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• Introduction
  • Acknowledgments
  • The Department of Child Safety
  • Relevant legislation
  • Other key departmental documents
  • Accountability for children in Queensland
  • Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
  • Respecting diversity
  • Recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entities
  • Delegations
  • Child safety service centres: Staff roles and responsibilities
  • How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
  • Practice maps
• Chapters
  • 1. Intake
  • 2. Investigation and assessment
  • 3. Use of powers
  • 4. Ongoing intervention
  • 5. Intervention with parental consent
  • 6. Intervention with a child protection order
  • 7. Children in out-of-home care
  • 8. Regulation of care
  • 9. Matters of concern
  • 10. Unborn children
  • 11. Transfers
  • 12. Professional supervision
  • 13. Critical incident reporting
  • 14. Child deaths
  • 15. Family Court of Australia
  • 16. Youth justice and child protection interface
  • 17. Interstate matters
  • General procedures
• Practice papers
• Resources
• Quicklinks
  • Acronyms
  • Glossary of terms
  • Previous versions
  • Printable version
  • Updates

Introduction

• Acknowledgments
• The Department of Child Safety
• Relevant legislation
• Other key departmental documents
• Accountability for children in Queensland
• Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
• Respecting diversity
• Recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entities
• Delegations
• Child safety service centres: Staff roles and responsibilities
• How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
• Practice maps
  • Child safety framework
  • Intake
  • Investigation and assessment
  • Ongoing intervention
  • Matters of concern
• Resources

Accountability for children in Queensland

Introduction

The Department of Child Safety is accountable for the protection of children in Queensland. Should departmental clients, carers, licensed care service staff or other interested persons hold concerns about the decisions and or actions of departmental officers, various external accountability mechanisms are available, including the:

• Children Services Tribunal
• Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian
• Crime and Misconduct Commission.

Children Services Tribunal

The Children Services Tribunal (the Tribunal) was established under the Children Services Tribunal Act 2000 and seeks to provide merit reviews of specific reviewable decisions under a number of Acts including the Child Protection Act 1999. It is an independent body, with an appointed President, located within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

One of the main roles of the Tribunal is to review certain decisions made by the Department of Child Safety. Reviewable decisions may relate to:

• the placement of children (Child Protection Act 1999, section 86(2));
• not telling parents where a child is living (Child Protection Act 1999, section 86(4)); or
• refusing to allow, restricting, or placing conditions on contact between a child and their parents, siblings or another member of the child's family (Child Protection Act 1999, section 87(2)).

The Tribunal is usually made up of three people who have experience in many areas including children's issues, law and health. The Tribunal, while similar to a court, operates in a less formal manner and seeks to avoid an overly legalistic approach to cases, for example, legal representation is at the discretion of the Tribunal, based on the issues of each case.

In reviewing a decision the Tribunal may:

• agree with a decision (the decision stays the same);
• disagree with a decision (as if the decision had never been made);
• change some aspects of a decision; or
• make a new decision.

Those who may apply for a review of decisions under the Child Protection Act 1999, include:

• children or, if the child is too young, another person may do this on their behalf;
• parents;
• the Child Guardian, Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian; and
• in specified circumstances, the child's carer.

An application for the review of a decision needs to be made to the required person/s within 28 days of the decision being communicated in writing by the department. The Tribunal's role is finalised once a decision has been handed down. The Tribunal is not able to follow up on a case or manage or oversee cases.

Decisions able to be reviewed by the Tribunal, and persons able to apply to have a decision reviewed, are specified in the Child Protection Act 1999, schedule 2.

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Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian

The Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian (the Commission) is a statutory body which promotes and protects the rights, interests and well-being of children and young people in Queensland, particularly those most vulnerable. The Commission gives priority to children who:

• cannot protect themselves or have no one to act for them;
• live in out-of-home care or detention; or
• are disadvantaged by disability, homelessness, living in an isolated area or poverty.

The Commission's key goals are:

• an effective child protection system in which the needs of each child and young person in care or detention are appropriately assessed and an effective strategy implemented;
• a safe environment for children and young people in which child protection risks are identified and managed, including appropriate employment screening of specified people working with children; and
• targeted prevention and early intervention strategies for children and young people at risk of harm, and of entering the child safety or youth justice systems.

The Commission will achieve its goals through the following functions:

• promoting laws, policies and practices that uphold the rights, interests and well-being of children and young people, particularly those most at risk;
• monitoring and reviewing laws, policies and practices impacting on services provided to children and young people;
• administering a state-wide Community Visitor Program for children and young people in out-of-home care, including placements with foster carers;
• receiving and investigating complaints about services to children and young people known to the Department of Child Safety;
• maintaining a Child Death Register, administering the Child Death Case Review Committee and conducting research into child deaths;
• employment screening of certain types of child-related employment;
• educating the community to comply with the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000;
• monitoring and reviewing laws, policies and practices that impact on the safety and well-being of vulnerable children and young people at risk; and
• conducting research into issues impacting on the safety and well-being of children and young people.

	Children Services Tribunal Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Community Visitor Program Information Sheet (PDF 132 KB)

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Crime and Misconduct Commission

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) is a statutory body, answerable to the people of Queensland through an all-party parliamentary committee, the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee. Under the terms of the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001, the CMC operates on three major 'fronts':

• fighting major crime;
• raising public sector integrity; and
• protecting witnesses.

The CMC has a major role to improve the integrity of the public sector and to reduce the incidence of official misconduct in the Queensland public sector. In collaboration with government departments, the CMC handles any serious concerns Queenslanders may have about the misconduct of public officials.

The CMC is not a court but can refer matters to the Director of Public Prosecutions with a view to criminal prosecution or the appropriate chief executive officer to consider disciplinary action. The CMC can also charge officers with official misconduct in a Misconduct Tribunal.

The role of the department's Ethical Standards Unit is to liaise with the CMC on matters relating to possible official misconduct reported from within the department.

When a person within the department becomes aware of possible official misconduct or a criminal offence, the CMC must be notified through the manager of the Ethical Standards Unit. The CMC will assess the matter and decide whether to deal with it or alternatively refer it back to the department to deal with.

The CMC may also refer matters to the Ethical Standards Unit from:

• complaints made by the public;
• information from whistle blowers, anonymous sources or newspaper articles; or
• their own activities or intelligence sources.

Many matters come from chief executive officers of public sector agencies who have a statutory obligation to inform the CMC of any suspected official misconduct occurring in their own agency or department. The Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 requires the CMC to refer the matter to the appropriate department, wherever possible.

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© The State of Queensland (Department of Child Safety) 2008.

Queensland Government