Title: Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations)Amendment Bill 2011
Author: Office of Parliamentary Counsel
Category: parliamentary.copy
Document comments: ha121

House of Assembly—No 121
As received from the Legislative Council and read a first time, 7 July 2011

Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Bill 2011

Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Bill 2011
Part 1—Preliminary

Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Bill 2011
Preliminary—Part 1

Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Bill 2011
Part 2—Amendment of Children's Protection Act 1993

Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Bill 2011
Amendment of Children's Protection Act 1993—Part 2

South Australia
Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Bill 2011
A Bill For
An Act to amend the Children's Protection Act 1993.

Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1	Short title
2	Commencement
3	Amendment provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Children's Protection Act 1993
4	Insertion of section 57A
57A	Recording of certain conversations

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:
Part 1—Preliminary
1—Short title
This Act may be cited as the Children's Protection (Right to Record Certain Conversations) Amendment Act 2011.
2—Commencement
This Act will come into operation 4 months after the day on which it is assented to by the Governor.
3—Amendment provisions
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a specified Act amends the Act so specified.

Part 2—Amendment of Children's Protection Act 1993
4—Insertion of section 57A
After section 57 insert:
57A—Recording of certain conversations
	(1)	A person may make an audio, or audio visual, recording of a conversation held in relation to a matter under this Act between—
	(a)	a person employed or engaged by the Department and himself or herself or a child of whom the person is a guardian if the person informs the person employed or engaged by the Department and the child (if the child has attained 10 years of age and is present), that he or she intends to record the conversation;
	(b)	himself or herself and a child of whom the person is a guardian if, in the case where the child has attained 10 years of age, the person informs the child that he or she intends to record the conversation.
	(2)	It is unlawful for a person employed or engaged by the Department to treat a person unfavourably on the ground that the person has made a recording under subsection (1).
	(3)	If a person makes a recording under subsection (1)(a) the person must, if requested to do so in writing by the Chief Executive, provide, at no cost, a copy of the recording to the Department within 7 days of the making of the request.
Maximum penalty: $1 250.
	(4)	A person who makes a recording under subsection (1) must not make it available except—
	(a)	as required by or under this or any other Act or law; or
	(b)	for the purposes of proceedings under this or any other Act or law; or
	(c)	to a Member of the Parliament of the State or of the Commonwealth; or
	(d)	to an employee of the Department for the purposes of the administration of this Act; or
	(e)	to a parent or guardian of the child the subject of the recording; or
	(f)	to a person acting as an advocate in relation to a child the subject of the recording (other than a person acting in his or her capacity as a journalist).
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
	(5)	A person must not tamper with a recording made under subsection (1).
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
	(6)	In proceedings for an offence against subsection (5), it is a defence for the defendant to prove that he or she did not intend to mislead any person.
	(7)	This section does not apply to a person acting in his or her capacity as a police officer or as a member of a law enforcement agency.

LC GP 150-D: the Hon Ann Bressington MLC