 8
activities relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait 9
Islander offenders; 10
(iii) other activities relating to local justice issues in the 11
area; or 12
(b) any other group of persons made up of elders or other 13
respected persons of the area. 14
relevant information, for part 8, see section 91. 15
relevant person means-- 16
(a) for a school attendance notice--a parent of the student 17
mentioned in the notice; and 18
(b) for a school enrolment notice--a parent of the child 19
mentioned in the notice; and 20
(c) for a child safety notice-- 21
(i) a parent of the child who is the subject of the 22
alleged harm or alleged risk of harm to which the 23
notice relates; or 24
(ii) a person allegedly causing harm to the child, or 25
allegedly causing the child to be at risk of harm; or 26
(d) for a particular conviction notice--the person the 27
subject of the notice; or 28
(e) for a tenancy agreement notice--the person the subject 29
of the notice. 30
reprisal means a reprisal as mentioned in section 128(4). 31
residential tenancy agreement means a residential tenancy 32
agreement under the Residential Tenancies Act 1994. 33
Page 100
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Schedule
school means a non-State school or a State school. 1
school attendance notice means a notice given to the 2
commission under section 40. 3
school enrolment notice means a notice given to the 4
commission under section 41. 5
school day, for a school, means any day on which a student 6
enrolled at the school is required to attend the school. 7
school term, for a school, means any of the 4 periods in a 8
year-- 9
(b) that are between the summer, autumn, winter or spring 10
vacation periods for the school; and 11
(a) during which students enrolled at the school are 12
required to attend the school. 13
show cause notice see section 82(2). 14
Social Security Act means the Social Security 15
(Administration) Act 1999 (Cwlth). 16
socially responsible standards of behaviour means socially 17
responsible standards of behaviour relating to any of the 18
following matters-- 19
(a) a child's attendance at school; 20
(b) a child's safety and general wellbeing; 21
(c) a person's conduct in a community, including, for 22
example, conduct involving drug or alcohol use, 23
gambling, offensive behaviour or violence; 24
(d) a person's use of premises that are social housing. 25
spent conviction means a conviction-- 26
(a) for which the rehabilitation period under the Criminal 27
Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 has expired 28
under the Act; and 29
(b) that is not revived as prescribed by section 11 of that 30
Act. 31
State school means a State school under the Education 32
(General Provisions) Act 2006. 33
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Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Schedule
student, in relation to a school, means a child who-- 1
(a) is of compulsory school age; and 2
(b) is enrolled at the school. 3
take a reprisal means the taking of a reprisal as mentioned in 4
section 128(4). 5
tenancy agreement notice means a notice given to the 6
commission under section 44. 7
voluntary agreement see section 108(2). 8
welfare recipient see section 8. 9
welfare reform community area, other than for section 94, 10
means the following areas-- 11
(a) Aurukun area; 12
(b) Coen area; 13
(c) Hope Vale area; 14
(d) Mossman Gorge area; 15
(e) another area prescribed under a regulation. 16
© State of Queensland 2008
Page 102
AMENDMENTS TO BILL
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill
2008
Amendments agreed to during Consideration
1 Clause 2 (Commencement)--
At page 10, line 14--
omit, insert--
`non-State school, school and State school.'.
2 Clause 90 (Definition for pt 8)--
At page 62, line 22, `Definition'--
omit, insert--
`Definitions'.
3 Clause 90 (Definition for pt 8)--
At page 63, line 12, `plan.'--
omit, insert--
`plan; or
(e) a person who provides relevant services in relation to
children of compulsory school age, or in relation to
parents of the children, in welfare reform community
areas.
provides relevant services means provides services, under a
scheme relating to the implementation of welfare reform and
the provision of educational programs or services in welfare
reform community areas, that are about the enrolment or
attendance of children at school.'.
Page 1
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
4 Clause 92 (Commissioner may give information to
particular entities)--
At page 65, lines 12 to 14--
omit, insert--
`(a) the Commissioner for Children and Young People and
Child Guardian under the Commission for Children and
Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000;'.
5 Clause 94 (Education chief executive may give particular
information)--
At page 66, lines 31 to 34 and page 67, lines 1 to 23--
omit, insert--
`(1) The education chief executive may give personal information
about a person to a relevant entity if the education chief
executive reasonably considers giving the information may
help the education chief executive and the entity to coordinate
or provide educational programs or services in relation to
children of compulsory school age in welfare reform
community areas.
Examples of educational programs or services--
· a literacy or numeracy program
· a program or service designed to involve parents in ensuring their
children are enrolled at, and attend, a school
`(2) A relevant entity may record, disclose or use personal
information about a person given to the entity under this
section for the purpose of--
(a) providing educational programs or services in relation to
children of compulsory school age in welfare reform
community areas; or
(b) coordinating, with the education chief executive, the
provision of the educational programs or services; or
(c) evaluating the effectiveness of the educational programs
or services.
`(3) In this section--
Page 2
Family Responsibilities Commission Bill 2008
personal information, about a person, means information or
an opinion, whether true or not, about an individual whose
identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from
the information or opinion.
relevant entity means an entity involved in the provision of
educational programs or services, in relation to children of
compulsory school age in welfare reform community areas,
that form part of a scheme relating to the implementation of
welfare reform and the provision of educational programs or
services in the areas.'.
6 After clause 148 (Protecting officials from liability)--
At page 93, after line 9--
insert--
`148A Magistrate appointed as commissioner
`(1) This section applies if a magistrate is appointed as the
commissioner.
`(2) Service as the commissioner counts as service as a magistrate
for all purposes, including, for example, long service leave
entitlements.
`(3) However, the commissioner may not perform the duties of the
office of a magistrate, or exercise the powers of a magistrate,
while holding office as the commissioner.
`(4) The Magistrates Act 1991, section 41 does not apply to the
commissioner while holding office as the commissioner.'.
© State of Queensland 2008
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