Section 10 of the Infants' Welfare Act states that:
'every child of the State may be
Part V provided for children's courts (originally established by the Youthful Offenders, Destitute and Neglected Children's Amendment Act 1905) where proceedings could be heard by a special magistrate, a provision introduced by the Children of the State Act 1918. If one was not available, a police magistrate or two Justices of the Peace could preside. As in previous legislation, the cases had to be heard in a different room to adult hearings. As before, the court's jurisdiction extended to cases that could be heard by Police Magistrates, a Court of Petty Sessions or by a Justice of the Peace. It did not include indictable offences, such as murder or manslaughter, which had to be tried before a jury. Like the Children of the State Act, the new Act provided for probation officers to be appointed to investigate complaints and report to the court.
Under Part VII of the Act, any female person could apply to the Director to be licensed as a foster mother and to have her home registered as a nursing home. The licence was renewed every twelve months. To be eligible for a licence, the applicant had to be of good character and able to nurse and provide for any infants in her care or charge, and to be in good health and free from any constitutional disease of physical or mental disability.
The Director appointed inspectors and inspecting nurses to supervise and carry out the licensing and registering functions.
The definition of a 'neglected' child provides some understanding of the social context of the day. Relevant categories are a child who:
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The Find & Connect Support Service can help people who lived in orphanages and children's institutions look for their records.
Last updated:
20 July 2023
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/tas/TE00003
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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