Child Protection Legislation in Northern Territories in Relation to Domestic Violence in Darwin

This paper discusses the child protection legislation in Northern Territories in relation to children in Darwin who experience domestic violence and set out the consideration which the officers should take into account while dealing with the children. The paper also discusses the strength and weaknesses of the legislation while providing protection of children rights of children in Darwin who experience domestic violence.

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Law
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Author Note

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Provisions in relation to protection of children and widely recognized and applied in
Australia. The primary purpose of child protection laws is to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and
exploitation which a child may be subjected to (Winter, 2011). UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child has been formed to give protection to children outside and inside their home (Kennedy
et.al., 2016). Australia also has a strong framework in relation to the protection of children. The
primary purpose of this paper is to identify the child care and protection legislation in the
Northern territories in relation to children in Darwin who experience domestic violence and set
out the consideration which the officers should take into account while dealing with the children.
The paper also discusses the strength and weaknesses of the legislation while providing
protection of children rights of children in Darwin who experience domestic violence.
There can be many forms in which domestic violence may take place and any person can
be subjected to its ill effects. Domestic violence has been defined by Kennedy et.al (2016) as an
action where a partner or family member causes harm to another family member. It has elements
like physical harm, violent or threatening behavior, sexual, verbal or social abuse, emotional and
psychological harm, financial exploitation and neglect. According to Katz (2014) children in
Darwin are subjected to significant domestic violence which is making them leave their houses
and even indulge into criminal activities along with alcohol and drug addiction.
The primary legislation which governs the protection of children in the Northern territory
is the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007. The objective of the legislation has been stated
through Section 4. According to the provisions of section 4(a) the objective of the Act is to
enhance the well being of the children. In doing so the Act purports to provide protection to the

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children from exploitation and harm and provide maximum opportunities to them so that they
can reach their full potential. This means that it is the duty of child protection officer to ensure
that children who are subjected to domestic violence in Darwin are provided protection from
exploitation and harm and also opportunity to develop their potentials. In relation to doing there
are many child protection center such as the one at Dawn which gives shelter to those who have
been subjected to domestic violence. The Act also have the objective of providing assistant to the
families of the student so that they can achieve the objectives of Act. The primary objective
which the Act sets out for those are working with children is that it provides obligation on such
people to have regards to the above discussed objectives while carrying out their objectives. In
order to achieve the objectives which have been provided through section 4 the legislation
provides an overview through the provisions of s 5.
In relation to the achievement of its purpose the legislation provides rules for protecting
the wellbeing of children by initiating compulsory requirements for reporting about children at
risk of exploitation or harm, providing powers to the CEO, the minister and other officers to
work for the wellbeing of children and empowering the courts to make orders in relation to
ensuing the wellbeing of children. This means that while working with children in Darwin these
provisions have to be taken into consideration. The act also provides for rules to prevent
exploitation and harm to children and particularly like screening employment for children,
restricting employment and preventing child death. The legislation also establishes an
information sharing framework in relation to review teams, children and other administrative
measures. According to these provision it is my duty to act promptly where any situation of child
abuse in Darwin in relation to domestic violence has been informed or reported.

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It has been stated through the provisions of section 6 of the Act that the underlying
principles of the legislations are provided through section 7-12 of the Act. Further any person
who is performing a function or exercising a power under the legislation must uphold these
principles as far as practicable. It has been provided through the provisions of section 9 of the
Act that all children are to be considered as a valuable member of the society and has the right to
be treated in a way that his or her dignity and diversity is respected. Thus while working with
children in Darwin who have been subjected to domestic violence and abuse a protection officer
have to as far as practicable ensure that the dignity of children is taken into consideration while
dealing with them. Children may be from diverse backgrounds and it is the duty of the officer to
ensure that they feel valued and respected irrespective of their background.
As a child protection officer working in Darwin it is also a duty under the legislation
while making decision from the children to take into consideration the overall circumstances in
which the child is and the decision has to be taken in compliance with ethnic, cultural and
religious values which are relevant to the children. It is also the duty of the officer to ensure that
consent in relation to the participation of children is obtained by informing them, their family
and those who have a significant part in their life (Ife, 2010). According to the provisions of
section 10 of the Act it is the duty of the child protection officer to ensure that they act in the best
interest of the children they are working for. The section precisely states that while taking a
decision which is related to children it is the duty of an officer to give utmost concern to the
interest of the child. In addition an offer without limiting anything provided in this section has to
provide consideration to the requirement of protecting the child from any form of exploitation
and harm, the willingness and the capacity of the family members or parents of taking care of the
child and the nature of relationship which the child has with the family or any person who are

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important in the life of the child. The officer while making a decision should also take into
consideration the views and wishes of the child along with understanding and maturity, the need
for living arrangements, nurturing and stable relationship needs of the child and any emotional,
physical, intellectual, spiritual, educational and development needs of the child. In addition the
maturity, age, cultural, religion, sexuality, special characteristics and effect of change in
circumstances also has to be considered by the officer while making a decision in relation to a
child. Thus if as an officer a person comes across the situation where there the people associated
with the child in Darwin are not acting in the best interest a claim can be brought under this
section as this is a kind of neglect which is also considered to be a domestic violence. Moreover
under this section both the government and the family of the children may be liable as they have
been provided with such responsibility under the provisions of section 7 and 8 of the Act.
Further a duty is imposed on the officers making a decision for the children to ensure
that they provide importance to child participation under section 11 of the Act. When a decision
is being made by a child protection officer in relation to a child they must provide adequate
information and explanation to them in a way they can understand. The children have to be
provided with the opportunity to provide their response to the decision which has been proposed
along with the opportunity to express views and wishes freely. Further assistance has to be
provided in relation to expressing those views and wishes which are to be considered in relation
to the understanding and maturity of the child (Cossar, Brandon & Jordan, 2016).
The child protection officers have to also comply with the principles under section 12
related to aboriginal children. It has been provided through the provisions of section 12 that
committees, kingship groups and representative organization of Aboriginal people have a role
via self-determination with respect to enhancing the wellbeing of aboriginal children. These

