50A Applications on behalf of children and matters affecting personal affairs of children

(1) Without limiting the ability of persons to make applications on behalf of children, an application may be made under section 25 on behalf of a child by a parent or a person having guardianship of the child.

(2) If an application made under section 25 states that it is made on behalf of a child by a parent or another person having guardianship of the child—

(a) the application must state the name of the child and the name of the parent or other person; and

(b) the child is the applicant for the purposes of division 1A; and

(c) section 105 does not apply in relation to the application but, if the application is for documents that relate to the personal affairs of the child and that contain matter that would be exempt matter if the application were made by a person (other than the child or the child’s agent), an agency or Minister—

(i) must not give access to the information unless the agency or the Minister is satisfied of the identity of the child and the parent or other person; and

(ii) must ensure, by the adoption of appropriate procedures, that any information intended for the child is received only by the parent or other person.

(3) If an application is made under section 25 by, or on behalf of a child, then, despite section 44(2), if a document contains information concerning the personal affairs of the child, the agency or Minister may refuse access to all or part of the information if the agency or Minister considers access would not be in the best interests of the child.

(4) If an application is made under section 25 by a child, the agency or Minister, in deciding whether to give the child access to all or part of the information, must consider whether the child has the capacity to—

(a) understand the information and the context in which it was recorded; and

(b) make a mature judgment as to what might be in his or her best interests.

(5) In this section—

child means an individual who is under 18.

guardianship includes guardianship, whether sole guardianship or otherwise and whether for a particular purpose or otherwise, under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.

parent see the Child Protection Act 1999, section 11(1) to (4).

Note—
Child Protection Act 1999, section 11(1) to (4)—

11 Who is a parent

(1) A parent of a child is the child’s mother, father or someone else (other than the chief executive) having or exercising parental responsibility for the child.

(2) However, a person standing in the place of a parent of a child on a temporary basis is not a parent of the child.

(3) A parent of an Aboriginal child includes a person who, under Aboriginal tradition, is regarded as a parent of the child.

(4) A parent of a Torres Strait Islander child includes a person who, under Island custom, is regarded as a parent of the child.