Secretary, Department of Family and Community Services v Hayward (a pseudonym)

• 1. Child Welfare
  2. › Care and protection
  3. › Risk of significant harm reports
  4. › Protection of reporters' identities
  5. › Whether reports admissible in criminal proceedings
  6. › Whether court in criminal case can compel disclosure of identities of makers of report
  7. › Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), ss 24, 29, 29(1)(d), (e), (f)(ii)
• 1. Criminal Procedure
  2. › Disclosure
  3. › Accused seeking disclosure of identities of persons who made risk of significant harm reports
  4. › Whether District Court in criminal trial has power to order disclosure of identities
  5. › Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), s 29(1)(f)(ii)
• 1. Statutory Interpretation
  2. › Principle of legality
  3. › Where statute prohibited disclosure of identity of makers of reports that child at risk of serious harm
  4. › Where accused in criminal trial sought disclosure of identities
  5. › Whether statute affected element of general system of law
  6. › Whether principle of legality supported construing prohibition as not applicable to criminal proceedings
• 1. Statutory Interpretation
  2. › Contextual construction
  3. › Use of legislative history and extrinsic materials to determine legislative purpose
  4. › Coherent reading of related statutory provisions
  5. › Meaning of 'any proceedings'
  6. › Meaning of 'proceedings relating to'
  7. › Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), s 29(1)

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