Children (Protection and Parental Responsibility) Act 1997

The Act builds on three core legal concepts that govern duties, discretion and administrative design.

1. Parental responsibility as a court tool. Part 2 frames parental participation and obligations as instruments in the criminal justice response to children. Courts can require parental attendance (s 7), accept undertakings from children (s 8) or parents (s 9), require counselling (s 10) and prosecute parents who wilfully contribute to a child’s offending (s 11). The guiding principle for courts is the child’s best interests and the relationship between child and parent (s 6).

2. Operational area and conditional police powers. Part 3 divides municipal geography into operational areas by ministerial order at the Attorney General’s discretion following a council request (ss 14-16). Only within such an operational area do police enjoy the removal powers in Division 2. The Division applies to persons a police officer believes on reasonable grounds are under 16 (s 18(b)), and permits removal where the officer reasonably believes the child lacks supervision and is at risk (s 19(1)). Police must employ best endeavours to return the child to a responsible adult while prioritising the child’s best interests (s 21).

3. Local crime prevention plans and safer community compacts. Councils may prepare local crime prevention plans, follow statutory exhibition and consultation steps (ss 31, 34), adopt plans (s 35) and seek the Attorney General’s approval to convert a plan into a safer community compact (s 39). Approval triggers an ability for the Attorney General to grant financial assistance from parliamentary appropriations for initiatives under the compact (s 40(2)-(3)). Approved compacts are time-limited for three years unless revoked (s 42(1)-(2)).

Interlocking administrative roles. The Attorney General decides on operational-area declarations (s 14), approvals of plans (s 39) and financial assistance (s 40), and may delegate functions to departmental officers other than delegation power itself (s 43). The Director-General of the Department of Community Services designates approved persons to receive children when police cannot return them to parents or carers (s 24) and may place children in care consistent with the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (s 22(8)). Police act under statutory powers subject to Commissioner directions and regulations (s 26(1)-(2)) and to mandatory reporting obligations under the Children and Young Persons Act when exercising Division 2 functions (s 20(4)).

Statutory limits, definitions and interactions. The Act sets age thresholds that vary by provision. The general definition of child is under 18 (s 3), but Division 2 only applies to persons believed on reasonable grounds to be under 16 (s 18(b)). The Act defines public place broadly (s 3). It restricts certain police actions such as taking children to police stations (s 23(1)), authorises use of reasonable force for removals (s 28) and allows frisk searches and seizure of weapons in specified circumstances with an express definition of frisk search (s 29).

These concepts create a framework where local government, the Attorney General, police and child welfare authorities have distinct but overlapping responsibilities, each subject to statutory conditions and procedural steps in the Act.

The Act assigns roles and obligations to a discrete set of actors and imposes indirect effects on others.

Primary duty-holders and decision-makers

• Attorney General. Decides whether to declare operational areas under Part 3 (s 14(2)), must be satisfied adequate crime prevention or youth support initiatives will be available before an order takes effect (s 14(3)), approves local crime prevention plans as safer community compacts (s 39(1)), may grant financial assistance to councils under approved compacts (s 40(2)), and may revoke declarations or approvals (ss 16(1), 42(2)). The Attorney General must consult relevant ministers before certain decisions (s 14(5), s 39(3), s 16(3)). The Attorney General may delegate functions to Department officers except the power of delegation itself (s 43).
• Councils. Initiate draft local crime prevention plans and public consultation (s 31), request operational-area declarations from the Attorney General (s 14(1)), must publicly exhibit draft plans (s 34), decide to adopt or amend plans (s 35, s 37), publish adopted plans and amendments in a newspaper and the Gazette (s 38), and report to the Attorney General when requested about implementation and effectiveness of Division 2 powers in their operational area (s 15(4)) or about safer community compact implementation (s 41). Councils may receive financial assistance under s 40.
• Police. Within declared operational areas, police may remove persons believed on reasonable grounds to be children under 16 and at risk (ss 18, 19), escort them to residences, leave them with responsible adults, place them with the Director-General or an approved person (s 22), frisk-search where an officer reasonably believes a concealed weapon may be present (s 29), use reasonable force during removals (s 28), and must consider whether action under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 is more appropriate before acting under s 22 (s 20(3)). Police functions must conform with Commissioner directions (s 26(1)).
• Director-General of the Department of Community Services. Receives children placed in the Department’s care under s 22(5)(a), may place children in care consistent with the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act (s 22(8)), and designates approved persons for temporary care placements (s 24).
• Parents and carers. May be required to attend court (s 7), give undertakings or security for a child’s behaviour (s 9), and may be criminally liable if, by wilful default, they materially contributed to a child’s offence (s 11). If a police officer places a child in alternative care, the officer must notify a parent or carer if known and practicable unless the child volunteers otherwise and the officer is satisfied non-notification is in the child’s best interests (s 25).

