137Authorised carers

#### 137 Authorised carers 137 Authorised carers > > (1) In this Act, authorised carer means— > > > > > (a) the principal officer of a designated agency, or > > > > > (b) a person who, in accordance with the regulations, is authorised as an authorised carer by a designated agency, or > > > > > (c) a person who, in accordance with the regulations, is otherwise authorised as an authorised carer, or > > > > > (d) subject to the regulations, a person who is assessed to be suitable to be approved to adopt a child under section 45 of the [Adoption Act 2000](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2000-075). > > > (1A) If, in relation to a child or young person who is the subject of a care order, the Children’s Court has accepted that there is no realistic possibility of the child or young person being restored to his or her parents, a parent of the child or young person cannot— > > > > > (a) be given care responsibility for the child or young person, or > > > > > (b) be authorised by a designated agency as an authorised carer in respect of the child or young person, > > > > unless the decision of the Court that there is no possibility of restoration is rescinded under section 90. > > > (2) The regulations may provide for the following— > > > > > (a) the authorisation of persons as authorised carers, including on a provisional basis, > > > > > (b) the making and determination of an application for authorisations, > > > > > (c) the imposition or variation of conditions on an authorisation, including, but not limited to the following— > > > > > > > (i) the maximum number of children and young persons who may be placed in the care of an authorised carer, including the maximum number in specified age groups, > > > > > > > (ii) the identification or description of children and young persons who may be placed in the care of an authorised carer, > > > > > (d) the period for which an authorisation remains in force, > > > > > (e) the cancellation or suspension of an authorisation, including events, the occurrence of which— > > > > > > > (i) result in automatic cancellation of an authorisation, or > > > > > > > (ii) raise a presumption an authorisation will be cancelled, > > > > > (f) the notification, by a designated agency, to the Children’s Guardian of the placement of a child or young person in the out-of-home care of an authorised carer, > > > > > (g) the approval or prohibition of behaviour management practices that may be used by an authorised carer in managing the behaviour of a child or young person in out-of-home care. > > > (3) In the case of an authorised carer who is authorised by a designated agency, it is a condition of the authorisation that the carer must, as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the designated agency— > > > > > (a) if any person (other than the carer) resides on the same property as the carer for 3 weeks or more, or > > > > > (b) if a person residing on the same property as the carer attains the age of 18 years. > > > > Note. > > > > See section 10 of the [Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2012-051) which requires that an adult person who resides on the same property as an authorised carer for more than 3 weeks must hold a working with children check clearance. > > > (4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a person who is an authorised carer solely because the person is an authorised residential care worker. > > **s 137:** Am 2009 No 13, Schs 1.3 \[6\], 3.3 \[1\]; 2012 No 51, Sch 4.1 \[2\]; 2013 No 31, Sch 2 \[2\]; 2014 No 8, Sch 1 \[75\]; 2015 No 29, Sch 3 \[11\]–\[13\]; 2020 No 31, Sch 2.1\[3\]; 2021 No 16, Sch 3\[10\]; 2021 No 45, Sch 3\[5\].