Public Guardian Act 2014

The public guardian has the following functions in relation to a relevant child (child advocate functions)—

developing a trusting and supportive relationship with the child, so far as is possible;

providing advice and information to the child about matters the child is concerned about;

supporting the child at, and participating in—

conferences or mediations ordered or facilitated by a court or the tribunal at which the child may attend; or

family group meetings; or

any other meetings;

helping the child to resolve issues or disputes with others;

monitoring any plan prepared for the child’s health, education or benefit to ensure it is being adhered to;

working with government agencies that provide a service or facility to the child and other non-government providers of a service or facility to the child;

seeking to resolve, with the chief executive (child safety), disputes about reviewable decisions as defined under section 128(1);

helping the child to make an official complaint about a matter to someone;

helping the child to seek, or respond to, the revocation or variation of an order made under, or taken to be an order for, the Child Protection Act affecting the child;

helping the child to initiate or, on the child’s behalf, initiating an application to the tribunal for review of a child protection matter;

helping an independent Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander entity for the child to support the child in referring a matter to the tribunal;

supporting the child at a proceeding before a court or the tribunal;

for a proceeding before a court relating to a court assessment order or child protection order—making submissions, calling witnesses and testing evidence in the proceeding, including by cross-examining witnesses;

for a proceeding before the tribunal relating to a child protection matter—making submissions, calling witnesses and testing evidence in the proceeding, including by cross-examining witnesses.

The public guardian also has the following additional functions (also child advocate functions)—

for a child under care staying at a visitable home or a child staying at a visitable site—providing a program called the community visitor program for the child to promote and protect the rights and interests of the child;

for a child mentioned in the Child Protection Act, section 74(1)—to help the child if the child considers that the charter of rights set out in the Child Protection Act, schedule 1 is not being complied with in relation to the child.

In this section—

an order extending, varying or revoking a child protection order; and

a child protection order that continues in force—

under a transition order made under section 65A of that Act; or

by operation of section 65A(4) of that Act; and

an interim order under section 67 of that Act in relation to a proceeding for a child protection order.