Other affected parties

• Young people under 16. They are within the direct scope of Division 2 in operational areas and may be removed from public places and placed temporarily in a range of care settings (ss 18-22). The Act treats under-16s differently from the general definition of child under 18 (s 3 vs s 18(b)).
• Approved persons and close relatives. Persons designated by the Director-General as approved persons may be required to take temporary care placements (ss 24, 22(5)(b)). Close relatives nominated by the child can be the landing point for police escorts but must be able and willing to care for the child before the police may leave the child there (s 22(3)-(4)).
• Community generally. Councils must consult the community including young people and Aboriginal people in preparing plans and operational-area requests (ss 14(4)(a), 31(3), 33, 39(2)(c)). Approved compacts and adopted plans must be publicly exhibited and published (ss 34, 38).

Indirect financial stakeholders

• Councils and local agencies may receive financial assistance for approved compacts from appropriations controlled by the Attorney General (s 40(2)-(3)). The Act makes such assistance discretionary and subject to parliamentary appropriation.

Persons not covered or explicitly excluded

• The Minister administering the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 or the Director-General of the Department of Community Services, and parents lacking guardianship or custody, are excluded from the definition of parent for certain purposes (s 3, parent definition).

The Act therefore reallocates operational responsibilities among local government, the Attorney General, police and the Department of Community Services, with direct effects on children under 16, their parents and carers, approved persons, and local communities involved in plan preparation and implementation.

The Act creates affirmative duties and confers specific powers. Below are principal legal obligations and statutory entitlements, cited to the relevant sections.

Court duties and powers (Part 2)

• Courts must regard the child’s best interests when exercising parental responsibility powers (s 6(1)-(2)). The statute supplies non-exhaustive factors such as the nature of parent-child relationship, parental attitude and the welfare and circumstances of the child and parents (s 6(2)(a)-(c)).
• Courts may require parents and others to attend proceedings (s 7(1)-(2)) and may specify which parent must attend (s 7(2)). The definition of designated agency is cross-referenced to the Children’s Guardian Act 2019 for attendance involving out-of-home care situations (s 7(3)).
• Courts may release a child on undertaking instead of other dispositions (s 8(1)), call parents to explain breaches (s 8(2)), cancel or vary undertakings but not extend undertaking periods (s 8(3)) and, if cancelled, impose available penalties (s 8(4)).
• Courts may accept parental undertakings up to six months or, in exceptional circumstances, 12 months but not beyond the child’s eighteenth birthday; supplementary undertakings to guarantee a child’s compliance are available (s 9(1)). Security for good behaviour may be required but only after the parent has had an opportunity to be heard (s 9(2)). Courts cannot punish a child for a parent's failure to comply (s 9(3)). Forfeiture rules are specified (s 9(4)).
• Courts may require family counselling and make it a part of the sentence or disposition (s 10).
• Parent criminal liability is created where a parent by wilful default contributed directly and materially to the child’s offence; penalty 10 penalty units; courts may instead require counselling or other actions (s 11).

