{"id":"office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024","name":"Office for Early Childhood Development Act 2024","slug":"office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106163,"registerId":"sa-office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Office for Early Childhood Development Act 2024","content":"South Australia\nOffice for Early Childhood Development Act 2024\nAn Act to provide for an Office for Early Childhood Development, and for other purposes.\n\nContents\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tMeaning of early childhood development system\nPart 2—Office for Early Childhood Development\n5\tOffice for Early Childhood Development\n6\tFunctions\n7\tAdditional functions and principles in respect of Aboriginal children\n8\tCommittees\n9\tDelegation\nPart 3—Information gathering and sharing\n10\tChief Executive may require State authority to provide report\n11\tChief Executive may require information\n12\tSharing of information between certain entities\n13\tInteraction with Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016\nPart 4—Miscellaneous\n14\tFalse and misleading statements\n15\tConfidentiality\n16\tVictimisation\n17\tProtections, privileges and immunities\n18\tRegulations and fee notices\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Office for Early Childhood Development Act 2024.\n2—Commencement\nThis Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.\n3—Interpretation\nIn this Act—\nAboriginal child or Aboriginal person means a child or person (as the case requires) who—\n\t(a)\tis of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent; and\n\t(b)\tregards themselves as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (or, in the case of a young child, is regarded as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander by a member of their family or community); and\n\t(c)\tis accepted as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander by a relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community,\n(and a reference to Aboriginal, or an Aboriginal family or organisation, is to be construed accordingly);\nChief Executive means the Chief Executive of the Office for Early Childhood Development, and includes a person acting in that position;\nDepartment has the same meaning as in the Education and Children's Services Act 2019;\nearly childhood development system—see section 4;\nOffice for Early Childhood Development or Office means the Office for Early Childhood Development referred to in section 5;\nState authority means—\n\t(a)\ta person who holds an office established by an Act; or\n\t(b)\ta public sector agency (within the meaning of the Public Sector Act 2009); or\n\t(c)\ta local council; or\n\t(d)\tany incorporated or unincorporated body—\n\t(i)\testablished for a public purpose by an Act; or\n\t(ii)\testablished for a public purpose under an Act (other than an Act providing for the incorporation of companies or associations, co‑operatives, societies or other voluntary organisations); or\n\t(iii)\testablished, or subject to control or direction, by the Governor, a Minister of the Crown or any instrumentality or agency of the Crown or a local council (whether or not established by or under an Act or an enactment); or\n\t(e)\tany other entity, or entity of a class, prescribed by the regulations,\nbut does not include—\n\t(f)\tthe Guardian for Children and Young People; or\n\t(g)\tthe Commissioner for Children and Young People; or\n\t(h)\tthe Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People; or\n\t(i)\tany other entity prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.\n4—Meaning of early childhood development system\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of this Act, a reference to the early childhood development system will be taken to be a reference to any system or systems that contribute to or affect the development of children in early childhood, and in particular (but not limited to) health services, human services and education and care services provided in early childhood.\n\t(2)\tTo avoid doubt, the early childhood development system includes infrastructure and services, whether provided by the State, or by communities, local government providers or non‑government providers.\nPart 2—Office for Early Childhood Development\n5—Office for Early Childhood Development\nThe Minister must ensure that there is an Office for Early Childhood Development.\n6—Functions\n\t(1)\tThe primary function of the Office is to act as a steward of the State's early childhood development system, and in particular to reduce the proportion of children in the State who are developmentally vulnerable when starting school.