Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Children's Services Act 1996 - SECT 3

Definitions

3. Definitions



(1) In this Act-

approval of premises means an approval under section 11;



authorised officer means a person appointed by the Secretary under section 35
for the purposes of this Act;

children's service means a service providing care or education for 4 or more
children under the age of 13 years in the absence of their parents or
guardians-

   (a)  for fee or reward; or

   (b)  while the parents or guardians of the children use services or
        facilities provided by the proprietor of the service; Department means
        the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development;

family day care service means a children's service providing a network of
family day carers each of whom provide care or education for up to 7 children
(including the carer's own children) of whom no more than 4 children may be
under 6 years of age unless the children who are under 6 years of age are-

   (a)  students enrolled at preparatory level or above at a school; or

   (b)  siblings, who are not the carer's own children, in which case no more
        than 6 siblings may be under 6 years of age; family day care venue
        means premises (other than a residence) used by a family day care
        service to provide care and education to children; family day carer,
        in relation to a family day care service, means a person approved by
        the family day care service to provide care or education to children
        primarily-

   (a)  in the person's residence; or

   (b)  at a family day care venue; fit and proper person check means a
        consideration by the Secretary under this Act as to whether a person
        is a fit and proper person;

guardian, in relation to a child, means the legal guardian of the child or the
person who has the custody or control of the child but does not include a
person providing children's services to a child;

licensee means a person who holds a licence to operate a children's service
under this Act; nominee, in relation to a children's service, means a person
who is an approved nominee or an accepted nominee under Part 3 for that
service; primary nominee, in relation to a children's service, means-

   (a)  if there is one nominee for that service, that nominee;

   (b)  if there is more than one nominee for that service, the nominee who is
        approved under Part 3 as the primary nominee for that service;

proprietor, in relation to a children's service, includes the owner of the
service, the primary nominee and any person who manages or controls the
service and, in relation to any proposed children's service, includes the
person who proposes to operate the service; registered medical practitioner
has the same meaning as it has in the
Health Professions Registration Act 2005;

relative, in relation to a child means a parent, grandparent, brother, sister,
uncle, aunt or cousin of the whole blood or half-blood or by marriage
including a defacto marriage, and whether or not the relationship depends on
adoption of the child; school means Government school or non-Government
school, within the meaning of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006;
Secretary means the Secretary to the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development;

sibling, of a child, means-

   (a)  a brother or sister of the whole blood or half-blood or by adoption or
        by marriage, including de facto marriage; or

   (b)  a child to whom foster care is provided by a parent (including an
        adoptive parent) or guardian of the first-mentioned child;

this Act includes regulations made under the Act.

(2) If, under the Public Administration Act 2004, the name of the Department
of Education and Early Childhood Development is changed, a reference in the
definitions of Department and Secretary in subsection (1) to that Department
must, from the date when the name is changed, be treated as a reference to the
Department by its new name.





(3) In this Act a reference to an absence in relation to an applicant,
licensee or proprietor that is a body corporate includes a reference to the
absence of the directors of the body corporate.