Police duties and constraints (Part 3 Division 2)

• Police may exercise removal powers in operational areas only, and the Division applies only to persons believed on reasonable grounds to be under 16 and in public places in operational areas (ss 14, 18).
• Police may remove a child from a public place if the child is unsupervised and at risk, where risk includes physical harm, abuse and imminent commission of an offence (s 19(1)-(3)). They must escort the child to a place in accordance with s 22 (s 19(2)).
• Police must try to escort the child to the parent, carer or other responsible adult, using best endeavours (s 21(1)), but their paramount duty is the child’s best interests, which may require other action (s 21(2)).
• Specific placement options are listed: parent’s residence, carer’s residence, nominated close relative, Director-General of the Department of Community Services, or an approved person (s 22(1), (3), (5)). Conditions for leaving the child are set out, such as the presence of a responsible adult or the police being satisfied the child may safely be left (s 22(2), (4)).
• Temporary custody ceilings are defined: approved-person care may last up to 24 hours or a shorter prescribed period (s 22(6)), after which the child must be released or dealt with according to law if not returned (s 22(7)).
• Police cannot take or leave children at police stations under any circumstances (s 23(1)). Police must consider the child’s wishes as volunteered before escorting under s 22, albeit not compelling expression of views (s 23(3)). Police may use reasonable force for removals (s 28).
• Police exercising Division 2 functions must consider whether the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 would be more appropriate before acting under s 22, and mandatory reporting under that Act applies (s 20(1), (3)-(4)).

Administrative duties and discretionary powers

• The Attorney General must be satisfied that adequate crime prevention or youth support initiatives will be available before declaring an area operational (s 14(3)) and must consult specified ministers before making or revoking orders (ss 14(5), 16(3)). The Attorney General may issue guidelines regarding plans (s 32), approve plans as safer community compacts (s 39), grant financial assistance from appropriations (s 40(2)-(3)) and revoke approvals (s 42).
• Councils must publicly exhibit draft plans for not less than 28 days and allow at least 42 days for submissions following exhibition (s 34(2)-(3)). Councils must publish adopted plans and amendments in a newspaper and the Gazette within 14 days (s 38(1)-(2)). Councils must report on implementation when requested by the Attorney General (s 41).
• The Director-General designates approved persons (s 24(1)) and must take cultural placement principles into account for Aboriginal children and culturally similar backgrounds for non‑Aboriginal children (s 24(2)-(3)).

Rights and safeguards

• Children and parents have procedural safeguards in courtroom processes including opportunities to be heard before security is required from parents (s 9(2)) and limits on the duration of undertakings (s 9(1), s 8(3)). Police must not leave a child in a place considered detrimental to the child’s best interests (s 23(2)). Notification duties to parents are qualified by practicability and the child’s volunteered wish not to notify where it is in the child’s best interests (s 25(1)-(2)). Regulations may further constrain the circumstances for police functions and compel attendance (s 26(2), s 46(2)(a)-(b)).

These duties form a web of statutory obligations, discretionary grants and procedural safeguards that assign operational responsibilities across courts, police, councils, the Attorney General and the Department of Community Services.

The Act provides a limited set of criminal offences, monetary penalties and mechanisms for enforcement and review, leaning heavily on summary processes and administrative actions.

Criminal offences and monetary penalties

• Parent contributing to child’s offence. A parent who by wilful default has directly or materially contributed to the commission of an offence by the child is guilty of an offence punishable by a maximum of 10 penalty units (s 11(1)). The court may instead require counselling or other measures for the welfare of the child upon conviction (s 11(2)).
• Regulatory offences. The Governor may make regulations that create offences punishable by up to 10 penalty units (s 46(3)). Regulations may also prescribe matters such as compelling attendance to court and care arrangements for removed persons (s 46(2)(a)-(b)).
• Default provisions for undertakings. The Act does not create a separate statutory penalty for breach of a child’s or parent’s undertaking in Part 2 but empowers courts to cancel undertakings, impose penalties the court could have otherwise imposed, or continue or vary undertakings without extending their period (s 8(3)-(4), s 9).

