Advocacy: functions and options
Introduction7.3 There have been many recommendations, both to this Inquiry and elsewhere, about the desirable arrangement of functions for an agency charged with providing advocacy for children.[4] Advocacy incorporates a number of discrete functions:promoting the interests of children generally to ensure government and agency accountabilitymonitoring compliance with international obligationsscrutiny of legislation, programs and initiativesconducting and/or …
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Read moreComment on the proposal
Introduction6.20 Many submissions to the Inquiry endorsed the need for a national co-ordination body.[15] This need was also emphasised a number of times during consultations and in evidence to the Inquiry.[16] More specifically, a substantial number of submissions supported our proposal for the establishment of an OFC as set out in DRP 3. This support …
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Read moreWhy do policies and programs for children need co-ordination?
Introduction5.3 Government responsibility for children is split between Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, among different departments according to ‘portfolios’ and among a myriad of government agencies at different levels of government.[2] There are over 230 pieces of federal, State and Territory legislation which deal with issues relevant to children.[3]5.4 This division may enable laws and …
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Read moreWhy do children need advocacy?
Introduction5.24 Children do not have political power.[41] They have limited say in decisions affecting their lives and generally are unable to obtain redress when decisions are taken contrary to their best interests.Children and young people are a relatively powerless group in society. Adults very often make significant decisions about children without consulting them or seeking …
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Read moreLooking to the future: a national approach
Introduction5.32 No Australian government has a particularly good record in ensuring that policies and services for children are properly co-ordinated, that waste is reduced or that service delivery is effectively targeted.The Commonwealth will never achieve much for children while its policies and programs for children and their carers are scattered across every conceivable portfolio area …
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Read moreHistory of the reference
Request for submissions on the terms of the reference1.6 Initially, the Inquiry sought submissions on the terms of reference. We received 169 submissions during September and October 1995, with suggestions on what specific issues the Inquiry should address within the broader area of children and the legal process.Issues Papers and submissions1.7 In March 1996, the …
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Read moreAccess to crime scene samples
45.4 A person might seek to access the original crime scene sample for analysis to overturn his or her conviction where:the person was convicted before DNA technology became available;more sophisticated DNA technology subsequently has become available;the prosecution omitted to test and analyse, or to introduce as DNA evidence at trial, a sample found at the …
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Read moreIndependent analysis of DNA evidence
Access to crime scene samples44.76 Where the prosecution seeks to rely on DNA evidence in a criminal prosecution, the usual procedure is for the prosecution to give defence counsel access to the crime scene samples, and the analysis results, as part of pre-trial disclosure.44.77 Where a DNA sample is obtained from a suspect under Part …
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Read moreOversight of DNA database systems
Oversight of the CrimTrac agency43.41 As noted above, the CrimTrac agency operates the NCIDD system and the DVI Database pursuant to Part 1D of the Crimes Act. The Australasian Police Ministers’ Council (APMC) is responsible for defining CrimTrac’s strategic directions and key policies, setting new initiatives, and appointing members to CrimTrac’s Board of Management.43.42 CrimTrac’s …
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Read moreDisaster victim identification
Uses of DNA disaster victim identificationWorld Trade Center42.30 To date, the largest single use of DNA identification testing has been to identify the victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001.[23]42.31 Some of the victims were identified from dental records, X-rays, fingerprints, scars, rings and …
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