Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) (Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee) Amendment Bill 2024 (SA)
South Australian Legislation
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South Australia
Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) (Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee) Amendment Bill 2024
A Bill For
An Act to amend the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act 2016.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title
2 Commencement
Part 2—Amendment of Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act 2016
3 Amendment of section 37—Functions of the Committee
4 Insertion of section 38A
38A Provisions relating to information
5 Amendment of section 63—Interaction with Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:
Part 1—Preliminary
1—Short title
This Act may be cited as the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) (Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee) Amendment Act 2024.
2—Commencement
This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.
Part 2—Amendment of Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act 2016
3—Amendment of section 37—Functions of the Committee
(1) Section 37(3)—after paragraph (e) insert:
; or
(f) the case has been referred to the Committee by the Minister.
(2) Section 37—delete subsections (4) and (5) and substitute:
(4) The Committee may review a case of child death or serious injury that is the subject of an ongoing inquest or inquiry under the Coroners Act 2003 or an ongoing criminal investigation if—
(a) the Committee consults, in accordance with any requirements set out in the regulations, with—
(i) if the case is the subject of an inquest or inquiry—the State Coroner; or
(ii) if the case is the subject of a criminal investigation—the Commissioner of Police; and
(b) the Committee, in carrying out the review, takes all reasonable steps to avoid compromising the inquest, inquiry or investigation (as the case may be).
(5) The State Coroner or the Commissioner of Police (as the case may be) may, by notice in writing, direct that the Committee does, or refrains from doing, a particular thing in the course of a review if the Coroner or Commissioner (as the case may be) is of the opinion that such a direction is necessary to avoid compromise to an inquest, inquiry or investigation.
(5a) If the Committee contravenes a direction given under subsection (5), the State Coroner or the Commissioner of Police (as the case may be) may report the contravention to the Minister.
(5b) However, a contravention of a direction given under subsection (5) does not affect the validity of a review carried out by, or a recommendation made by, the Committee.
4—Insertion of section 38A
After section 38 insert:
38A—Provisions relating to information
(1) Without limiting any other provision of this Act, or any other Act or law, the Committee, South Australia Police and the State Coroner may, in accordance with any requirements prescribed by the regulations, provide information to one another for the purposes of—
(a) determining whether a review of a case of child death or serious injury should be carried out by the Committee under this Act; or
(b) carrying out such a review.
(2) Information that has been provided under subsection (1) for the purposes set out in that subsection must not be used for any other purpose by—
(a) the person to whom the information was disclosed; or
(b) any other person who gains access to the information as a result of that disclosure.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(3) A person cannot be compelled to do any of the following:
(a) give evidence of matters becoming known to them as a member or staff of the Committee through the performance of functions under this Act;
(b) produce a document that was prepared or made in the course of, or for the purposes of, a review of a case of child death or serious injury;
(c) provide information that became known in the course of a review of a case of child death or serious injury.
(4) For the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1991, a document prepared by the Committee under this Act will be taken to be an exempt document under that Act (including where the document is held by or in the possession of an agency other than the Committee).
(5) For the purposes of this section, a reference to staff of the Committee includes any staff or an expert contemplated by section 36.
5—Amendment of section 63—Interaction with Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016
Section 63—delete "Part" and substitute:
Act