Western Australian Consolidated Acts

YOUNG OFFENDERS ACT 1994 - SECT 15A

15A .         Disclosure of personal information relating to young offenders

        (1)         Upon being requested to do so by the CEO (child welfare), the chief executive officer may provide the CEO (child welfare) with information relating to a young person where the provision of that information is necessary —

            (a)         to protect a young person;

            (b)         to assist in the placement of the young person;

            (c)         to protect the physical safety of a child, whether or not in the care of the welfare agency;

            (d)         to assist in an assessment of the young person by officers of the welfare agency; or

            (e)         for the purpose of enabling the CEO (child welfare) or a person employed in the welfare agency to investigate an allegation of —

                  (i)         abuse of the young person; or

                  (ii)         abuse by the young person of a child in the care of the Department,

                or facilitating such an investigation.

        (2)         In subsection (1) —

        CEO (child welfare) means the chief executive officer of the welfare agency;

        welfare agency means the Public Sector agency principally assisting the Minister administering the Children and Community Services Act 2004 in its administration.

        (3)         Upon being requested to do so by a member of the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board established under the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act 1996 , the chief executive officer is to provide the member with information relating to a person who is, or was, a young offender or detainee, for the purposes of carrying out the member’s functions under that Act.

        (3a)         Upon being requested to do so by an authorised officer, the chief executive officer is to provide —

            (a)         the officer with information relating to a child who is, or was, a young offender or detainee, for the purposes of proceedings for or in respect of a responsible parenting order in respect of the child; or

            (b)         an appointed person or body with information relating to a person who is, or was, a young offender or detainee, for the purposes of section 39 of that Act.

        (3b)         The information provided under subsection (3a)(b) must be in a form that would not reveal the identity of the person.

        (3c)         In subsection (3a) —

        appointed person or body means a person or body appointed under section 39(1) of the Parental Support and Responsibility Act 2008 ;

        authorised officer has the meaning given to that term in section 3 of the Parental Support and Responsibility Act 2008 ;

        child means a person who is under 15 years of age;

        proceedings for or in respect of a responsible parenting order has the meaning given to “proceedings for or in respect of an order” in section 26 of the Parental Support and Responsibility Act 2008 .

        (4)         The chief executive officer is to provide a person specified in or under subsection (5)(a) or (b) with information relating to a person who is, or was, a young offender or detainee if required for the purposes set out in subsection (6)(a) and (b) respectively.

        (5)         The following individuals may be provided with information under subsection (4) —

            (a)         under the Prisons Act 1981  — the chief executive officer, a superintendent, an officer, a prison officer, a contract worker (as defined in section 15A of that Act), or a person approved by the chief executive officer for the purpose of this section;

            (b)         under the Sentence Administration Act 2003  —

                  (i)         a member of the Prisoners Review Board, the chief executive officer, a manager, a community corrections officer; or

                  (ii)         a person, or a person within a class of persons, approved by the chief executive officer for the purpose of this section.

        (6)         The purposes for which the individuals set out in subsection (5) be provided with information under subsection (4) are as follows —

            (a)         a person set out in, or approved under subsection (5)(a) may make a request for information for the purposes of carrying out his or her functions under the Prisons Act 1981 ;

            (b)         a person set out in, or approved under, subsection (5)(b) may make a request for information for the purposes of carrying out his or her functions under the Sentence Administration Act 2003 .

        (7)         Despite this section, the Minister may, from time to time, approve —

            (a)         circumstances in which information relating to a young person may be disclosed under this Act, to a person or class of persons in another Commonwealth, State, Territory or overseas government department or agency; and

            (b)         the purposes for which that information may be used.

        (8)         A person who uses information received under this section for any purpose other than a purpose for which he or she is authorised under this section commits an offence.

        Penalty: $6 000 and imprisonment for 2 years.

        [Section 15A inserted by No. 58 of 2004 s. 9; amended by No. 84 of 2004 s. 82; No. 41 of 2006 s. 86; No. 65 of 2006 s. 76; No. 14 of 2008 s. 44.]