\n\t(2)\tThe Office also has the following additional functions:\n\t(a)\tto facilitate, commission and support research relating to early childhood development;\n\t(b)\tto support and facilitate the development of systems, policies and processes for the secure sharing of data across the early childhood development system;\n\t(c)\tto support the universal reach of child health and development checks;\n\t(d)\tto drive a vision of place‑based, responsive and connected service delivery, building early childhood education and care as the backbone of a universal early childhood development system;\n\t(e)\tto drive universal access to 3 and 4 year old preschool, developing and implementing funding models and connecting preschool providers to the broader early childhood development system;\n\t(f)\tto develop, implement and fund fit‑for‑purpose infrastructure and targeted programs and services, including commissioning integrated service hubs, to support the early childhood development of children at increased risk of developmental vulnerability;\n\t(g)\tto align supports and services with the needs of children by partnering with families, State authorities, non‑government organisations and local and Commonwealth governments;\n\t(h)\tto provide overall strategic direction in relation to government early childhood development services;\n\t(i)\tto commission or recommission government services, as required;\n\t(j)\tto drive the recognition of the cultural and linguistic diversity of children accessing services within the early childhood development system;\n\t(k)\tto drive the participation of children with disability in the early childhood development system;\n\t(l)\tto drive the participation of children in care, children who are in contact with the child protection system and children who are receiving child and family support services in the early childhood development system;\n\t(m)\tto undertake strategic workforce planning to support early childhood reforms and service provision;\n\t(n)\tany other functions conferred on the Office by or under this or any other Act or by the Minister.\n\t(3)\tIn performing its functions under this Act, the Office will consider the views of children and their families.\n\t(4)\tIn performing its functions under this Act, the Office will have regard, and seek to give effect, to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and any other relevant international human rights instruments affecting children.\n7—Additional functions and principles in respect of Aboriginal children\n\t(1)\tWithout limiting section 6, the Office has the following additional functions in respect of Aboriginal children:\n\t(a)\tto drive the cultural safety of early childhood education and care services for Aboriginal children;\n\t(b)\tto align supports and services with the needs of Aboriginal children by partnering with Aboriginal families and organisations;\n\t(c)\tto support measures aimed at implementing national agreements relevant to the early childhood development of Aboriginal children;\n\t(d)\tto drive Aboriginal data sovereignty in relation to early childhood development data.\n\t(2)\tThe Office will, in performing functions under this Act that affect Aboriginal children, have regard, and seek to give effect, to the following principles:\n\t(a)\tthe cultural identity of Aboriginal children will be safeguarded and driven (including by driving the maintenance of connections to family, community, culture and Country);\n\t(b)\tAboriginal self-determination will be supported (including, but not limited to, by working in partnership with Aboriginal communities in decisions that affect them);\n\t(c)\tpartnership with, and the participation of, Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal organisations is necessary to support an early childhood development system that recognises the particular needs of Aboriginal children (including any developmental trauma) and reduces the proportion of Aboriginal children in the State who are developmentally vulnerable when starting school.\n\t(3)\tIn performing functions under this Act that affect Aboriginal children, the Office will have regard, and seek to give effect, to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.\n8—Committees\n\t(1)\tThe Chief Executive or the Minister may establish such committees to advise the Office as the Chief Executive or Minister (as the case requires) considers appropriate.\n\t(2)\tThe membership of a committee will be determined by the Chief Executive or Minister (as the case requires) and may, but need not, consist of or include members of the Office.\n\t(3)\tWithout otherwise limiting subsection (2), at least 1 member of each committee must be an Aboriginal person.\n\t(4)\tA member of a committee will hold office for a term, and on conditions, determined by the Chief Executive or Minister (as the case requires).\n\t(5)\tA member of a committee is entitled to such fees, expenses and allowances as may be determined by the Minister.\n\t(6)\tThe Chief Executive or Minister (as the case requires) will determine who will be the presiding member of a committee.\n\t(7)\tThe procedures to be observed in relation to the conduct of the business of a committee will be as determined by—\n\t(a)\tthe Chief Executive; and\n\t(b)\tinsofar as a procedure is not determined under paragraph (a)—the committee.\n9—Delegation\n\t(1)\tThe Chief Executive may delegate a function under this Act, or a function of the Office under this Act, to a specified entity (including, to avoid doubt, a person acting in a specified position or office).\n\t(2)\tA delegation under this section—\n\t(a)\tmust be by instrument in writing; and\n\t(b)\tmay be absolute or conditional; and\n\t(c)\tdoes not derogate from the ability of the Chief Executive or the Office (as the case requires) to act in any matter; and\n\t(d)\tis revocable at will.\n\t(3)\tA function delegated under this section may, if the instrument of delegation so provides, be further delegated.\nPart 3—Information gathering and sharing\n10—Chief Executive may require State authority to provide report\n\t(1)\tThe Chief Executive may, if of the opinion that it may assist the Office in the performance of functions under this Act, by notice in writing, require a State authority to prepare and provide a report to the Chief Executive in relation to the matters, and in accordance with any requirements, specified in the notice.