Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Family and Community Services Act 1972. 6—Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears— affiliation case means proceedings for assistance, maintenance, or preliminary expenses in which it is necessary to establish the paternity of a child born outside marriage; Chief Executive means the person for the time being holding, or acting in, the office of Chief Executive of the Department; child means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years; child born outside marriage includes a child born to a married woman of which a man other than her lawful spouse is the father; complainant means a person by, or on whose behalf, or for whose benefit, a complaint is laid under this Act; Department means the administrative unit of the Public Service that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of this Act; guardian, in relation to a child, means a parent of the child and any person (other than the Minister or the Chief Executive) who is the legal guardian of the child; Magistrates Court means the Magistrates Court of South Australia; maintenance includes the cost of clothing, support, training and education; maintenance order means an order of a court (made before or after the commencement of this Act either in this State or elsewhere) whereby a person is ordered to pay money in a lump sum, or by instalment or periodic payment for or towards the maintenance of another person, or by way of recoupment of money expended in, or provided for, the maintenance of another person and includes any order for the payment of money under Part 6; near relative in relation to a child means a parent or step-parent of the child; parent includes a person who has— (a) adopted a child in accordance with the law of this State, or the law of another State or Territory of the Commonwealth; or (b) adopted a child in accordance with the law of any other country or State, if the adoption is recognised under the law of this State; preliminary expenses in respect of the confinement of a woman, means the cost of the maintenance of the woman during the period of three months immediately preceding the confinement, the reasonable medical, surgical, hospital and nursing expenses attendant upon the confinement, and the cost of the maintenance of the woman and the child or children born to the woman for three months after the birth of the child or children; relative in relation to a child, means a step-parent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandfather or grandmother of the child; step-parent in relation to a child means a person (not being a parent of the child)— (a) who— (i) is married to a parent of the child; or (ii) was married to a deceased parent of the child at the date of death of the parent; and (b) who at any time during that marriage accepted the child as a member of a household formed with the parent; woman means any female person. (2) For the purposes of this Act, where a marriage exists between 2 persons, whether the marriage is monogamous or polygamous, the persons will, if the marriage is lawful and valid in the place in which it was solemnised, be regarded as spouses. (3) A person will not be recognised under this Act as the father of a child born outside marriage unless— (a) he is so recognised under the Family Relationships Act 1975; or (b) he is adjudged in proceedings under this Act to be the father of the child. (4) Any references in this Act to an order are to be read and construed, where the order has been varied under this Act or any other Act, by a subsequent order having effect in this State, as a reference to the order as so varied. (5) A reference in any other Act or statutory instrument to the Director‑General of Community Welfare will be taken to be a reference to the Chief Executive. Editorial Note— For definition of divisional penalties (and divisional expiation fees) see Appendix.