Enforcement mechanisms

• Summary proceedings. Proceedings for offences under the Act or the regulations may be dealt with summarily before the Local Court (s 45). That centralises enforcement within summary jurisdictions.
• Court powers to impose non‑punitive orders. For breaches or offending where parental responsibility is invoked, courts may impose counselling, supplementary undertakings and security for good behaviour (ss 8-10, 11(2)). The court controls the scope and duration of parental undertakings subject to statutory maxima (s 9(1)).
• Police operational enforcement. Police exercise removal powers under Division 2, using "reasonable grounds" tests for belief of age (s 18(b)) and risk (s 19(1)). Police may use reasonable force to remove and escort children (s 28). Police may frisk search and seize weapons if reasonably believed a child may be carrying a concealed weapon (s 29(1)). The Act limits law-enforcement placements: police cannot escort a child to a police station in any circumstances (s 23(1)). Police must act in conformity with Commissioner directions and regulations may limit and regulate the manner of exercise of powers (s 26(1)-(2)).
• Administrative remedies and revocation. The Attorney General may revoke declarations of operational areas (s 16(1)) and approvals of safer community compacts (s 42(2)). Councils must report implementation and may be required to monitor and advise the Attorney General on trends in complaints if requested (s 15(4), s 44). These are administrative levers to enforce or withdraw delegated operational authority.

Checks, reporting and statutory review

• Reporting requirements. Councils must publish plans and amendments (s 38) and report to the Attorney General on implementation of compacts when required (s 41). The Attorney General may request councils to report on the implementation and effectiveness of Division 2 powers in an operational area (s 15(4)). The council of an operational area or compact is required to monitor and advise on complaint trends if requested by the Attorney General (s 44).
• Statutory review. The Attorney General must review the Act as soon as possible after three years from the date of assent and table a report within 12 months after the end of the three-year period (s 50). The review requirement provides an oversight point for assessing whether policy objectives and statutory terms remain valid (s 50(1)-(3)).

Practical enforcement trade-offs

• Summary jurisdiction for offences reduces procedural complexity but confines remedies to summary penalties or court orders.
• Police powers are conditional on the existence of an operational area. Enforcement by police depends on administrative declarations by the Attorney General and operational capacity as considered in s 14(4)(e).
• The Act leaves scope for Commissioner directions, regulations and Ministerial consultation to shape enforcement practice (ss 26(1), 14(5), 16(3), 39(3)). These instruments serve as supervisory controls but also create points of administrative discretion.

All enforcement powers and penalties in the Act are grounded in the specified sections cited above.

The Act cross-references and preserves interaction with several legislative instruments, most notably the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, local government statutes, criminal procedure provisions and child-welfare placement principles.

Direct interactions and preservation

• No derogation from the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998. Division 2 expressly operates "in addition to" and does not derogate from the Children and Young Persons Act (s 20(1)). The text explicitly preserves powers under specific sections and chapters of that Act, naming sections 39, 43 and 44 and Chapter 15 as unaffected (s 20(2)). Police are required to consider whether action under the Children and Young Persons Act would be more appropriate before taking action under s 22 (s 20(3)). Moreover, section 27 (Mandatory reporting) of the Children and Young Persons Act applies to police while exercising functions under Division 2 (s 20(4)). These provisions create a positive obligation on police to integrate statutory child-protection duties under the Children and Young Persons Act into their decision-making under this Act.
• Local government law. "Area" and "council" are defined by reference to the Local Government Act 1993 (s 3). Councils use their planning and public-notice powers in preparing, exhibiting and adopting local crime prevention plans and in requesting operational-area declarations (ss 31, 34, 35, 14(1)). Publication obligations require a newspaper circulating in the area and the Gazette (s 38(1)(a)-(b), s 17).
• Criminal Procedure Act 1986. Rules of court may be made for attendance matters and Part 12 of the Act adopts relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act Chapter 4 Parts 3 and 4 that relate to warrants and subpoenas for attendance of witnesses in Local Court proceedings, applying them to attendance required under this Act (s 12(3)). This imports existing summary-procedure mechanisms for compelling attendance.
• Child-welfare placement principles. In designating approved persons, the Director-General must consider the placement principles for Aboriginal children set out in s 13 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (s 24(2)). For non-Aboriginal children, there is a statutory principle to prefer placements with people of similar cultural background or understanding of special needs (s 24(3)). Section 22(8) cross‑references the Children and Young Persons Act for placement of children received into the Department’s care.
• Firearms and weapons statutes. The Act’s definition of weapon refers to the Firearms Act 1996 and the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 for firearms and prohibited weapons respectively when authorising frisk searches and seizures (s 29(2)(b)-(c)).

