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ACT Government announces plan for new child sexual abuse statutory authority

17/02/16
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Continuing the trend among State and Territory governments to revise child protection laws, the ACT has announced that it is considering establishing a new statutory body to handle allegations of child sexual abuse. All reports of possible child sexual abuse would be directed towards the new body, which would have the necessary powers to protect children who are at risk of being, or who have been, abused. The Canberra Times reported that the proposed body is a response to the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission).

Child protection: laws in flux

The ACT’s announcement comes as one in a long line of changes being proposed to child protection laws around Australia. The Royal Commission has highlighted the failings of previous policies and procedures, and State and Territory governments have sought to address the gaps in their systems through amending the current legal framework and developing new laws. The sheer number and scale of recent changes is revealed in the number of articles we have published relating to proposed or finalised changes in child protection laws over the past six months alone. They include:

The ACT’s proposal

The proposal for a new statutory oversight authority has been outlined in a recently released Discussion Paper. According to the proposal, the oversight body would be empowered by the ACT Government to receive reports, investigate allegations of child abuse and provide further protection to children if necessary. The new body would create a central authority for all reports on child abuse and would replace the internal procedures for handling allegations of improper behaviour that have been criticised by the Royal Commission. In a statement, Chief Minister Andrew Barr described the new scheme as being “based on the effective and successful new model currently operating in NSW” and said that it would complement existing laws in place in the ACT. Similar changes are currently being considered for introduction in Victoria as well.

By establishing a body to deal exclusively with child protection issues, the ACT Government is seeking to reassure the community that these matters are receiving sufficient attention. The new body will be the subject of a month of community consultation to refine the proposal.

The announcement was praised by child welfare campaigner Damian De Marco, who told ABC News that he believed that this new scheme would prevent similar crimes to those uncovered by the Royal Commission.

What would schools be required to do?

Under the ACT proposal, any allegation of child abuse (‘reportable conduct’) would be reportable to the new statutory authority. The head of each ‘designated agency’, which includes both government and non-government schools, would be required to set up a system to ensure that they are advised of any reportable allegations or convictions against their employees. Once the head of an agency has been advised of a reportable allegation or conviction against an employee, they must notify the oversight body as soon as possible, and within prescribed timeframes.

A school would also be required to advise the oversight body of an investigation plan and, upon conclusion, the investigation’s findings and a final report of the investigation. The completed investigation would then be assessed by the oversight body to ensure that the allegation was properly investigated and that appropriate action was taken as a result of the investigation.

According to the Discussion Paper, it is envisaged that schools will be assisted and supported to comply with new requirements through a range of strategies, such as fact sheets and training. It is also intended that any reportable conduct scheme would build upon existing arrangements to minimise duplicate reporting.

The importance of paying attention

The findings of the Royal Commission are assisting States and Territories to identify and address issues with the current legal framework. Although this is undoubtedly an important task, the ongoing changes or additions to the legal frameworks can make it difficult for schools to keep up with their legal requirements.

The ACT government’s announcement demonstrates that it can be extremely useful for schools to follow the legal developments in other States and Territories. The proposed new body is based on the NSW statutory authority in this area, and so schools in the ACT will have a clear example to understand the impact of the new scheme. By keeping track of developments in other States and Territories and following political announcements of proposed changes, schools can prepare for changes gradually to ensure they meet all compliance deadlines.

The announcement of the plan to create a statutory authority is also significant as the ACT government plans to hold community consultations in relation to the new laws. By following these developments closely, school have a chance to participate in the law making process by making a submission if they wish to comment on any aspects of the law.

 

Making a submission

Closing date for written submissions is Friday 18 March 2016.

 

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