\n\t(2)\tWithout limiting the matters that may be included in a notice under subsection (1), a notice must set out—\n\t(a)\tthe reason why the report is required; and\n\t(b)\tthe purposes for which any information contained in the report will be used; and\n\t(c)\tthe period within which the report must be provided to the Chief Executive; and\n\t(d)\tany other information required by the regulations.\n\t(3)\tIf a State authority refuses or fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1), the Chief Executive may, after consultation with the State authority—\n\t(a)\treport the refusal or failure to the Minister and to the Minister responsible for the State authority (if any); and\n\t(b)\tinclude details of the refusal or failure in the annual report of the Office.\n\t(4)\tThe Minister may, by notice in writing, exempt a State authority from the operation of this section.\n11—Chief Executive may require information\n\t(1)\tThe Chief Executive may, by notice in writing, require a specified entity (whether or not the entity is a State authority, or an officer or employee of a State authority) to provide to the Chief Executive such information, or such documents, as may be specified in the notice (being information or documents in the possession of the entity that the Chief Executive reasonably requires for the performance of functions under this Act).\n\t(2)\tWithout limiting the matters that may be included in a notice under subsection (1), a notice must set out—\n\t(a)\tthe reason why the information or document is required; and\n\t(b)\tthe purposes for which the information or document will be used; and\n\t(c)\tany other information required by the regulations.\n\t(3)\tAn entity of whom a requirement is made under subsection (1) must give the specified information or documents to the Chief Executive within the period specified in the notice.\n\t(4)\tAn entity who refuses or fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.\nMaximum penalty: $5 000.\n\t(5)\tIf a State authority refuses or fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1), the Chief Executive may, after consultation with the State authority—\n\t(a)\treport the refusal or failure to the Minister and to the Minister responsible for the State authority (if any); and\n\t(b)\tinclude details of the refusal or failure in the annual report of the Office.\n\t(6)\tThe Minister may, by notice in writing, exempt an entity from the operation of this section.\n12—Sharing of information between certain entities\n\t(1)\tThis section applies to the following entities:\n\t(a)\tthe Office;\n\t(b)\tthe Department;\n\t(c)\tthe Commissioner for Children and Young People;\n\t(d)\tthe Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People;\n\t(e)\tthe Guardian for Children and Young People;\n\t(f)\tthe Child Development Council;\n\t(g)\ta State authority;\n\t(h)\tgovernment and non‑government schools;\n\t(i)\tan education and care service within the meaning of the Education and Care Services National Law;\n\t(j)\tthe Association of Independent Schools of South Australia;\n\t(k)\tCatholic Education South Australia;\n\t(l)\tthe South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Network Inc;\n\t(m)\tany other entity, or entity of a class, prescribed by the regulations.\n\t(2)\tDespite any other Act or law, an entity to which this section applies (the provider) may, in accordance with any requirement set out in the regulations, provide prescribed information and documents to another entity to which this section applies (the recipient) if the provider reasonably believes that the provision of the information or documents—\n\t(a)\twould assist the recipient to perform official functions relating to—\n\t(i)\tthe education or early childhood development of a child or class of children; or\n\t(ii)\tthe health, safety, welfare or wellbeing of a child or class of children; or\n\t(b)\twould otherwise further the purposes of this Act.\n\t(3)\tSubject to this section, but despite any other Act or law, information or documents that do not directly or indirectly disclose the identity of any person may be provided by one entity to whom this section applies to another without restriction.\n\t(4)\tSubsection (3) applies whether or not the information or documents—\n\t(a)\tconsist of or include prescribed information and documents; and\n\t(b)\tever disclosed the identity of a person, or have been redacted so as to de‑identify it.\n\t(5)\tInformation or documents may be provided under this section whether or not the provider has been requested to provide the information or documents.\n\t(6)\tA recipient of prescribed information or documents under this section must not (unless the information or documents are provided to another entity to which this section applies) disclose or communicate the information or documents to another entity except where the disclosure or communication—\n\t(a)\tis required to assist the recipient in the proper performance of official functions or duties relating to the education, early childhood development, health, safety, welfare or wellbeing of a child; or\n\t(b)\tis required to assist the recipient in the management of any risk to a child or class of children that might arise in the entity's capacity as an employer or provider of services; or\n\t(c)\tis reasonably required to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of a child or other person; or\n\t(d)\tis required or authorised under this Act or any other Act or law; or\n\t(e)\tis required or authorised by an order of a court or tribunal; or\n\t(f)\tis with the consent of—\n\t(i)\tin the case of information or documents that relate to a particular child—a person responsible for the child to whom it relates; or\n\t(ii)\tin any other case—the person to whom the information or documents relate; or\n\t(g)\tis in circumstances or for a purpose prescribed by the regulations.