Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The court may make an order, in child - related proceedings, requiring an information sharing agency to:
(a) inform the court whether the agency has in its possession or control any documents or information relating to a matter mentioned in subsection (2); and
(b) if it has--give the court particulars of the documents or information.
Note: An information sharing agency is not required to give the court protected material: see section 67ZBF.
(2) The matters are the following:
(a) abuse, neglect or family violence to which a child to whom the proceedings relate has been, or is suspected to have been, subjected or exposed;
(b) family violence to which a party to the proceedings has been exposed, or in which a party to the proceedings has engaged, to the extent it may affect a child to whom the proceedings relate;
(c) any risk or potential risk of a child to whom the proceedings relate being subjected or exposed to abuse, neglect or family violence;
(d) any risk or potential risk of a party to the proceedings being subjected to, or engaging in, family violence, to the extent any such family violence may affect a child to whom the proceedings relate.
(3) The order may (but is not required to) include descriptions of the kinds of documents or information that the court considers the agency may have in its possession or control relating to a matter mentioned in subsection (2). However, any such descriptions do not limit the scope of the order.
(4) The following are examples of descriptions of kinds of documents or information that may be included in an order:
(a) notifications to the agency of suspected abuse of a child to whom the proceedings relate;
(b) notifications to the agency of suspected abuse, by a party to the proceedings, of any other child.
Note: Section 15AD of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 has the effect that examples of the operation of a provision are not exhaustive, and may extend the operation of a provision.
(5) The agency may, on its own initiative:
(a) produce to the court any documents the particulars of which are required by the order; or
(b) give to the court any information the particulars of which are required by the order; or
(c) give to the court any other particulars that the agency considers useful to characterise documents or information particulars of which are required by the order.
(6) If the agency produces a document or gives information or particulars on its own initiative under subsection (5), the agency must consider:
(a) redacting the document if the document contains protected material; or
(b) not providing the information or particulars to the extent that the information is, or the particulars would reveal, protected material.
(7) A law of a State or Territory has no effect to the extent that it would, apart from this subsection, hinder or prevent the agency:
(a) complying with the order; or
(b) providing documents, information or particulars on its own
initiative under subsection (5).