122Mandatory reporting of child who lives away from home without parental permission

#### 122 Mandatory reporting of child who lives away from home without parental permission 122 Mandatory reporting of child who lives away from home without parental permission > > (1) A person (other than an excluded person) who provides residential accommodation for another person who the person has reasonable grounds to suspect— > > > > > (a) is a child, and > > > > > (b) is living away from home without parental permission, > > > > must, as soon as practicable, inform the Secretary of the child’s whereabouts. > > > > Maximum penalty—200 penalty units. > > > > Note. > > > > The police will notify the Secretary of the details of children who have been reported to the police as missing. If the Secretary becomes aware that a child reported as missing is safe, the Secretary is required to advise the police that the child is safe but not of the whereabouts of the child. The purpose of this provision is to avoid wasting resources in having the police search for missing children whose whereabouts are known to the Secretary. > > > > The parents should be informed that the child is safe, but nothing in this section requires any person to reveal the whereabouts of the child to a person other than the Secretary. > > > (2) In this section— > > > > excluded person means a person who— > > > > > (a) is a friend or relative of the child who maintains both a close personal relationship with the child through frequent personal contact and a personal interest in the child’s welfare, and > > > > > (b) does not provide support to the child wholly or substantially on a commercial basis. > > **s 122:** Am 2003 No 82, Sch 1.6 \[2\] \[3\]; 2014 No 8, Sch 1 \[71\] \[72\].