Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006 (Tas)

Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006

An Act to provide for ex gratia payments to be made to the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal children [Royal Assent 18 December 2006]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Interpretation In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – Aboriginal person has the same meaning as in the Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 ; eligibility criteria means the criteria, set out in section 5 , for determining whether an applicant for an ex gratia payment is eligible for the payment; ex gratia payment means a payment referred to in section 9 ; Stolen Generations means persons eligible for ex gratia payments under this Act; Stolen Generations Assessor means the person appointed under section 14 as the Stolen Generations Assessor.

4. Entitlement to ex gratia payment (1) An ex gratia payment is payable on an application under this Act if the applicant satisfies the eligibility criteria set out in section 5(1) , (2) or (3) . (2) Where a person makes application under the eligibility criteria set out in section 5(1) , (2) and (3) and the Stolen Generations Assessor determines that the person satisfies one or more of the eligibility criteria, the person is entitled to receive only one ex gratia payment.

5. Eligibility criteria for ex gratia payment (1) An applicant for an ex gratia payment – (a) must be an Aboriginal person; and (b) must have been living on 16 October 2006; and (c) must on or before 31 December 1975 have been admitted as a child of the State under the Infants' Welfare Act 1935 or committed under that Act to the care of the responsible Department in relation to the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997 or admitted as, or declared to be, a ward of the State under the Child Welfare Act 1960 ; and (d) after having been admitted as a child of the State under the Infants' Welfare Act 1935 or after having been declared to be a ward of the State under the Child Welfare Act 1960 , must have remained a child of the State or a ward of the State for a continuous period of 12 months or more, and must not have been in the care of an Aboriginal family during that period. (2) An applicant for an ex gratia payment – (a) must be an Aboriginal person; and (b) must have been living on 16 October 2006; and (c) must have been a person under the age of 18 years who was removed from his or her family during the period from 1 January 1935 to 31 December 1975 and remained removed from his or her family for a continuous period of 12 months or more, and must not have been in the care of an Aboriginal family during that period; and (d) must be a person who the Stolen Generations Assessor is satisfied – (i) was removed from his or her family by the active intervention of an Agency, within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000 , and without the approval of a parent or guardian of the applicant; or (ii) was removed from his or her family by the active intervention of an Agency, within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000 , and that duress or undue influence was applied to bring about that removal. (3) An applicant for an ex gratia payment must be – (a) an Aboriginal person; and (b) a living biological child of a deceased person who satisfies the criteria in subsection (1)(a) , (c) and (d) or subsection (2)(a) , (c) and (d) . (4) If an applicant for an ex gratia payment was removed from his or her family as a result of being convicted of an offence, the applicant is not eligible for an ex gratia payment. (5) Subsection (4) does not apply to an applicant who has been convicted of being a neglected child under the Infants' Welfare Act 1935 or the Child Welfare Act 1960 . (6) For the purposes of this section – Aboriginal family means a family in which one or both of the primary carers is an Aboriginal person.