Working with Children Check Act 2000

This section applies if—

a person (the charged person) has been charged with, but not convicted of—

a serious offence or a disqualifying offence; or

an offence, other than a serious offence or a disqualifying offence, relating to or involving a child; and

the Mental Health Review Tribunal has reviewed a forensic order to which the person is subject, or the person’s fitness for trial, under the Mental Health Act 2016, chapter 12, part 3, 4 or 6; and

the chief executive is reasonably satisfied that it may be necessary or desirable for the registered health practitioner conducting an examination of the charged person under this division to have regard to information mentioned in subsection (2) for preparing a report about the person’s mental health.

The chief executive may, by written notice, ask the charged person to give the Mental Health Review Tribunal consent to give the registered health practitioner the following information—

the tribunal’s decision on the review;

the tribunal’s reasons for the decision;

a copy or written summary of any expert’s report about the charged person received by the tribunal in the proceeding for the review, including, for example, a report about an examination of the person by a psychiatrist or other person mentioned in the Mental Health Act 2016, section 454;

transcripts of a hearing conducted for the review that the tribunal has directed may be given to a party to the hearing or another person.

The written notice must state the following—

the reasons for the chief executive’s request;

that, if the person fails to give the consent, the chief executive may withdraw the person’s working with children check application.

If the person gives the consent, the Mental Health Review Tribunal may give the information mentioned in subsection (2) to the chief executive for giving it to the registered health practitioner.

However, information or documents given under this section must not include—

any record of material given to the tribunal under the Mental Health Act 2016, section 155 or 742, or of how the material was taken into account; or

the Mental Health Review Tribunal’s reasons for taking material mentioned in paragraph (a) into account or not taking the material into account; or

the content of an expert report about a person other than the charged person; or

information about a person other than the charged person the Mental Health Review Tribunal reasonably considers is not relevant to the registered health practitioner preparing a report about the charged person’s mental health.

Also, the Mental Health Review Tribunal must not give information, or a document containing information, under this section if the tribunal is reasonably satisfied that giving the information may do any of the following—

prejudice a matter before the tribunal;

prejudice the investigation of a contravention or possible contravention of the law in a particular case;

enable the existence or identity of a confidential source of information, in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law, to be ascertained;

prejudice the effectiveness of a lawful method or procedure for preventing, detecting, investigating or dealing with a contravention or possible contravention of the law;

prejudice a prosecution or another matter before a court;

endanger a person’s life or physical safety;

adversely affect a person’s mental health.

If the chief executive is given information under this section to give to a registered health practitioner, the chief executive—

must give the information to the registered health practitioner as soon as possible; and

must not use the information for any purpose other than giving it to the registered health practitioner.

The giving of information under this section by the Mental Health Review Tribunal is authorised despite any other Act or law, including a law imposing an obligation to maintain confidentiality about the information.

Without limiting subsection (8), information may be given under this section even if the information can not be disclosed to the charged person under a confidentiality order under the Mental Health Act 2016, section 722.