Regulatory and administrative interfaces

• Director-General and designated agency interfaces. The Act cross-references the Children’s Guardian Act 2019 definition of "designated agency" in s 7(3), which governs attendance obligations for representatives when a child is in statutory out-of-home care. This creates an administrative bridge between court attendance duties and child-welfare agencies.
• Appropriations and financial assistance. Financial assistance under safer community compacts is to be provided from money appropriated by Parliament or otherwise legally available (s 40(3)). That places funding within the normal public finance framework and binds it to appropriation processes.
• Regulations and delegated instruments. The Governor in Council may make regulations for attendance, care of removed persons and record-keeping (s 46(2)(a)-(c)), and regulations may prescribe offences up to 10 penalty units (s 46(3)). Commissioner directions to police also shape operational practice (s 26(1)).

Repeals, amendments and savings

• The Act repeals the Children (Parental Responsibility) Act 1994 and its Regulation (s 47), and Schedule 2 contains transitional savings for matters such as a pilot scheme in Orange (Schedule 2, cl 3). Schedule 1 amends the Community Welfare Act 1987 definition of community welfare legislation to include this Act and related Acts (Schedule 1).

Operating principle

• The Act is drafted to operate alongside existing child-welfare and criminal law regimes rather than replacing them. The text repeatedly instructs officers and courts to consider existing child-protection powers and imposes cross-referential duties, making judicious integration with the Children and Young Persons Act and related statutes a statutory requirement (s 20, s 22(8), s 24).

Practitioners should therefore treat this Act as an additional toolkit that must be applied in conjunction with child-protection statutes, criminal procedure rules and local-government obligations set out in other instruments.

The Act as supplied contains explicit amendment annotations in several sections and in the schedules. The following list records the in-text amendment notices and schedule changes shown in the source document.

• Section 3 (Definitions). The margins record amendments: "s 3: Am 1998 No 158, Sch 2.6 [1] [2]; 2012 No 60, Sch 2." This indicates section 3 was amended in 1998 and again in 2012 by the instruments cited in the source annotations.
• Section 7 (Attendance of parents and other persons at proceedings). The text states "s 7: Subst 2022 No 67, Sch 2.2." That records a substitutional amendment in 2022 replacing prior text with the present wording.
• Section 12 (Ancillary provisions). The notes state "s 12: Am 2001 No 121, Sch 2.40 [1]-[4]; 2007 No 94, Sch 2." Those annotations indicate amendments in 2001 and 2007 to section 12.
• Section 20 (Relationship to Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998). The note reads "s 20: Subst 1998 No 158, Sch 2.6 [3]." That shows section 20 was substituted following the 1998 Act amendments.
• Section 22 (Action that may be taken). The note "s 22: Am 1998 No 158, Sch 2.6 [4]" indicates amendment in 1998.
• Section 24 (Approved person). The note "s 24: Am 1998 No 158, Sch 2.6 [5]" records a 1998 amendment.
• Section 29 (Removal of concealed weapons). The note "s 29: Am 1998 No 127, Sch 3.1; 2010 No 40, Sch 3.4." records amendments in 1998 and 2010.
• Section 45 (Proceedings for offences). The note "s 45: Am 2001 No 121, Sch 2.40 [5]; 2007 No 94, Sch 2." indicates amendments in 2001 and 2007.
• Schedule 2. The header records "sch 2: Am 2002 No 53, Sch 3." indicating Schedule 2 was amended in 2002.
• Schedule 1 (Community Welfare Act 1987). Schedule 1 indicates an amendment to section 5 delegation of the Community Welfare Act 1987 to include this Act and the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987. The inserted text lists the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 and this Act for the community welfare legislation reference.