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bodies have to be provided with the right to indulge in the process of decision making. in
addition while taking decision in relation to an aboriginal child the child officers must as far as
possible provide the custody of the child to a family member, an aboriginal person in the
community of the child, any other aboriginal person or a person who is not aboriginal but is a
sensitive person in the opinion of the officer. In addition to the above rules an aboriginal child
has to be placed as much as possible close to their family and community.
There are various other guidelines which a child protection officer has to abide by while
discharging their duties and carry out their functions including the Education Act, Domestic and
Family Violence Act Volatile Substance Abuse Act Education Act and Youth Justice Act
(Murdoch, 2013). When dealing with children an officer has to know what does harm mean.
The definition of harm has been stated through the provisions of section 14 of the Act which
states that an action or omission which may have a detrimental effect on the emotional,
psychological and physical wellbeing, or development of the child is termed harm. Emotional,
physical and psychological neglect or abuse of a child may be an effect of harm. Harm also
includes exploitation of child such as exposing him or her to physical violence. Section 16
defines exploitation of a child as any sexual or other form for exploitation to any child in
Darwin. This one of the primary strengths of the legislation is that of the flexibility provided to
the meaning of harm and exploitation. The legislation ensures that it provides wide interpretation
power to the courts to provide meaning to these terms in different circumstances which may arise
in relation to the protection of children. The legislation signifies that any situation in which the
child may be subjected to a detriment due to the actions of others can result in harm or
exploitation under the meaning of the legislation (Saul, 2013).

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Another significant area in relation to which the legislation operates is that of when
should a child be considered for the needs of protection and care. It is provided through the
provisions of section 20 of the legislation that the child would be deemed to have require
protection and care if the child suffered or may suffer exploitation or harm because of an
omission or act by a parent of the child or when the child has been abandoned and no family
member is able to or willing to take care of the child, the parents of the child are dead and the
child in control of a person who can endanger its safety. It has been argued by Hawkins (2014)
that the provisions of s 20 are significantly harsh in relation to the parents of the child. This is
because the definition of harm and exploitation provided through the legislation is so wide that
any action of the parents which may subject the child to any amount of detriment would make
the child eligible for protection and care. This situation may be regarded as a few weaknesses
which the legislation possesses. There have been significant protest and fear within the
community and particularly the Aboriginal community in relation to the application of such laws.
However when a child should be held eligible for protection and care is dependent on the
decision of the CEO, officers and ministers and thus their role in relation to the proper
implementation of the legislation is significantly important.
Another aspect of the legislation which operates towards providing rights and liabilities
to the children includes the provisions of parental responsibility provided through section 22.
The legislation includes within the meaning of parents any person who has the daily care and
control of the child. Such person has the authority to exercise rights and powers towards the
child and also has all responsibility in relation to the file. Rights of the children have also been
provided protection by giving the right to officers of making inquires. It has been provided by
the provisions of section 32 of the Act that a right is provided to the CEO in relation to making

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inquiry for the child where any information which may affect the wellbeing of the child has been
received. Any requirement for further action is also in the discretion of the CEO. In the same
way powers have been provided to the provision of section 33 of the Act to the police officers.
The investigation to be carried out by the police has to be done within 24 hours and the
information has to be communicated to the CEO. These provisions provided by the legislation
ensure that timely action is taken in relation to any concern to the safety and wellbeing of
children. In addition whether protection may be required by the child or not can be found out by
the CEO under the power to carry out investigation as provided by s 35 of the Act. However the
CEO been provided the obligation to carry out such functions if there are reasonable grounds
available. There have been no provisions been provided in relation to determining the meaning
of the terms reasonable. Whether the rest is objective or subjective is also not made clear by the
legislation. Thus this section of the legislation also signifies that there is increased focus on the
CEO’s powers provided by the legislation and whether the legislation would be able to provide
proper protection to children or not depends upon the way in which the officers carry out their
powers (Ainsworth, 2013).
Thus it paper can be concluded by stating that the Act is the most important legislative
instrument which has been brought to existence in order to ensure child protection in the
Northern Territories and specifically those children who are subjected to domestic violence in
Darwin. Any exploitation or harm which the child may be subjected to is covered and dealt with
the provisions of the legislation. Any person working with children has to take into consideration
the principles provided through the provision of section 9-12 of the Act. These provisions mainly
impose a duty to act in the best interest of the children, treating them with respect and ensuring
informed participation. The aboriginal children have been provided with additional rights by the

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legislation. The legislation provides for significantly beneficial provisions for the protection of
children from Harm and exploitation. However it can be stated form the above analysis that the
proper functioning of the legislation is dependent upon whether the officers carry out their
powers provided under the legislation in good faith or not. Thus the care and protection of
children in the state is highly dependent in the officers, CEO and the minister.

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References
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children's views on participation in the child protection system. Child & Family Social
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