South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts10—Objectives of the Minister and the Department
(1) The objectives of
the Minister and the Department under this Act are—
(a) to
promote the welfare of the community generally and of individuals, families
and groups within the community; and
(b) to
promote the dignity of the individual and the welfare of the family as the
bases of the welfare of the community,
in the following manner:
(c) by
providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to
assist individuals or groups to overcome the personal or social problems with
which they are confronted;
(d) by
providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to
reduce the incidence of disruption of family relationships, to mitigate the
adverse effects of such disruption, to support and assist families under
stress and to enhance the quality of family life;
(e) by
providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to
assist migrants, members of ethnic communities, aboriginals, children, youth,
aged persons, unemployed persons, women, mentally or physically handicapped
persons, single parents, persons who live in isolated areas or any other
section of the community to overcome the disadvantages suffered by them, and
to participate to the greatest possible extent in the life of the community;
(f) by
providing individuals or families in need or distress with assistance by way
of grants or loans of money or commodities, accommodation, financial
counselling or any other form of assistance;
(g) by
providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to
assist people to enrich their lives, or to develop their personalities and
capabilities;
(h) by
encouraging or assisting in the provision of welfare services by volunteers
and non-government groups or organisations;
(i)
by encouraging or assisting any section of the community
to develop its own welfare services;
(j) by
providing, or assisting in the provision of, training or instruction for
persons working, or proposing to work, in the field of welfare services;
(k) by
keeping the public informed as to all the welfare services, whether government
or non-government, that are available and how they may be obtained;
(l) by
promoting a better understanding throughout the community of the problems or
disadvantages faced by various sections of the community;
(m) by
instituting, assisting in or promoting research in the field of welfare
services;
(n) by
collecting, or assisting in the collection of, data and statistics in relation
to the problems and disadvantages faced by the various sections of the
community, and to the provision of family and community services;
(o) by
promoting the co-ordination of all family and community services, whether
government or non-government, and the efficient use of resources for the
provision of those services;
(p) by
collaborating and consulting with other government departments of this State,
with non-government organisations that provide, or support or promote the
provision of, family and community services, and with those government
departments of the Commonwealth and the other States and Territories of the
Commonwealth that are involved in the provision of family and community
services;
(q) by
keeping the services provided by the Department and the policies of the
Department under constant review and evaluation;
(r) by
doing such other things as may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of
achieving those objectives.
(2) The Minister and
the Department, in providing any service, must endeavour to preserve and
foster the dignity, self-respect and independence of the persons to whom the
service is being provided.
(3) The Minister and
the Department, in providing any service, must not discriminate against or in
favour of any person on the ground of sex, marital status, mental or physical
impairment, religion, race or nationality, except so far as it is necessary to
do so for the purpose of assisting a person to overcome any social or other
disadvantage arising out of his or her sex, marital status, mental or physical
impairment, religion, race or nationality.
(4) The Minister and
the Department must, in administering this Act, take into consideration the
different traditions, cultural values and religious beliefs of ethnic or
racial groups within the community.
(5) The Minister, for
the purpose of giving effect to the provisions and objects of this Act,
may—
(a)
employ the resources of the Department in such manner as the Minister thinks
fit; and
(b)
establish any facility; and
(c)
acquire land in accordance with the provisions of the Land
Acquisition Act 1969 ; and
(d)
perform any other action that may be necessary or expedient for that purpose.