Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill - Amendment No 1 [Lee 1]

The Hon. J.S. LEE: 

I move:

Amendment No 1 [Lee–1]—

Page 142, after line 25 [Schedule 2 Part 5]—Insert:

5A—Amendment of section 3—Interpretation

Section 3(1)—after the definition of Guardian for Children and Young People insert:

Independent Children and Young People Investigations Agency or Agency means the Independent Children and Young People Investigations Agency constituted under Part 5A;

The amendment inserts a definition that is consequential to the second amendment, which I will be moving later. This amends the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act 2016 and would establish the independent children and young people investigations agency as a separate agency that would sit alongside other advocacy and oversight bodies such as the Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee. Currently, this act is committed to the Minister for Education, and these oversight bodies are constituted within the Department for Education.

This amendment is drafted in such a way as to futureproof the agency from possible machinery of government changes, ensuring that even if the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act were to be committed to the Minister for Child Protection in the future the investigations agency would automatically be committed to the Minister for Education instead. This ensures that the agency would remain completely independent of the Department for Child Protection and Minister for Child Protection, and this independence would remain effective without the need for future amendments.

The investigations agency would be independent of direction or control by the Crown or any minister or officer of the Crown. The agency would consist of the principal investigator, along with the number of investigators the Minister for Education considers necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions.

The agency will be responsible for investigating complaints relating to the operation of the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act, administering the complaints management system, referring matters of concern to the Minister for Education and the Minister for Child Protection, the chief executive and any other appropriate person or body, and also any other functions assigned to the agency.

In order to carry out these investigative functions, the agency may require a person to provide information or documents the agency reasonably requires for the review, and the provision extends to state authorities or any officer or employee of a state authority. The maximum penalty for refusing or failing to comply with this provision is $10,000. However, it is important to note that this penalty does not apply to a prescribed person in respect of a child or young person, meaning a parent, foster parent or family member of the child or young person.

My amendment will also require the minister to establish a complaints management system to record information relating to the making, assessment, investigation and resolution of complaints. This complaints management system must contain such information as required under the act in relation to each complaint or report and must comply with any requirements set out in the regulations.

I understand that some of these independent investigation propositions or measures were talked to by other members. I know the Hon. Tammy Franks is very passionate about this particular amendment and so is the Hon. Connie Bonaros. I also want to share some concerns about why this particular amendment is being brought for debate today.

Stakeholders have shared concerns with most of the crossbenchers. These amendments are advocated by a vast number of stakeholders who have contacted me and the Select Committee on Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill calling for a truly independent complaints investigations body. I have heard from so many passionate and dedicated carers and stakeholders within the child protection sector who feel that their concerns and complaints are routinely constantly dismissed and ignored by the minister and the chief executive of the Department for Child Protection. They feel that they have nowhere to go and no avenue to have their complaints heard by an independent authority.

Carers and stakeholders have told me in no uncertain terms that the current complaints process is woefully inadequate and tightly controlled by the Department for Child Protection. They also mentioned that we need an independent complaints mechanism investigative agency that does not answer to the chief executive or the Minister for Child Protection.

The 2022 investigation by child protection expert Dr Fiona Arney found that there was a lack of independence in the department's internal complaints process. Dr Arney wrote that clearly a process that requires individuals and teams to receive and respond to complaints regarding their own performance, behaviour or decision-making represents a significant conflict of interest and by no means guarantees that the process will be impartial or fair. Dr Arney also went on to state that of significant concern to the inquiry was a number of submissions that included allegations of carers experiencing care concerns, threats or placement changes, bullying and harassment in response to carers raising complaints.

I am deeply disappointed because when my amendments were first proposed the minister's office actually sent advisers. With advisers from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet we had a meeting between the Hon. Connie Bonaros, the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Sarah Game. We sat around the table with my proposition and at the time the advisers looked at us, straight to our face, and said that my amendments were reasonable and that they were going to support them, but that never happened. Subsequently we never heard from them.

We compared notes and they said, 'Yes, these are reasonable, sensible amendments, we will accept them,' but then nobody came back—the minister did not come back, the office did not come back. I need the minister to answer the question on behalf of the Minister for Child Protection: why has this particular amendment not been considered? Perhaps she can provide some answers to some of the crossbench who have been advocating for this on behalf of stakeholders. We feel that an independent agency would do the job, providing a fair assessment of those complaints.

With those remarks, I move my amendment.