Glossary of terms

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption establishes uniform standards and procedures for adoptions between countries.

• The Convention includes legally binding safeguards and a system of supervision, and establishes channels of communication between countries. The Convention came into effect in Australia on 1 December 1998.
• For intercountry adoptions, a 'Hague country' is a country that has ratified or acceded to the Convention, and a 'non-Hague country' is a country that has not ratified or acceded to the Convention.

• Birth parents who sign or have signed an adoption consent after June 1991 and adults, adopted after June 1991, have an unqualified entitlement to receive identifying information about each other once the adopted person attains 18 years of age.
• Birth parents, of a child who was adopted after 1991, are provided, on request, with the full name of their child at the date of adoption and the name, at the date of adoption, of their child's adoptive parents. They are also provided with authorisation to access their children's original birth certificate (prior to adoption) and a certified copy of their children's amended birth entry (after adoption) from the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Brisbane.
• A person who was adopted after 1991 who has reached 18 years of age, is provided, on request, with the full name of their birth parent/s who signed the adoption consent, at the date of the adoption. They are also provided with authorisation to access a certified copy of their original birth certificate (prior to adoption) from the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Brisbane.
• Birth parents who signed an adoption consent before June 1991 and adults, who were adopted before June 1991, do not have an unqualified entitlement to receive identifying information about each other.
• Identifying information and authorisation to obtain certified copies of birth certificates and entries can be provided to birth parents who consented to the adoption of a child prior to 1991, and to people who were adopted prior to 1991, only if the other party to the adoption has not lodged an objection to the release of identifying information.

Placement adoptions of children from countries other than Australia who are legally available for adoption, but generally have had no previous contact with the adoptive parents.

• An intercountry adoption can be classified as a 'Hague adoption', if the country has ratified or acceded to the Hague Convention, or a 'non-Hague adoption', if the country has not ratified or acceded to the Hague Convention.
• A non-Hague adoption may also be known as a bilateral adoption.

Adoptions of children who are Australian residents where the adoptive parents are seeking to adopt a particular child who is known to them. These types of adoptions are broken down into the following categories depending on the child's relationship to the adoptive parent(s):

• Step-parent - the spouse (married or de facto) of the child's natural parent or adoptive parent. Foster parents are not included in this category.
• Other relative(s) - includes any other relative of the child, such as grandparent, sister, brother, aunt, uncle. For Indigenous children, 'other relative' includes those related through kinship arrangements.
• Carer - includes foster parents or other non-relatives who have been caring for the child before the adoption.

• Birth parents are provided with general, non-identifying information about the family adopting their child at the time of the adoption. Adoptive parents are provided with general, non-identifying information about their child's birth parents at the time of the adoption.
• Birth parents who signed an adoption consent and adults who were adopted can apply for non-identifying information to be re-issued at any time. Adoptive parents can apply for non-identifying information about their child's birth parents to be re-issued before their child reaches 18 years of age. Adopted persons under 18 years of age must obtain the consent of their adoptive parents before non-identifying information can be released to them.

A short term order that is granted by either a magistrate or the court, under the Child Protection Act 1999, to allow a range of activities to occur to complete an investigation and assessment, when a parent has not given consent for these actions to occur.

See also: Temporary assessment order and Court assessment order).

A written plan for meeting a child's care and protection needs.

• It is developed in a participative process between the department, the child, their family and other people significant to the child and family.
• It records the goal and outcomes of ongoing intervention and identifies the agreed tasks that will occur to meet the goal and outcomes.

Authorises actions during the investigation and assessment process when consent cannot be obtained because parents have refused or are unable to consent to the process.

CAO can provide the authority to take a child into the custody of the Chief Executive, however, guardianship remains with the child's parents.

CAO are granted for a maximum of 28 days, however, the Child Protection Act allows for one extension of a further 28 days.

An order which grants custody to the Chief Executive or to a relative of the child.

In accordance with the Child Protection Act, a person who has or is granted custody of a child has the right and responsibility to attend to day-to-day matters only, including:

• a child's daily care
• making decisions about a child's daily care.

