Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000

This section applies to the carrying out of a forensic procedure on a child for the following purposes—

in relation to the investigation of an offence under Part 3 or Subdivision 2 of Division 1 of Part 4 of the Crimes Act 1900 of which the child is a victim,

to eliminate the child’s forensic material from other forensic material found at a crime scene in relation to an offence.

A person is authorised to carry out a forensic procedure to which this section applies—

with the informed consent of the child’s parent or guardian given in accordance with this section, or

if the informed consent of the parent or guardian of the child cannot be obtained or is withdrawn as referred to in section 81D—by order of a Judge under section 81F (1) (a).

A parent or guardian of a child gives informed consent in accordance with this section if the parent or guardian consents in the presence of an independent person after a police officer informs the parent or guardian (personally or in writing) of the following matters—

the way in which the forensic procedure is to be carried out,

the purpose for which the forensic procedure is required,

the offence in relation to which the police officer wants the forensic procedure to be carried out,

that the child is under no obligation to undergo the forensic procedure,

that the forensic procedure will be carried out by an appropriately qualified police officer or person,

that the parent or guardian may consult an Australian legal practitioner of the parent’s or guardian’s choice before deciding whether or not to consent to the forensic procedure,

that the parent or guardian may at any time withdraw consent to the child undergoing the forensic procedure or to the retention of the forensic material taken or of information obtained from the analysis of that material,

if the police officer intends the information to be placed on the volunteers (limited purposes) index of the DNA database system—

the purpose for which the information is to be placed on that index and that the information may be used and matched with other indexes, but only for that purpose, and

that the information placed on the DNA database system will be removed as soon as is reasonably practicable after a period of 12 months, unless any proceedings for the prosecution of an offence to which the investigation relates have not yet concluded.

The consent of a parent or guardian to the carrying out of a forensic procedure under this section is not effective unless—

the consent is in writing and in a form containing the particulars prescribed by the regulations, and

the consent is signed by the parent or guardian, and

the signature is witnessed by an independent person, and

the parent or guardian is given a copy of the consent as soon as practicable after it is signed and witnessed.

In this section, independent person means a person other than a police officer or other person involved in the investigation of an offence to which the forensic procedure relates.