CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY SERVICES ACT 2004 - SECT 41
CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY SERVICES ACT 2004 - SECT 41
41 . Power to move child to safe place
(1) In this section
—
appropriate person , in relation to a child, means
—
(a) a
parent of the child; or
(b) an
adult, other than a parent of the child, who is a member of the child’s
family; or
(c) an
adult, other than a parent or other member of the child’s family, with
whom the child usually lives;
officer means an authorised officer or a police
officer.
(2) An officer may
move a child to a safe place if the officer finds the child at a place other
than the child’s usual place of residence and the officer believes on
reasonable grounds —
(a) that
the child is not under the immediate supervision of a parent of the child or
an adult capable of adequately supervising the child; and
(b) that
—
(i)
there is a risk to the wellbeing of the child because of
the nature of the place where the child is found, the behaviour or
vulnerability of the child at that place, or any other circumstance; or
(ii)
the child is an absentee student as defined in the
School Education Act 1999 section 32.
(3) Subsection (2)
does not authorise an officer to move a child to —
(a) a
lock-up (including a place that is prescribed as a lock-up for the purposes of
the Court Security and Custodial Services Act 1999 ); or
(b) a
secure care facility.
(4) An officer does
not need a warrant to exercise the power in subsection (2).
(5) When exercising
the power in subsection (2) an officer may use reasonable force and
assistance.
(6) If, in the
exercise of the power in subsection (2), an officer moves a child to a place
other than the child’s usual place of residence or school, the officer
must immediately —
(a)
cause reasonable steps to be taken to contact an appropriate person and inform
that person —
(i)
that the child has been moved to a safe place; and
(ii)
of the location of that place;
and
(b) if
the officer is a police officer, cause the CEO to be informed of the matters
mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) and (ii).
(7) If an appropriate
person is contacted under subsection (6), an officer must immediately cause
arrangements to be made for the child to be placed in, or returned to, the
care of that person.
(8) If an appropriate
person cannot be contacted under subsection (6), an officer must immediately
cause arrangements to be made for the care of the child until the child is
placed in, or returned to, the care of an appropriate person or otherwise
dealt with under this Part.
Note for this section:
Division 8 confers
certain powers on authorised officers and police officers in relation to
children moved to a safe place under this section.
[Section 41 amended: No. 49 of 2010 s. 7; No. 23
of 2015 s. 33; No. 18 of 2021 s. 22.]