South Australia
Disability Services (Assessment of Relevant History) Regulations 2014
under the Disability Services Act 1993

Contents
1	Short title
3	Interpretation
4	Manner in which assessment must be undertaken
5	Screening units
6	Provision of information to interstate authorised screening unit
7	Prescribed functions
8	Prescribed function—overnight care
9	Relevant history
10	Request for prescribed evidence of compliance
11	Prescribed evidence of screening
12	Authorised screening unit to only undertake disability services employment screening
13	Confidentiality and information management requirements
14	Exemption
Schedule 1—Fees
1	Fees payable to authorised screening units
Legislative history

1—Short title
These regulations may be cited as the Disability Services (Assessment of Relevant History) Regulations 2014.
3—Interpretation
	(1)	In these regulations—
Act means the Disability Services Act 1993;
authorised screening unit means a person or body established as, or declared to be, an authorised screening unit under regulation 5(1);
Chief Executive means the Chief Executive of the administrative unit that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of the Act;
disability services employment screening means undertaking an assessment of information about a person for the purpose of determining whether the person may, if appointed to, or engaged to act in, a position, pose a risk to the safety or welfare of people with a disability;
interstate authorised screening unit means a person or body declared to be an interstate authorised screening unit under regulation 5(2).
	(2)	A term or phrase used in these regulations that is used in section 5B or 5C of the Act has the same meaning as in that section.
4—Manner in which assessment must be undertaken
For the purposes of section 5B(1) and (2), and section 5C(3)(a), of the Act, an assessment of a person's relevant history must be undertaken by an authorised screening unit.
5—Screening units
	(1)	The Chief Executive may, as the Chief Executive thinks fit—
	(a)	establish authorised screening units; or
	(b)	declare, by notice in the Gazette, that a person or body is an authorised screening unit,
for the purposes of undertaking relevant history assessments under section 5B and 5C of the Act.
	(2)	The Chief Executive may, by notice in the Gazette, declare that a person or body is an interstate authorised screening unit for the purposes of these regulations.
6—Provision of information to interstate authorised screening unit
Despite any other Act or law, information forming part of a person's relevant history may be provided by the Crown, or an agency or instrumentality of the Crown, to an interstate authorised screening unit for the purpose of undertaking disability services employment screening as authorised or required under a law of another State or Territory, or of the Commonwealth.
7—Prescribed functions
For the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of prescribed functions in section 5B(6) of the Act, the following kinds of records are prescribed (where such records relate to a person with a disability):
	(a)	records of a disability service;
	(b)	records of an educational or child care service;
	(c)	records of a health service (within the meaning of the Health Care Act 2008);
	(d)	records made or kept in connection with the administration of the following:
	(i)	Children's Protection Act 1993;
	(ii)	Disability Services Act 1993;
	(iii)	Family and Community Services Act 1972;
	(iv)	Supported Residential Facilities Act 1992;
	(e)	records relating to legal proceedings.
8—Prescribed function—overnight care
	(1)	The provision of overnight care is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of prescribed functions in section 5B(6) of the Act.
	(2)	In this regulation—
overnight care means care provided to a person with a disability overnight and involving sleeping arrangements (whether such care is provided on a short term or ongoing basis).
9—Relevant history
	(1)	For the purposes of paragraph (a)(v) of the definition of relevant history in section 5B(6) of the Act, the following persons and bodies are prescribed:
	(a)	the administrative unit that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of the Act;
	(b)	the administrative unit that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of the Children's Protection Act 1993;
	(c)	the administrative unit that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of the Supported Residential Facilities Act 1992;
	(d)	a licensing authority within the meaning of the Supported Residential Facilities Act 1992;
	(e)	the Courts Administration Authority;
	(f)	a prescribed disability service provider that is not a government department, agency or instrumentality;
	(g)	an authorised screening unit.
	(2)	Information is excluded from the ambit of the definition of relevant history in section 5B(6) of the Act if—
	(a)	in respect of a relevant history assessment in relation to which the administrative unit referred to in subregulation (1)(b) holds relevant information—the information is excluded under regulation 10B(2) of the Children's Protection Regulations 2010 for the purposes of those regulations; or
	(b)	in respect of a relevant history assessment of a kind determined by the Chief Executive—the Chief Executive determines, for reasons based on the nature and quality of the information or on other reasonable grounds, that the information should be so excluded.
10—Request for prescribed evidence of compliance
For the purposes of section 5C(5)(c) of the Act, a request must—
	(a)	in the case of a request made by a person with a disability in respect of whom the prescribed function is being performed—be made orally or in writing; or
	(b)	in the case of a request made by a parent, guardian or carer of such a person with a disability—
	(i)	be made in writing; and
	(ii)	include the name of the person making the request; and
	(iii)	specify whether the person making the request is the parent, guardian or carer of the person with a disability.
11—Prescribed evidence of screening
For the purposes of section 5C(5) of the Act, the following kinds of evidence are prescribed:
	(a)	a criminal history report (such as a National Police Certificate) prepared by South Australia Police, CrimTrac or a CrimTrac accredited agency or broker; or
	(b)	a relevant history assessment report prepared by an authorised screening unit; or
	(c)	any other evidence of a kind approved by the Chief Executive for the purposes of this regulation.
12—Authorised screening unit to only undertake disability services employment screening
	(1)	An authorised screening unit must not undertake an assessment of prescribed information if—
	(a)	the assessment is not authorised or required under section 5B or 5C of the Act, or otherwise authorised by law; or
	(b)	the prescribed information was provided to the authorised screening unit for specified purposes that do not include disability services employment screening.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
	(2)	An authorised screening unit established by the Chief Executive under regulation 5(1)(a) must not undertake any kind of assessment other than assessment of a person's relevant history for the purposes of section 5B or 5C of the Act unless the authorised screening unit has been granted approval, in writing, by the Chief Executive to undertake assessments of that kind.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
	(3)	The Chief Executive must not grant approval to an authorised screening unit to undertake a particular kind of assessment unless the Chief Executive is satisfied that the authorised screening unit has in place appropriate safeguards to ensure that prescribed information will not be used for the purpose of those assessments.
	(4)	In this regulation—
prescribed information means information of a kind specified in subparagraph (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v) of paragraph (a) of the definition of relevant history in section 5B(6) of the Act.
13—Confidentiality and information management requirements
	(1)	A person who, in the course of carrying out functions of—
	(a)	a responsible authority; or
	(b)	an organisation to which a responsible authority communicates information forming part of a person's relevant history; or
	(c)	an organisation that prepares a relevant history report for a responsible authority; or
	(d)	an authorised screening unit,
has, or has had, access to information forming part of a person's relevant history must not disclose such information except—
	(e)	to, or with the consent of, the person to whom the information relates; or
	(f)	as may be authorised or required by law.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
	(2)	The responsible authority for an organisation to which section 5B of the Act applies must ensure that information forming part of—
	(a)	a person's relevant history; or
	(b)	an assessment obtained from an authorised screening unit,
is dealt with in accordance with any standards for dealing with such information published from time to time by the Chief Executive (insofar as such standards are applicable to the organisation).
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
14—Exemption
A responsible authority for a prescribed disability service provider is exempt from the requirement under section 5B(1) of the Act to ensure that an assessment of a person's relevant history is undertaken before the person is appointed to, or engaged to act in, a prescribed position if—
	(a)	the position is a prescribed position within the meaning of section 8B of the Children's Protection Act 1993; and
	(b)	the prescribed functions required or involved in the position relate only to people with a disability who are under 18 years of age; and
	(c)	an assessment of the person's relevant history is undertaken under section 8B of the Children's Protection Act 1993.

