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Tasmania - Organisation

Child Welfare Advisory Council (1960 - c. 1998)

From
1960
To
c. 1998
Categories
Advisory Council and Government Agency

The Child Welfare Advisory Council began meeting in 1965. It provided advice to the Minister about issues related to children who were state wards or supervised in other ways by the Social Welfare Department and its successors. The Council was abolished in about 1998.

Details

The Child Welfare Advisory Council was established under section 5 of the Child Welfare Act 1960. The Secretary of the Council had to be employed by the Social Welfare Department and appointed by its Director. Other members of the Council could also be public servants. The Council met about once a month. Sub-committees of the Council investigated specific issues. They usually met more often.

The Council monitored the activities of approved children's homes through regular questionnaires and visits by sub-committees.

Its first major task was to conduct a survey into the needs of children coming under the Child Welfare Act to find out if the facilities run by the Department and voluntary organisations met those needs, if new facilities should be established, and how to rationalise state and voluntary activities.

In 1970, the Council investigated Departmental attempts to prevent children from breaking the law and the facilities that the state had available for them. The following year, it looked into the situation of state wards in approved children's homes. The Council began investigating changes to the Child Welfare Act in 1976.

The 1997 Children, Young Persons and their Families Act abolished the Child Welfare Advisory Council.

Related Glossary Terms

Related Legislation

Related Organisations

Publications

Reports

  • Report of the Department of Social Welfare for the year 1965-66, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1966. Details
  • Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30 June 1970, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1970. Details
  • Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 1971, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1971. Details
  • Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30 June 1976, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1976, 20 pp. Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Report of the Department of Social Welfare for the year 1965-66, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1966; Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30 June 1970, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1970; Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 1971, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1971; Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30 June 1976, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1976, 20 pp.

Prepared by: Caroline Evans