Revoking a notice

If the Department of Human Services Screening Unit determines that a person is to be prohibited from working with children, the unit must issue a prohibition notice to the person by serving it in accordance with section 51 of the Act [s 32(1) and reg 18(1)(b)]. In issuing a prohibition notice the unit must comply with the guidelines published in the Gazette [reg 18(1)((c) and s 4]. The notice must set out the person’s full name and date of birth, the person’s unique identifier, the date of issue, the reasons why the unit issued the notice, and information setting out how the person can seek a review of the unit’s decision to issue the notice by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal [s 30(2)(c) and reg 18(2)].

If the unit has made a decision to prohibit a person from working with children based on information classified by the Commissioner of Police as "criminal intelligence", the unit need not provide reasons for the prohibition other than that it would be contrary to the public interest to allow the person to work with children [s 10(1)]. Criminal intelligence includes information relating to actual or suspected criminal activity the disclosure of which could prejudice a criminal investigation, identify a confidential source or endanger a person's life or physical safety [s 5]. Any argument in relation to this, must on the application of the Commissioner of Police, be held in private in the absence of the parties, and may be by way of affidavit [s 10(2)].

Issuing a notice

The unit may, on the application of a prohibited person to whom a notice relates or on its own motion, revoke a prohibition notice [s 33]. This may only occur where the only grounds on which the person is a prohibited person is the prohibition notice [s 33(1)(a)]. In other words, the person is not otherwise a prohibited person under a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory or by reason of having been found guilty of having committed a prescribed offence. The prohibited person would need to satisfy the unit that the prohibition notice was issued in error or there is fresh and compelling assessable information that, if assessed in the course of the original working with children check, would have materially affected the outcome [s 33(1)(b)]. Revocation of the prohibition notice involves the unit conducting a further working with children check and determining that the person is not prohibited [s 33(1)(c)].

Reviews by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal SACAT

A person may apply to SACAT for review of the screening unit’s decision to issue or revoke a prohibition notice [s 43]. The application for review must be made within 14 days of receiving notice of the unit’s decision [s 43(2)]. SACAT may only allow an extension of time if satisfied that special circumstances exist and another party will not be unreasonably disadvantaged by the delay [s 43(3)]. For more information, see State administrative appeals.