Schedule 1—Fees
1—Fees payable to authorised screening units
	(1)	Subject to subclause (3), the fees set out in the table below are payable to an authorised screening unit for conducting a relevant history assessment under these regulations.
	(2)	The fees set out in the table do not include any GST that may be payable in respect of a particular fee.
	(3)	An authorised screening unit may determine circumstances in which a fee payable to the unit may be waived or remitted.

	Fee	
If the applicant satisfies the authorised screening unit that the relevant position is a voluntary position or is a student placement arranged by or through a tertiary institution	$51.00	
In any other case	$92.50	

Legislative history
Notes
	•	Please note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.
	•	Earlier versions of these regulations (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.
	•	For further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.
Principal regulations and variations
New entries appear in bold.
Year	No	Reference	Commencement	
2014	60	Gazette 13.2.2014 p960	16.2.2014: r 2	
2014	196	Gazette 26.6.2014 p3074	1.7.2014: r 2	
2015	90	Gazette 18.6.2015 p2638	1.7.2015: r 2	
Provisions varied
New entries appear in bold.
Entries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.
Provision	How varied	Commencement	
r 2	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	1.7.2014	
Sch 1			
cl 1	varied by 196/2014 r 4(1), (2)	1.7.2014	
	varied by 90/2015 r 4(1), (2)	1.7.2015	
Historical versions
1.7.2014