South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts65—Failure to protect child from sexual abuse
(1) A prescribed
person is guilty of an offence if—
(a) the
prescribed person knows that there is a substantial risk that
another person (the "abuser") who is also an employee of the institution or,
if the prescribed person provides out of home care, who is also a provider of
out of home care, will engage in the sexual abuse of a child—
(i)
who is under 17 years of age; or
(ii)
in relation to whom the abuser is in a position of
authority; and
(b) the
prescribed person has the power or responsibility to reduce or remove that
risk but negligently fails to do so.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 15 years.
(2) For the avoidance
of doubt, it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that sexual abuse
of a child occurred to make out an offence against this section.
(3) For the purposes
of this section, a person is in "a position of authority in relation to a
person under the age of 18 years (the
"child") if—
(a) the
person is a teacher and the child is a pupil of the teacher or of a school at
which the teacher works; or
(b) the
person is a parent, step-parent, guardian or foster parent of the child or the
de facto partner or domestic partner of a parent, step-parent, guardian or
foster parent of the child; or
(c) the
person provides religious, sporting, musical or other instruction to the
child; or
(d) the
person is a religious official or spiritual leader (however described and
including lay members and whether paid or unpaid) in a religious or spiritual
group attended by the child; or
(e) the
person is a health professional or social worker providing professional
services to the child; or
(f) the
person is responsible for the care of the child and the child has a cognitive
impairment; or
(g) the
person is employed or providing services in a correctional institution (within
the meaning of the Correctional Services Act 1982 ) or a training centre
(within the meaning of the Young Offenders Act 1993 ), or is a person
engaged in the administration of those Acts, acting in the course of the
person's duties in relation to the child; or
(h) the
person is employed or providing services in a licensed children's residential
facility (within the meaning of the Children and Young People (Safety)
Act 2017 ), or a residential care facility or other facility established
under section 36 of the Family and Community Services Act 1972 , or
is a person engaged in the administration of those Acts, acting in the course
of the person's duties in relation to the child; or
(i)
the person is an employer of the child or other person
who has the authority to determine significant aspects of the child's terms
and conditions of employment or to terminate the child's employment (whether
the child is being paid in respect of that employment or is working in a
voluntary capacity).