27Other carers authorised by Department to enable special care

27 Other carers authorised by Department to enable special care

27 Other carers authorised by Department to enable special care

(1) The Department, in its capacity as a designated agency, may authorise a person as an authorised carer to provide special out-of-home care if the person is—

(a) an employee of a special care provider whose duties include providing, or supervising the provision of, care to children or young persons, or

(b) a contractor, or

(c) an employee of a contractor whose duties as an employee include providing care to children or young persons.

(2) The Department must not authorise a person under subsection (1) unless the relevant special care provider has—

(a) informed the Department the special care provider is satisfied the person has complied with the requirements of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 for the child-related work as an authorised carer, and

(b) done anything else required under that Act in relation to the authorisation, whether before or after the commencement of this section.

(3) The Department must not place a child or young person in the out-of-home care of a person authorised under subsection (1) unless the Department has—

(a) determined the child or young person requires special out-of-home care that will be effectively provided by the placement, and

(b) consulted the Children’s Guardian about the placement.

(4) In this section—

contractor means a natural person engaged by a special care provider under a contract to provide services including providing, or supervising the provision of, care to children or young persons.

impairment includes, but is not limited to—

(a) an intellectual impairment,

(b) a psychiatric impairment,

(c) a sensory impairment,

(d) a physical impairment.

special care provider means an organisation the Department has determined is suitable to provide special out-of-home care for children or young persons.