Other points from the source:

• The Act’s commencement provision (s 2) leaves commencement to proclamation; the source does not show a specific commencement date in the Act text provided.
• Schedule 2 contains a specific transitional saving for a pilot scheme in Orange transferring parts of the old Act’s coverage to the new Act until 31 December 1998 or until revoked by order (Schedule 2, cl 3). That is recorded in the source as a saving following the repeal of the prior Act (s 47 and Schedule 2).

The source document’s annotations are the only amendment history material present in the Act text supplied. No other amendment instruments, dates, or legislative history beyond these inline annotations are stated in the source.

The text supplied contains no judicial decisions, reported litigation citations, or references to case law construing any provision of this Act. The statutory text itself cross-references other Acts and prescribes administrative processes and duties, but it does not record any judicial interpretations or litigation outcomes.

Consequently:

• There are no cases named or cited in the Act as printed in the supplied source. The only cross-references are to statutes including the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, the Local Government Act 1993, the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, the Firearms Act 1996 and the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998.
• The source does include amendment annotations and transitional provisions but does not record any judicial review, appeals or court decisions that interpret the Act’s terms, such as the reasonable-grounds test in s 18(b) or the "best interests" standard in ss 6 and 21.
• Practitioners requiring an account of judicial interpretation, case law on police removals, or precedent on parental undertakings will need to consult external databases and court reports. The Act as given does require courts and police to exercise discretion and to have regard to best-interests factors and to consider other statutory regimes (s 20(3)), which are common focal points in litigation, but those litigation materials are not contained in the supplied text.

In short, the supplied statute offers no litigation history. Any analysis of how courts have interpreted provisions such as "reasonable grounds", "responsible adult", "best interests", the interaction with mandatory reporting under the Children and Young Persons Act, or the limits on police removals would require case law research external to the text provided.

The Act contains several drafting features and design choices that create practical pitfalls and operational constraints. These are concrete, source-grounded issues that advisers and implementers should note.

Age threshold mismatch

• The general statutory definition of child is a person under 18 years (s 3). Division 2 applies only to persons believed on reasonable grounds to be under 16 (s 18(b)). This means police removal powers in operational areas do not extend to 16- and 17-year-olds, while other Part 2 parental-responsibility powers at court may apply up to 18. Practitioners should be careful in distinguishing which provisions apply to which age cohorts, and in documenting the officer’s belief about age under s 18(b).

Operational area precondition

• Police removal powers in Division 2 apply only within an operational area declared by the Attorney General (ss 13-14, 18). An operational-area declaration is a prerequisite; absent a declared area, the removal powers do not apply. The Attorney General must be satisfied that adequate crime prevention or youth support initiatives will be available before an order takes effect (s 14(3)). This creates a two-step administrative gate, which can lead to gaps in enforcement where an area is not declared, and potential delay between council request and declaration. The declaration also takes effect on a day specified in the order that must be later than publication (s 15(1)), so timing matters.

Discretion and evidentiary burden

• Many trigger points depend on what a police officer "believes on reasonable grounds" or acts as "satisfied" that a child may safely be left (ss 18(b), 19(1), 22(2)(b)). Those are subjective-demonstrable standards. Recording the factual basis for the belief or satisfaction will be important because enforcement is summary and the statutory powers are limited to operational areas.

Undefined terms and practical uncertainty

• The Act uses terms such as "responsible adult", "at risk", "best interests" and "reasonable grounds" without exhaustive definitions beyond statutory examples. For example s 19(3) lists examples of being at risk but does not exhaustively define it. Police action must still respect the statutory limits, for example not leaving a child at a police station (s 23(1)) and considering the child’s volunteered wishes before escorting (s 23(3)).