\nMaximum penalty: $10 000.\n\t(7)\tPrescribed information or documents provided under subsection (2) for a particular purpose must not be used for any other purpose by—\n\t(a)\tthe recipient of the information or document; or\n\t(b)\tany other person who gains access to the information or document (whether properly or improperly and whether directly or indirectly).\nMaximum penalty: $10 000.\n\t(8)\tDespite subsection (6) or (7), the Office may publish information or documents received under this section (including, to avoid doubt, prescribed information and documents) if—\n\t(a)\tthe Office is of the opinion that to do so would further the objects of this Act; and\n\t(b)\tthe publication could not reasonably be expected to lead to the identification of any person to whom the information or document relates.\n\t(9)\tIn this section—\nprescribed information and documents means—\n\t(a)\tinformation or documents relating to the development, health, education, safety, welfare or wellbeing of a particular child, or children of a particular class; or\n\t(b)\tany other information or document of a kind prescribed by the regulations.\n13—Interaction with Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016\nNothing in this Part affects the operation of the Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016.\nPart 4—Miscellaneous\n14—False and misleading statements\nA person must not make a statement knowing that it is false or misleading in a material particular (whether by reason of the inclusion or omission of a particular) in information provided under this Act.\nMaximum penalty: $10 000.\n15—Confidentiality\n\t(1)\tA person engaged or formerly engaged in the administration of this Act must not divulge or communicate personal information obtained (whether by that person or otherwise) in the course of official duties except—\n\t(a)\tas required or authorised by or under this Act or any other Act or law; or\n\t(b)\twith the consent of the person to whom the information relates; or\n\t(c)\tin connection with the administration or enforcement of this or any other Act; or\n\t(d)\tfor the purposes of referring the matter to a law enforcement agency; or\n\t(e)\tto an agency or instrumentality of this State, the Commonwealth or another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth for the purposes of the proper performance of its functions; or\n\t(f)\tto a person or agency performing functions under an Act relating to the care or protection of children; or\n\t(g)\tif the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the protection of the lawful interests of that person.\nMaximum penalty: $10 000.\n\t(2)\tSubsection (1) does not prevent disclosure of statistical or other data that could not reasonably be expected to lead to the identification of any person to whom it relates.\n\t(3)\tInformation that has been disclosed under subsection (1) for a particular purpose must not be used for any other purpose by—\n\t(a)\tthe person to whom the information was disclosed; or\n\t(b)\tany other person who gains access to the information (whether properly or improperly and whether directly or indirectly) as a result of that disclosure.\nMaximum penalty: $10 000.\n\t(4)\tThe regulations may make further provision in respect of the disclosure of information obtained in the course of the administration of this Act.\n16—Victimisation\n\t(1)\tA person who causes detriment to another on the ground, or substantially on the ground, that the other person or a third person has provided, or intends to provide, information under this Act commits an act of victimisation.\n\t(2)\tHowever, causing detriment on the ground that a person—\n\t(a)\thas made a false allegation; or\n\t(b)\thas not acted in good faith,\ndoes not constitute an act of victimisation.\n\t(3)\tAn act of victimisation under this Act may be dealt with—\n\t(a)\tas a tort; or\n\t(b)\tas if it were an act of victimisation under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984,\nbut, if the victim commences proceedings in a court seeking a remedy in tort, the victim cannot subsequently lodge a complaint under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 and, conversely, if the victim lodges a complaint under that Act, the victim cannot subsequently commence proceedings in a court seeking a remedy in tort.\n\t(4)\tIf a complaint alleging an act of victimisation under this Act has been lodged with the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity and the Commissioner is of the opinion that the subject matter of the complaint has already been adequately dealt with by a competent authority, the Commissioner may decline to act on the complaint or to proceed further with action on the complaint.\n\t(5)\tIn proceedings against a person seeking a remedy in tort for an act of victimisation committed by an employee or agent of the person, it is a defence to prove that the person exercised all reasonable diligence to ensure that the employee or agent would not commit an act of victimisation.