Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Actsinsert
27B Public advocate's functions
(1) The public advocate has the following functions:
(a) to advocate for the rights of people with a disability and, as part of advocating for those rights, doing the following:
(i) fostering the provision of services and facilities for people with a disability;
(ii) supporting the establishment of organisations that support people with a disability;
(iii) encouraging the development of programs that benefit people with a disability (including advocacy programs, educational programs and programs to encourage people to act as guardians and managers);
(iv) promoting the protection of people with a disability from abuse and exploitation;
(b) to advocate for the rights of children and young people and, as part of advocating for those rights, doing the following:
(i) fostering the provision of services and facilities for children and young people;
(ii) supporting the establishment of organisations that support children and young people;
(iii) promoting the protection of children and young people from abuse and exploitation;
(c) to advocate matters about individual children or young people for whom the director-general under the Children and Young People Act 2008
has parental responsibility;
(d) monitoring the provision of services for the protection of children and young people;
(e) dealing, on behalf of people with a disability and children and young people, with entities providing services;
(f) any other function given to the public advocate under this Act or any other territory law.
Note The public advocate also has functions under the Children and Young People Act 2008
.
(2) In this section:
"disability" means one of the following conditions if the condition gives rise to a need for protection from abuse, exploitation or neglect, or a combination of those things:
(a) a physical, mental, psychological or intellectual condition;
(b) a condition that would make a person a forensic patient.
"forensic patient" includes a person who has been—
(a) apprehended by a police officer because the person's behaviour or statements indicate to the officer that the person may be suffering from a mental dysfunction or mental illness; or
(b) found by a court or the ACAT to be unfit to plead; or
(c) acquitted of a criminal charge because of mental impairment; or
(d) found guilty of a criminal offence and is mentally dysfunctional or mentally ill, or has become mentally dysfunctional or mentally ill while serving a sentence of imprisonment.
"mental dysfunction" means a disturbance or defect, to a substantially disabling degree, of perceptual interpretation, comprehension, reasoning, learning, judgment, memory, motivation or emotion.
"mental illness" means a condition that seriously impairs (either temporarily or permanently) the mental functioning of a person and is characterised by the presence in the person of any of the following symptoms:
(a) delusions;
(b) hallucinations;
(c) serious disorder of thought form;
(d) a severe disturbance of mood;
(e) sustained or repeated irrational behaviour indicating the presence of the symptoms mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) or (d).
Division 3.7B Victims of crime commissioner
27C Victims of crime commissioner's functions
(1) The victims of crime commissioner has the following functions:
(a) to exercise functions for the commission in relation to services for victims of crime;
(b) to exercise any other function given to the commissioner under this Act or any other territory law.
Note The victims of crime commissioner also has functions under the Domestic Violence Agencies 1986 (as the domestic violence project coordinator), the Victims of Crime Act 1994
and the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance) Act 1983
.
(2) The exercise of the function mentioned in subsection (1) (a) is subject to any decision of the commission about the exercise of its functions in relation to services for victims of crime.