Placement ceilings and legal limbo

• When police place a child with an approved person under s 22(5)(b), that placement is time-limited to a maximum of 24 hours or a shorter period prescribed by regulation (s 22(6)). If the child has not been returned to a parent or carer by the end of the period, the child is to be released or dealt with according to law (s 22(7)). The phrase "dealt with according to law" is open-ended and requires coordination with child-protection laws or criminal process, potentially leaving brief periods of legal uncertainty.

Restrictions on police station use

• Police cannot escort or leave a child at a police station in any circumstances (s 23(1)). This strict bar requires officers to secure alternatives which may not be immediately available, and to document attempts to find suitable parents, carers, close relatives or approved persons.

Notification exception

• Police must notify parents or carers if they place a child with someone other than parent or carer or leave them in the parent's absence if practicable, but there is an exception where the child volunteers that they do not want the parent notified and the officer is satisfied that non-notification is in the child’s best interests (s 25(1)-(2)). This creates a potential tension between parental rights to know the child’s whereabouts and the child’s autonomy; officers must record and justify their satisfaction that non-notification serves the child’s best interests.

Cultural-placement obligations and practical constraints

• The Director-General must take into account placement principles for Aboriginal children and cultural heritage considerations for non-Aboriginal children when designating approved persons (s 24(2)-(3)). In practice, availability of culturally appropriate approved persons at short notice may be limited, which can complicate compliance with those statutory obligations.

Regulatory and Commissioner directions shaping operational limits

• The Act authorises regulations to limit circumstances and regulate the manner of police functions under Division 2 (s 26(2)) and allows Commissioner directions to affect how officers act (s 26(1)). Implementing agencies must track and comply with any such regulations or directions which may substantially change operational practice.

Financial assistance is discretionary and appropriation-dependent

• The Attorney General "may" grant financial assistance for initiatives under a safer community compact and that assistance is to be provided out of appropriated money or money otherwise legally available (s 40(2)-(3)). Councils cannot rely on automatic funding and must plan for the possibility that approval will not be followed by grants, or that grants will be constrained by appropriation cycles.

Statutory review scheduling

• The Attorney General must review the Act as soon as possible after three years from assent and table a report within 12 months thereafter (s 50). If implementation delays or late commencement occur, the review timetable can create compressed evaluation windows.

Taken together, these provisions create precise legal opportunities and operational constraints that require close attention to age thresholds, the existence and timing of operational-area declarations, careful documentation of officer beliefs and decisions, and contingency planning for culturally appropriate placements and funding uncertainties.

This section sets out practical, source-grounded steps for each principal actor to meet statutory duties and reduce legal and operational risk. References to sections are provided to show the statutory basis for each step.

Councils

• Before requesting an operational-area declaration, ensure community consultation has been reasonably undertaken. Section 14(4)(a) obliges the Attorney General to have regard to whether the council has adequately informed and consulted the local community, including young people and the Aboriginal community. Keep records and minutes of consultations, community submissions and any youth-targeted engagement.
• Prepare a draft local crime prevention plan consistent with any Attorney General guidelines under s 32, and include matters listed in s 33 such as youth development strategies, parental education and Aboriginal community development where relevant. Exhibit the draft for not less than 28 days and allow at least 42 days for submissions after exhibition as required by s 34(2)-(3). Retain evidence of public notices and the exhibited materials (s 34(4)).
• When adopting a plan, act under s 35 and publish adopted plans and any amendments in a local newspaper and the Gazette within 14 days (s 38(1)-(2)). Maintain records for reporting obligations under s 41 and s 15(4) should the Attorney General request evaluation of implementation and effectiveness.
• If seeking financial assistance under an approved compact, prepare a budget and supporting documentation to show how funds will be used for initiatives and for developing or monitoring the compact, consistent with the definition of financial assistance in s 40(4).

