South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts (1) In this Act,
unless the contrary intention appears—
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle means the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle as stated in
the regulations;
"Aboriginal child" means a child—
(a) who
is a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of Australia; and
(b) who
regards himself or herself as an Aboriginal or, if he or she is a young child,
is regarded as an Aboriginal by at least one of his or her parents;
"abuse or neglect", in relation to a child, means—
(a)
sexual abuse of the child; or
(b)
physical or emotional abuse of the child, or neglect of the child, to the
extent that—
(i)
the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, physical
or psychological injury detrimental to the child's wellbeing; or
(ii)
the child's physical or psychological development is in
jeopardy,
and "abused" or "neglected" has a corresponding meaning;
"alternative care" means care provided for a child on a residential
basis—
(a) by
or through a government or non-government agency; or
(b) in a
foster home (including a foster home provided by a member of the child's
family),
and includes care provided in a detention facility for a child who is held
there in lawful detention and care provided under independent living
arrangements made for a child under the Minister's guardianship;
"authorised police officer" means a police officer who is of or above the rank
of sergeant or who is in charge of a police station or any other police
officer designated as an authorised police officer by the Commissioner of
Police for the purposes of this Act;
"Care and Protection Co-ordinator" means a member of the staff of the State
Courts Administration Council assigned to the position of Care and
Protection Co-ordinator;
"Chief Executive" means the person for the time being holding, or acting in,
the position of chief executive of the Department;
"child" means a person under 18 years of age;
"Court" means the Youth Court of South Australia;
"dentist" means a person who is registered as a dental practitioner under the
law of this State;
"Department" means the administrative unit of the Public Service prescribed by
regulation for the purposes of this definition;
"family", in relation to a child, means the child's immediate family
(including all guardians) and the child's extended family (that is to say, all
other persons to whom the child is related by blood or marriage) and, in
relation to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, includes any person
held to be related to the child according to Aboriginal kinship rules, or
Torres Strait Islander kinship rules, as the case may require;
"family care meeting"—See Part 5 Division 1;
"government organisation" means a government department, agency or
instrumentality;
"guardian", of a child, means a parent of the child, a person (other than the
Minister) who is the legal guardian of the child or has the legal custody of
the child or any other person who stands in loco parentis to the child and has
done so for a significant length of time;
"licensed children's residential facility" means a children's residential
facility that is the subject of a licence under the Family and Community
Services Act 1972 ;
"medical practitioner" means a person who is registered as a
medical practitioner under the law of this State;
"non-government organisation" means—
(a) a
business; or
(b) a
service provider; or
(c) a
group organised for some purpose, work or undertaking (such as a society,
club, institution or body),
whether incorporated or unincorporated, and includes a local government
organisation; but does not include a government organisation;
"parent", of a child, includes a stepmother or stepfather of the child;
"pharmacist" means a person who is registered as a pharmacist under the law of
this State;
"psychologist" means a person who is registered as a psychologist under the
law of this State;
"Senior Judge" includes, if the Senior Judge is not reasonably available to
exercise a power vested in the Senior Judge under this Act, the most senior of
the Judges of the Court who is available to exercise that power;
"Torres Strait Islander child" means a child—
(a) who
is a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands;
and
(b) who
regards himself or herself as a Torres Strait Islander or, if he or she is a
young child, is regarded as a Torres Strait Islander by at least one of his or
her parents;
"working day" means any day other than a Saturday or a Sunday or other public
holiday.
(1a) For the purposes
of this Act, an organisation may consist of a single person.
(2) For the purposes
of this Act, a child is at risk if—
(aa)
there is a significant risk that the child will suffer serious harm to his or
her physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing against which he or she
should have, but does not have, proper protection; or
(a) the
child has been, or is being, abused or neglected; or
(b) a
person with whom the child resides (whether a guardian of the child or
not)—
(i)
has threatened to kill or injure the child and there is a
reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out; or
(ii)
has killed, abused or neglected some other child or
children and there is a reasonable likelihood of the child in question being
killed, abused or neglected by that person; or
(c) the
guardians of the child—
(i)
are unable to care for and protect the child, or are
unable to exercise adequate supervision and control over the child; or
(ii)
are unwilling to care for and protect the child, or are
unwilling to exercise adequate supervision and control over the child; or
(iii)
are dead, have abandoned the child, or cannot, after
reasonable inquiry, be found; or
(d) the
child is of compulsory school age but has been persistently absent from school
without satisfactory explanation of the absence; or
(e) the
child is under 15 years of age and is of no fixed address.
(3) It is immaterial
for the purposes of this Act that any conduct referred to in
subsection (2) took place wholly or partly outside this State.