83AAdditional requirements for permanency plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young persons

83A Additional requirements for permanency plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young persons

83A Additional requirements for permanency plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young persons

(1) This section sets out requirements for the preparation of a permanency plan for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or young person that are in addition to the requirements set out in section 83.

(2) If the Secretary assesses, under section 83(3), that there is not a realistic possibility of restoring a child or young person to the child’s or young person’s parents within a reasonable period, the Secretary must—

(a) include in the permanency plan evidence of the active efforts made, in accordance with the principle of active efforts, to determine whether the child or young person can be placed with any of the following, in accordance with the principle for the general order for placement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young persons under section 13(1)—

(i) a relative,

(ii) a member of kin or community,

(iii) another suitable person, and

(b) include in the permanency plan—

(i) a recommendation that the child or young person be placed with a relative, member of kin or community or other suitable person identified under paragraph (a), or

(ii) a recommendation that the child or young person not be placed with a relative, member of kin or community or other suitable person and the reasons for the recommendation.

(3) After considering a permanency plan for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or young person, the Children’s Court must not make a final care order unless it expressly finds—

(a) the plan complies with the following—

(i) the permanent placement principles,

(ii) the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young Persons Principle,

(iii) the placement principles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young persons set out in section 13, and

(b) the plan includes a cultural plan that sets out how the following will be maintained and developed—