Attorney General and Department

• Before declaring an operational area, obtain evidence that adequate crime prevention or youth support initiatives will be available in the area as required by s 14(3). Consult the Minister for Community Services and the Minister for Police per s 14(5). Record the rationale against the factors listed in s 14(4) and s 14(4)(e) advice about police operational capacity.
• For approval of safer community compacts, evaluate the draft or adopted plan against s 39(2) factors and consult the Minister for Community Services and the Minister for Police as required (s 39(3)). Document decisions and grounds for approval or refusal and retain records showing consistency with any s 32 guidelines.
• If granting financial assistance under s 40(2), ensure funds are appropriated or otherwise legally available (s 40(3)). Establish monitoring and reporting requirements linked to s 41 and s 44 so councils provide data on implementation and complaint trends.

Police forces and officers

• Confirm an operational area is in force before applying Division 2 powers (s 18). Train officers to document the facts supporting a reasonable-ground belief about age (s 18(b)) and the risk factors under s 19(3). Use body-worn video and contemporaneous incident reports to record grounds for decisions to remove and escort.
• Before taking action under s 22, consider whether the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 would be more appropriate as required by s 20(3). Apply mandatory-reporting duties under s 20(4) when exercising Division 2 functions.
• When escorting a child, use best endeavours to return them to a parent, carer or other responsible adult (s 21(1)) and document attempts and outcomes. Do not leave a child at a police station in any circumstances (s 23(1)). If leaving a child at a residence, ensure a responsible adult is present and willing to care for the child, or that the officer is satisfied it is safe to leave the child in their absence (s 22(2)(a)-(b)).
• If placing a child with a close relative or approved person, verify willingness and capacity; approved-person placements are time-limited to 24 hours or a shorter prescribed period (s 22(6)). Record identification of the approved person, their designation status, and contact details.
• Apply s 25 notification rules: notify the parent or carer when practicable unless the child volunteers they do not want notification and the officer is satisfied non-notification is in the child’s best interests (s 25(1)-(2)). Record any volunteered wishes and the officer’s assessment of best interests.
• Follow Commissioner directions and any regulations made under s 26(1)-(2) and s 46 to ensure compliance with procedural limitations and prescribed methods of exercise of powers.

Department of Community Services and Director-General

• Maintain and publish, internally, lists of approved persons designated under s 24, including notes on cultural suitability per s 24(2)-(3). Establish vetting, induction and support processes that allow for timely placement of children when police cannot return them to parents or carers (s 22(5)(a), (8)).
• When receiving a child under s 22(5)(a), undertake placement processes consistent with the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 as permitted by s 22(8).

Courts and legal practitioners

• When courts consider parental undertakings or security, apply the statutory limits on duration (s 9(1)) and ensure parents required to give security have had the opportunity to be heard (s 9(2)). When imposing undertakings on children under s 8, observe constraints on variation and cancellation under s 8(3)-(4) and ensure that if an undertaking is cancelled, any subsequent penalty is one the court could otherwise have imposed.
• When courts require attendance by parents or other persons, use the rules of court enabling warrants and subpoenas for attendance as applied by s 12(3) through the Criminal Procedure Act provisions.

Record keeping and regulatory compliance

• Implement record-keeping compliant with s 46(2)(c) and any regulations. Maintain auditable logs of community consultation, exhibition and submissions for local crime prevention plans (s 34), operational-area requests and Attorney General consultations (s 14, s 16), placement decisions and notification outcomes (ss 22, 25), and reporting and monitoring submissions to the Attorney General (ss 15(4), 41, 44).
• Monitor for regulations and Commissioner directions that may limit how powers are exercised (s 26(2), s 46), and ensure internal policy is updated promptly to reflect regulatory change.

Contingency planning

• Because financial assistance from the Attorney General is discretionary and subject to appropriations (s 40(2)-(3)), councils should develop implementation plans that can scale depending on funding. Maintain a register of available approved persons and culturally appropriate placements to avoid delays when police require short-term placements (s 24).
• Anticipate the statutory review at three years after assent (s 50) by compiling implementation metrics and lessons learned to inform the review report.

Following these steps will align operational practice to the Act’s procedural prerequisites and discretionary frameworks cited in the statutory text.