\n\t(6)\tA person who personally commits an act of victimisation under this Act is guilty of an offence.\nMaximum penalty: $10 000.\n\t(7)\tProceedings for an offence against subsection (6) may only be commenced by a police officer or a person approved by either the Commissioner of Police or the Director of Public Prosecutions.\n\t(8)\tIn this section—\ndetriment includes—\n\t(a)\tinjury, damage or loss; and\n\t(b)\tintimidation or harassment; and\n\t(c)\tdiscrimination, disadvantage or adverse treatment in relation to a person's employment; and\n\t(d)\tthreats of reprisal.\n17—Protections, privileges and immunities\n\t(1)\tNothing in this Act affects any rule or principle of law relating to—\n\t(a)\tlegal professional privilege; or\n\t(b)\t\"without prejudice\" privilege; or\n\t(c)\tpublic interest immunity.\n\t(2)\tA person is excused from answering a question or producing a document or other material under this Act if the person could not be compelled to answer the question or produce the document or material in proceedings in the Supreme Court.\n\t(3)\tA person who provides information or a document under this Act has the same protection, privileges and immunities as a witness in proceedings before the Supreme Court.\n\t(4)\tA person who does anything in accordance with this Act, or as required or authorised by or under this Act, cannot by so doing be held to have breached any code of professional etiquette or ethics, or to have departed from any acceptable form of professional conduct.\n18—Regulations and fee notices\n\t(1)\tThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.\n\t(2)\tWithout limiting the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may provide for—\n\t(a)\tthe exemption of a person, or a class of persons, from the operation of a specified provision or provisions of this Act; and\n\t(b)\tfees in respect of any matter under this Act and their payment, recovery or waiver; and\n\t(c)\tfines, not exceeding $10 000, for offences against the regulations; and\n\t(d)\tfacilitation of proof of the commission of offences against the regulations.\n\t(3)\tThe regulations may—\n\t(a)\tbe of general or limited application; and\n\t(b)\tmake different provision according to the matters or circumstances to which they are expressed to apply; and\n\t(c)\tmake provisions of a saving or transitional nature; and\n\t(d)\tprovide that a matter or thing in respect of which regulations may be made is to be determined according to the discretion of a specified entity; and\n\t(e)\tapply or incorporate, wholly or partially and with or without modification, a code, standard, policy or other document prepared or published by the Minister or another specified entity.\n\t(4)\tThe Minister may prescribe fees for the purposes of this Act by fee notice under the Legislation (Fees) Act 2019.\n\t(5)\tIf a code, standard or other document is referred to or incorporated in the regulations—\n\t(a)\ta copy of the code, standard or other document must be kept available for public inspection, without charge and during ordinary office hours, at an office or offices specified in the regulations; and\n\t(b)\tevidence of the contents of the code, standard or other document may be given in any legal proceedings by production of a document apparently certified by the Minister to be a true copy of the code, standard or other document.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal Act\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2024\n61\nOffice for Early Childhood Development Act 2024 \n5.12.2024\n6.3.2025 (Gazette 20.2.2025 p193)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with its stated purpose of establishing an Office for Early Childhood Development. The scope covers establishment, functions, information sharing, and miscellaneous protections — all directly related to the core purpose. No significant scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Moderate length (18 sections) with straightforward structure in 4 Parts","9 defined terms in the interpretation section, including a complex multi-part definition of 'State authority' with 5 inclusions and 4 exclusions","Nested conditional logic in information-sharing provisions (section 12) with multiple exceptions to disclosure restrictions","Cross-reference to the Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016 to clarify legislative interaction","Multiple penalty provisions with varying maximum fines ($5,000 to $10,000)","Incorporation of external legal concepts (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) without full text inclusion","Delegated legislative power allowing regulations to prescribe additional entities, information types, and exemptions"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a new government body called the **Office for Early Childhood Development** in South Australia. Its main job is to act as a \"steward\" (coordinator and overseer) of all the services that affect young children's development — things like health checks, childcare, preschool, and family support services.\n\n**The big goal:** Reduce the number of kids who are \"developmentally vulnerable\" when they start school — meaning kids who aren't hitting key milestones in areas like language, emotional maturity, or physical health.