Admissions to assessment orders
Source: Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs.
What is being counted
- Data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).
- Counts the number of temporary assessment orders and court assessment orders made during the reference period.
- Where a child is the subject of more than one admission to a temporary assessment order during the period, an admission to a temporary assessment order is counted for each instance.
- Where a child is the subject of more than one admission to a court assessment order during the period, an admission to a court assessment order is counted for each instance.
- Age group: Based on the age of the child at the time the concerns were received.
- Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: Includes non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and children whose Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown or not stated.
Definition notes
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Assessment order: An assessment order is a short term order that may be granted by either a magistrate or the court, under the Child Protection Act 1999, to allow a range of activities to occur to complete an investigation and assessment, when a parent has not given consent for these actions to occur.
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Temporary assessment order: A temporary assessment order (TAO) authorises actions during the investigation and assessment process when parental consent cannot be obtained. A TAO can provide the authority to take a child into the custody of the chief executive, but guardianship rights and responsibilities remain with the child's parents. A TAO may also order specific actions relating to the assessment of a notification, for example, the conduct of a medical assessment in relation to a child. A TAO can only be granted for a period of 3 business days and can be extended by 1 business day.
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Court assessment order: A court assessment order (CAO) is an order made under the Child Protection Act 1999, chapter 2, to authorise actions necessary as part of an investigation and assessment to determine whether a child is in need of protection, if:
- the child's parents have not provided their consent for these actions or the parents' consent cannot be obtained and
- it is considered that it will take more than three business days to complete the investigation and assessment.