18Secretary may authorise principal officer of Aboriginal agency to act

18 Secretary may authorise principal officer of Aboriginal agency to act (1) The Secretary, in writing, may authorise the principal officer of an Aboriginal agency to perform specified functions and exercise specified powers referred to in subsection (2) in respect of any of the following— (a) an Aboriginal child; S. 18(1)(b) substituted by No. 14/2025 s. 10(1). (b) if the Secretary believes a child or class of children to be an Aboriginal child or Aboriginal children— (i) that child and any non-Aboriginal child who is a sibling of that child; or (ii) that class of children and any non‑Aboriginal child who is a sibling of a member of that class of children; (c) if an authorisation has been made under this subsection in relation to an Aboriginal child, a non-Aboriginal child who is a sibling of that Aboriginal child; S. 18(1)(d) substituted by No. 14/2025 s. 10(2). (d) if an authorisation has been made under this subsection in relation to a child or class of children who the Secretary believes to be an Aboriginal child or Aboriginal children— (i) a non-Aboriginal child who is a sibling of that child or those children; or (ii) a class of non-Aboriginal children who are siblings of that child or a member of the class of children who the Secretary believes to be Aboriginal children. (2) The functions and powers that may be specified are— (a) functions and powers conferred by or under this Act on the Secretary as a protective intervener; and (b) functions and powers conferred by or under this Act on the Secretary to receive reports under section 185 and to investigate those reports; and (c) functions and powers conferred by or under this Act on the Secretary in relation to a protection order or relevant order. (3) An authorisation under this section may only be made with the agreement of the Aboriginal agency and the principal officer. (4) Before giving an authorisation, the Secretary must provide the Aboriginal agency and the principal officer with all information that is known to the Secretary and that is reasonably necessary to assist the Aboriginal agency and the principal officer to make an informed decision as to whether or not to agree to the authorisation. (5) The principal officer may only be authorised if the principal officer is an Aboriginal person. (6) Before giving an authorisation under subsection (1)(a) or (c), the Secretary must have regard to any view expressed by the child and the parent of the child if those views can be reasonably obtained. (7) On an authorisation being given, this Act applies in relation to the performance of the specified function or the exercise of the specified power as if the principal officer were the Secretary. (8) In this section— ***relevant order*** means— (a) a temporary assessment order; or (b) an interim accommodation order; or (c) a therapeutic treatment order; or (d) a therapeutic treatment (placement) order; or (e) a permanent care order. S. 18AAA inserted by No. 17/2023 s. 7. 18AAA Revocation of authorisation under section 18(1) (1) The Secretary may at any time in writing revoke an authorisation under section 18(1)(a) or (c) and on that revocation the Secretary may continue and complete any action commenced under the authorisation by the principal officer. (2) The Secretary may at any time in writing revoke an authorisation under section 18(1)(b) or (d) in respect of any or all children who are the subject of the authorisation and on that revocation the Secretary may continue and complete any action commenced under the authorisation by the principal officer in relation to the children in respect of whom the authorisation is revoked. (3) On the revocation of an authorisation under this section, the principal officer must provide the Secretary with all of the records that have been created by or on behalf of the Aboriginal agency, or provided to the Aboriginal agency, in respect of the child as a result of the authorisation. (4) Despite the revocation of an authorisation in respect of an Aboriginal child or a child or class of children who the Secretary believes to be an Aboriginal child or Aboriginal children, an authorisation under section 18(1)(c) or (d) in respect of a non-Aboriginal child who is a sibling of that child or those children continues to have effect until revoked. S. 18AAB inserted by No. 17/2023 s. 7. 18AAB Principal officer to notify Secretary if principal officer considers authorisation no longer in best interests (1) At any time after an authorisation under section 18 has been made, if the principal officer of the Aboriginal agency considers that the authorisation is no longer in the best interests of a particular child or children who are the subject of that authorisation, the principal officer must notify the Secretary of this in writing as soon as practicable. (2) In considering whether the authorisation is no longer in the best interests of a child, the principal officer must have regard to any view expressed by the child and the parent of the child, if those views can reasonably be obtained. (3) On receiving a notification under this section, the Secretary may revoke the authorisation made under section 18 in accordance with section 18AAA. (4) Nothing in this section affects the Secretary's power under section 18AAA to otherwise revoke the authorisation. S. 18A inserted by No. 57/2015 s. 7.