South Australian Consolidated Acts

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES ACT 1972 - SECT 10

10—Objectives of the Minister and the Department

        (1)         The objectives of the Minister and the Department under this Act are—

            (a)         to promote the welfare of the community generally and of individuals, families and groups within the community; and

            (b)         to promote the dignity of the individual and the welfare of the family as the bases of the welfare of the community,

in the following manner:

            (c)         by providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to assist individuals or groups to overcome the personal or social problems with which they are confronted;

            (d)         by providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to reduce the incidence of disruption of family relationships, to mitigate the adverse effects of such disruption, to support and assist families under stress and to enhance the quality of family life;

            (e)         by providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to assist migrants, members of ethnic communities, aboriginals, children, youth, aged persons, unemployed persons, women, mentally or physically handicapped persons, single parents, persons who live in isolated areas or any other section of the community to overcome the disadvantages suffered by them, and to participate to the greatest possible extent in the life of the community;

            (f)         by providing individuals or families in need or distress with assistance by way of grants or loans of money or commodities, accommodation, financial counselling or any other form of assistance;

            (g)         by providing, assisting in the provision of or promoting services designed to assist people to enrich their lives, or to develop their personalities and capabilities;

            (h)         by encouraging or assisting in the provision of welfare services by volunteers and non-government groups or organisations;

                  (i)         by encouraging or assisting any section of the community to develop its own welfare services;

            (j)         by providing, or assisting in the provision of, training or instruction for persons working, or proposing to work, in the field of welfare services;

            (k)         by keeping the public informed as to all the welfare services, whether government or non-government, that are available and how they may be obtained;

            (l)         by promoting a better understanding throughout the community of the problems or disadvantages faced by various sections of the community;

            (m)         by instituting, assisting in or promoting research in the field of welfare services;

            (n)         by collecting, or assisting in the collection of, data and statistics in relation to the problems and disadvantages faced by the various sections of the community, and to the provision of family and community services;

            (o)         by promoting the co-ordination of all family and community services, whether government or non-government, and the efficient use of resources for the provision of those services;

            (p)         by collaborating and consulting with other government departments of this State, with non-government organisations that provide, or support or promote the provision of, family and community services, and with those government departments of the Commonwealth and the other States and Territories of the Commonwealth that are involved in the provision of family and community services;

            (q)         by keeping the services provided by the Department and the policies of the Department under constant review and evaluation;

            (r)         by doing such other things as may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of achieving those objectives.

        (2)         The Minister and the Department, in providing any service, must endeavour to preserve and foster the dignity, self-respect and independence of the persons to whom the service is being provided.

        (3)         The Minister and the Department, in providing any service, must not discriminate against or in favour of any person on the ground of sex, marital status, mental or physical impairment, religion, race or nationality, except so far as it is necessary to do so for the purpose of assisting a person to overcome any social or other disadvantage arising out of his or her sex, marital status, mental or physical impairment, religion, race or nationality.

        (4)         The Minister and the Department must, in administering this Act, take into consideration the different traditions, cultural values and religious beliefs of ethnic or racial groups within the community.

        (5)         The Minister, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions and objects of this Act, may—

            (a)         employ the resources of the Department in such manner as the Minister thinks fit; and

            (b)         establish any facility; and

            (c)         acquire land in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 1969 ; and

            (d)         perform any other action that may be necessary or expedient for that purpose.