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Families with young children** — especially those accessing preschool, childcare, or health services\n- **Aboriginal children and families** — the Act includes special provisions for cultural safety and Aboriginal data sovereignty (control over how data about Aboriginal people is collected and used)\n- **Government agencies** — the Office can demand reports and information from State authorities, schools, and service providers\n- **Service providers** — childcare centres, health services, and schools must share information with each other under new rules\n\n**Key powers and features:**\n- The Office can **require government agencies to hand over information** about children and services\n- It can **share information** between schools, health services, and child protection agencies to help kids — but there are strict privacy rules with fines up to $10,000 for misuse\n- **Special protections for Aboriginal children** — including principles of self-determination, cultural safety, and mandatory Aboriginal representation on advisory committees\n- **Anti-victimisation protections** — people can't be punished for providing information under this Act\n- **Privacy safeguards** — personal information must be kept confidential, with criminal penalties for breaches\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis legislation aims to break down silos between different government departments (health, education, child protection) so they work together better for kids. It recognises that a child's development depends on many interconnected factors — health, education, family circumstances — and tries to create a more coordinated \"system\" rather than disconnected services. The Aboriginal-specific provisions reflect a commitment to addressing the significant gap in developmental outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available. The page returned an error, providing no content about the Act's original intent or any amendments."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Analysis is impossible without the actual Act content","Complexity score of 1 reflects the absence of any analysable legal material, not the likely complexity of the underlying Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"The Office for Early Childhood Development Act 2024 (SA) appears to establish a statutory government office to plan, coordinate and govern early‑childhood services across South Australia by setting out its functions, powers and governance. \n\nIt would mainly affect families with young children, early‑childhood educators and service providers, and government agencies responsible for childcare, health checks and family support programs."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act expands and centralises State oversight of early childhood services by establishing a statutory Office with stewardship, commissioning and funding functions (s 6), explicit powers to require reports and information from a wide class of entities (ss 10–11), and a statutory data‑sharing regime for listed entities (s 12). It also embeds Aboriginal‑specific functions and principles (s 7) and provides broad regulatory and delegation powers (ss 9, 18), thereby extending the State's administrative reach over previously dispersed functions."},"complexity_factors":["Broad definitional scope of 'State authority' that captures many public and quasi‑public bodies (s 3), increasing who may be compelled to act.","Wide information‑gathering and compulsory reporting powers for the Chief Executive, including criminal and civil penalties for non‑compliance (ss 10–11).","Permissive, cross‑entity data‑sharing regime that overrides other laws for listed entities, but limits use and re‑disclosure with significant penalties (s 12).","Interaction clause preserving operation of the Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016, creating potential overlaps and choice of compliance pathway (s 13).","Specific, additional functions and statutory principles relating to Aboriginal children, including data sovereignty obligations (s 7), requiring culturally specific practice.","Delegation and committee powers that vest substantial administrative discretion in the Chief Executive and Minister (ss 8–9), including exemption powers (ss 10(4), 11(6)).","Regulation‑making powers that allow detailed and variable implementation (fees, exemptions, incorporated codes, discretionary determinations) increasing administrative complexity (s 18).","Multiple confidentiality, privilege and immunity provisions with offences and defences (ss 14–17) creating compliance and legal‑risk considerations for practitioners and agencies."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a permanent Office for Early Childhood Development to steward and coordinate the State's early childhood development system. It gives the Office powers to set strategy, commission services and infrastructure, develop preschool funding, and require reports and information from State authorities and other entities.\n\nThe law affects State authorities, schools, early childhood services, Aboriginal organisations and families by enabling structured data sharing (with confidentiality rules), imposing penalties for non‑compliance, and embedding specific functions and principles for Aboriginal children to guide decision‑making."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024","history":"/api/acts/office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/office-for-early-childhood-development-act-2024/documents"}}