DPQ v Children’s Guardian [2019] NSWCATAD 67

DPQ v Children’s Guardian [2019] NSWCATAD 67

The applicant discharged the onus of rebutting the presumption that he posed a risk to the safety of children. Although the disqualifying offences were serious, they were at the lower end of seriousness, occurred about 25 years earlier when the applicant was 19 in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with a 14-year-old victim, and there had been no subsequent relevant offending or complaints. The Tribunal accepted the applicant's remorse, frank disclosure, positive volunteer reference and psychological evidence assessing him as low risk of reoffending, and was satisfied that a reasonable person would allow direct unsupervised contact and that granting a Working with Children Check was in...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 April 2019
Procedural Posture
Application for an Enabling Order Under Section 28 of the Child Protection (working With Children) Act 2012 (nsw) Following Refusal of a Working With Children Check Clearance / Decision After Hearing
Outcome
Application granted; enabling order made and the Children's Guardian directed to grant a Working with Children Check clearance.
Legal Topics
['working With Children Check Clearance' 'disqualified Person' 'enabling Order' 'assessment of Risk to Children' 'sexual Penetration of a Child']
['administrative Law' 'child Protection'] ['working With Children Check Clearance' 'disqualified Person' 'enabling Order' 'assessment of Risk to Children' 'sexual Penetration of a Child']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for an Enabling Order Under Section 28 of the Child Protection (working With Children) Act 2012 (nsw) Following Refusal of a Working With Children Check Clearance / Decision After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the applicant should be declared not to be treated as a disqualified person for the purposes of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW).' 'Whether the applicant rebutted the statutory presumption under subsection 28(7) that he poses a risk to the safety of children.' 'Whether the Tribunal was satisfied under section 30(1A) that a reasonable person would allow direct unsupervised contact with the applicant and that granting a Working With Children Check was in the public interest.']

Ratio Decidendi

The applicant discharged the onus of rebutting the presumption that he posed a risk to the safety of children. Although the disqualifying offences were serious, they were at the lower end of seriousness, occurred about 25 years earlier when the applicant was 19 in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with a 14-year-old victim, and there had been no subsequent relevant offending or complaints. The Tribunal accepted the applicant's remorse, frank disclosure, positive volunteer reference and psychological evidence assessing him as low risk of reoffending, and was satisfied that a reasonable person would allow direct unsupervised contact and that granting a Working with Children Check was in...

Court Disposition

Application granted; enabling order made and the Children's Guardian directed to grant a Working with Children Check clearance.

Orders

  • ['The Tribunal declares that the applicant is not to be treated as a disqualified person for the purposes of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW).' "Pursuant to subsection 28(6) of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW) the Children's Guardian is to grant the applicant a...