DDU v Children’s Guardian [2018] NSWCATAD 6

DDU v Children’s Guardian [2018] NSWCATAD 6

The Applicant rebutted the statutory presumption of risk. The disqualifying offence was serious but isolated, occurred 26 years earlier, involved an adult victim, and there had been no later incident or complaint. The Tribunal accepted the Applicant's remorse, shame, insight and acceptance of responsibility, and accepted Dr Morris's evidence that the risk of reoffending was low. The Tribunal was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the Applicant does not pose a risk to the safety of children, that a reasonable person would allow a child to have unsupervised direct contact with him while engaged in child-related work, and that making the order was in the public interest.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
05 January 2018
Procedural Posture
Application Concerning Refusal of a Working With Children Check Clearance Under the Child Protection (working With Children) Act 2012 (nsw) / Final Decision After Hearing
Outcome
Application allowed; the Applicant is not to be treated as a disqualified person and the Respondent is to grant a Working with Children Check clearance.
Legal Topics
['working With Children Check Clearance' 'disqualified Person' 'risk to the Safety of Children' 'administrative Review']
['administrative Law' 'child Protection'] ['working With Children Check Clearance' 'disqualified Person' 'risk to the Safety of Children' 'administrative Review']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application Concerning Refusal of a Working With Children Check Clearance Under the Child Protection (working With Children) Act 2012 (nsw) / Final Decision After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Applicant had proven on the balance of probabilities that he does not pose a risk to the safety of children.' 'Whether the Applicant should not be treated as a disqualified person for the purposes of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW).' 'Whether the Respondent should be ordered to grant the Applicant a Working with Children Check clearance.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Applicant rebutted the statutory presumption of risk. The disqualifying offence was serious but isolated, occurred 26 years earlier, involved an adult victim, and there had been no later incident or complaint. The Tribunal accepted the Applicant's remorse, shame, insight and acceptance of responsibility, and accepted Dr Morris's evidence that the risk of reoffending was low. The Tribunal was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the Applicant does not pose a risk to the safety of children, that a reasonable person would allow a child to have unsupervised direct contact with him while engaged in child-related work, and that making the order was in the public interest.

Court Disposition

Application allowed; the Applicant is not to be treated as a disqualified person and the Respondent is to grant a Working with Children Check clearance.

Orders

  • ['The Applicant is not to be treated as a disqualified person for the purposes of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW) in respect of the offence.' 'The Respondent is to grant the applicant a Working with Children Check clearance.']