Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FAMILY LAW ACT 1975 - SECT 11K

Regulations prescribing standards and requirements for family report writers

  (1)   The regulations may make provision for, and in relation to:

  (a)   standards and requirements that family report writers, or a class or classes of family report writers, must comply with in connection with the role of preparing designated family reports; and

  (b)   consequences of non - compliance with prescribed standards and requirements.

Standards and requirements

  (2)   Without limiting paragraph   (1)(a), regulations made for the purposes of that paragraph may deal with any or all of the following matters:

  (a)   recognition, monitoring and enforcement of compliance with prescribed standards and requirements;

  (b)   the person or persons responsible for that recognition, monitoring and enforcement (each such person is a regulator );

  (c)   duties of family report writers, and persons intending to become family report writers, in relation to establishing and maintaining recognition of their compliance, including duties in relation to providing information and documents to a regulator;

  (d)   circumstances in which a regulator may collect, use and share information and documents for the purposes of meeting the regulator's responsibilities;

  (e)   review of decisions that affect recognition of a family report writer's compliance;

  (f)   processes for dealing with persons who make false or misleading representations about a family report writer's compliance;

  (g)   processes for handling complaints involving family report writers;

  (h)   training for family report writers;

  (i)   the charging of fees, to family report writers, for services provided to them in connection with recognition, and maintenance of recognition, of their compliance;

  (j)   publication of the names of family report writers who are recognised as complying with prescribed standards and requirements;

  (k)   publication of information about the named family report writers for the purposes of informing the court, parties to proceedings and the public about any or all of the following:

  (i)   their qualifications, training and experience;

  (ii)   their availability;

  (iii)   the fees they charge;

  (iv)   their compliance status, including in relation to particular standards or requirements;

  (v)   any relevant memberships of professional associations, registration or employment;

  (vi)   any other matters relevant to their role of preparing designated family reports;

  (l)   standards and requirements in relation to the content of designated family reports.

  (3)   Regulations dealing with the matter mentioned in paragraph   (2)(k) must not require or allow the publication of personal information (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 ) about any child or other individual to whom a report relates.

Consequences of non - compliance

  (4)   Without limiting paragraph   (1)(b), regulations made for the purposes of that paragraph may do any or all of the following:

  (a)   prescribe offences, the penalties for which do not exceed 30 penalty units;

  (b)   prescribe civil penalty provisions, the penalties for which do not exceed 30 penalty units;

  (c)   provide for suspension or cancellation of recognition of compliance;

  (d)   provide that, if a family report writer is not recognised, or if recognition of a family report writer's compliance is suspended or cancelled, the court must not have regard to designated family reports prepared by the family report writer;

  (e)   prohibit the preparation of designated family reports by family report writers who are not recognised.

  (5)   Each civil penalty provision prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of this section (a Part   IIIAA civil penalty provision ) is enforceable under Part   4 of the Regulatory Powers Act.

Authorised applicant

  (6)   For the purposes of Part   4 of the Regulatory Powers Act, each of the following persons is an authorised applicant in relation to the Part   IIIAA civil penalty provisions:

  (a)   each regulator;

  (b)   the Secretary of the Department.

  (7)   The Secretary of the Department may, in writing, delegate the Secretary's powers and functions under Part   4 of the Regulatory Powers Act in relation to the Part   IIIAA civil penalty provisions to an SES employee, or an acting SES employee, in the Department.

Relevant court

  (8)   For the purposes of Part   4 of the Regulatory Powers Act, each of the following courts is a relevant court in relation to the Part   IIIAA civil penalty provisions:

  (a)   the Federal Court of Australia;

  (b)   the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia;

  (c)   a court of a State or Territory that has jurisdiction in relation to matters arising under this Act.