Gordon wrote on Jul 5
th, 2017 at 10:30am:
No wonder when we have people like our very own Karnal who allegedly work in the office of child marriage obfuscation.
Your article omits a number of facts, Gordon: the key details of the case, but most importantly, the
age of the young person.
A child is defined as someone under 14 in the Children's Act. Those aged 14 - 17 are defined as young people. Depending on the age of this person, if the matter was being investigated by the Federal police, FACS would have no role in such an investigation. The police can seize passports and issue AVOs, and they most certainly would if they suspected an underage marriage. Ultimately, the only legal power FACS has is the ability to apply for legal orders to place a child/young person into care. Again, depending on their age, this would not necessarily assist.
Forced marriage of a young person under 18 automatically screens in as Risk Of Significant Harm, thus requiring a secondary assessment. The article states that the young person did not receive a
face-to-face assessment. It's likely that FACS reported to the Federal Police, found that the case was under investigation, and closed the case. FACS automatically refers cases of underage marriage to the federal police as per FACS policy.
What else should they do?