27AAlternative reporting arrangements

27A Alternative reporting arrangements

27A Alternative reporting arrangements

(1) In this section—

assessment officer, in relation to a relevant agency, means a person appointed or designated by the head of the agency as an assessment officer of the agency for the purposes of an arrangement under this section.

head of a relevant agency means—

(a) (subject to paragraph (b)) the person who is the chief executive officer, or who exercises the functions of chief executive officer, of the agency, or

(b) the person prescribed by the regulations.

relevant agency means any of the following—

(a) the NSW Health Service (including the Health Executive Service referred to in section 121B of the Health Services Act 1997),

(b) the NSW Police Force,

(c) the Teaching Service,

(d) the Ministry of Health,

(e) the Department of Education,

(f) the TAFE Commission,

(g) the Department of Communities and Justice,

(h) any other agency or organisation prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.

(2) The Secretary and the head of a relevant agency may enter into an arrangement under which a person (the staff member) who—

(a) is employed in or engaged by the relevant agency, and

(b) is a person to whom section 27 applies,

may, in accordance with the terms of the arrangement, refer to an assessment officer of the agency any matter that the staff member would otherwise be required to report to the Secretary under that section.

(3) If the staff member refers such a matter to an assessment officer under any such arrangement, the assessment officer is, in accordance with the assessment guidelines issued by the Secretary for the purposes of this section, to assess whether the matter should be reported to the Secretary under section 27.

(4) If, in accordance with the assessment guidelines, the matter is assessed as a matter that should be reported to the Secretary under section 27, the assessment officer or the staff member is, as soon as practicable after the assessment, to report the matter to the Secretary under that section. Any such requirement applies in relation to the assessment officer as though the officer was a person to whom section 27 applies.