An order made under the Child Protection Act, directing a parent:

• to do or refrain from doing something directly related to the child's protection
• not to have contact (direct or indirect) with the child, or to only have contact when a stated person or a person of a stated category is present.

An investigation is classified as finalised where it is completed and an assessment outcome recorded. Outcomes include:

• substantiated
• unsubstantiated
• no investigation and assessment outcome.

A Child Protection Order where guardianship of the child has been granted to a relative of the child, another person, or the Chief Executive.

In accordance with the Child Protection Act, a person who has or is granted guardianship of a child has the powers, rights and responsibilities to attend to:

• a child's daily care
• making decisions that relate to day-to-day matters concerning the child's daily care
• making decisions about the long-term care, welfare and development of the child in the same way a person has parental responsibility under the Family Law Act 1975.

Enshrined in Section 83 of the Child Protection Act, the principle outlines a hierarchy of placement options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people:

• a member of the child's family
• a member of the child's community or language group
• another Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander who is comparative with the child's community or language group
• another Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Note: Amendments to Section 83 of the Act that came into effect on 31 May 2006 also provide for the situation where our department is unable to place a child in accordance with the placement hierarchy.

On the adjournment of a proceeding for a court assessment or child protection order the Childrens Court has the power to make an interim order.

• An interim order made on adjournment of a court assessment order may grant temporary custody to the Chief Executive, or the child's parents will retain custody.
• An interim child protection order made on adjournment of a child protection order will grant custody to a family member or the chief executive.

Following an assessment that it is appropriate to work on a voluntary basis with a family rather than seeking a court order, an IPA case is opened by our department.

• During IPA, our department can institute arrangements for intensive support and monitoring to ensure that the child's safety and appropriate levels of care are met.
• IPA was introduced on 31 October 2005 and replaces intensive family support (IFS).

The process of investigating a notification of alleged harm or risk of harm. It involves an investigation of the alleged harm and assessment of the child's protective and safety needs.

The outcome of an I&A may be either:

• substantiated
• unsubstantiated
• no investigation and assessment outcome.

Under legislation there are groups of people and professionals required to report child protection concerns. These include:

• medical practitioners
• family court personnel and counsellors
• employees of licensed residential facilities
• staff of the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian (CCYPCG)
• authorised officers or employees of the Department of Child Safety with respect to harm involving children in residential care.

Any concern raised in relation to the quality of the care provided to a child in an out-of-home care placement, where a breach of the standards of care is indicated.

• Prior to 31 October 2005, all alleged breaches of the standards of care were automatically recorded as notifications.
• From 31 October 2005, a revised matters of concern policy was implemented to enable the department to distinguish between breaches of the standards of care that do not reach the threshold for a notification (as would apply to the public), and those that do. An alleged breach to a standard of care is recorded as either a child placement concern report or a notification.

Ongoing intervention by our department is required when it has been determined that a child is in need of protection.

• When ongoing intervention is required, a case plan is developed in conjunction with the child and their family.
• Our department may intervene through the use of a Child Protection Order, or may work voluntarily with the family (IPA).
• The child may also be removed from their home to ensure their safety.

Any sexual activity or behaviour that is imposed on a child and results in physical or emotional harm.

• It includes the inducement or coercion of a child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, sexually explicit conduct or behaviour for the sexual gratification or profit of the person responsible.
• It also includes circumstances where there is an unacceptable risk that the child may be sexually abused.

Authorises actions during the investigation and assessment process when parental consent cannot be obtained.

TAOs can provide the authority to take a child into the custody of the Chief Executive, however, guardianship remains with the child's parents.

TAOs can be granted for only three days or less, however, they can be extended by one day.

• For full and part time employees, FTE is calculated as appointed work hours over award hours.
• For casuals, the average hours worked over the last two pays over the award hours is used as the FTE calculation.
• In FTE calculations, employees on leave without pay or long service leave for the whole pay period and externals (such as chairpersons or panel members) are excluded.