Page 2575 - Week 09 - Thursday, 16 September 2021
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bill will allow search warrants to be sworn, applied for and issued electronically as an alternative to in-person applications. These measures were used during the COVID-19 emergency to limit situations requiring physical appearances and have been identified for permanent adoption because of their ongoing benefit in promoting efficiencies for the police and court. These measures also future-proof and modernise the process against future situations where personal applications may be impossible or not in the public interest.
The COVID-19 amendments to the Human Rights Commission Act 2005 were initially being developed with the intention that they would be a permanent amendment in 2019-20. They were included in the COVID-19 Emergency Response Legislation Amendment Act 2020 as a temporary measure to avoid delays to introduction, particularly because of the increased impact on vulnerable persons as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill permanently adopts this measure as originally intended, giving power to the ACT Human Rights Commission to hear and handle complaints about the treatment of vulnerable people. This function of the commission has proved to be a much-needed measure to address elder abuse and abuse of people with disability. This is evidenced by the fact that since the measure commenced, until the end of August, the commission has received 55 inquiries and 30 complaints.
The bill amends the Public Trustee and Guardian Act 1985 to broaden the Public Trustee and Guardian’s, or PTG’s, delegation of functions. The PTG’s delegation power was expanded as a COVID-19 measure through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Legislation Amendment Act 2020, allowing the PTG to delegate most guardianship functions to a member of the office. This was recommended for long-term adoption by the independent protection of rights and services review. The bill adopts a principle-based approach to the delegation power of the PTG which differs from the initial COVID-19 measures. The new delegation approach will require the PTG, in making a delegation, to have regard to the type of function being delegated, including qualifications, knowledge and experience of the proposed delegate; the decision-making obligations under section 4 of the Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991; and the obligations of the PTG under the Human Rights Act 2004.
Digital technology has been incredibly valuable throughout the pandemic, helping our community to stay connected and communicate safely. One such circumstance where digital technology and flexible communication methods have been embraced has been in our retirement villages. The bill amends the Retirement Villages Act 2012 to make permanent measures to allow resident committees of retirement villages and operators of retirement villages to authorise that a meeting of residents can be conducted through means other than in person.
Throughout the COVID-19 emergency period, resident committees or, where one does not exist, the residents of a retirement village have had the power to authorise that meetings be conducted via means other than in person. Similarly, where operators have called for a meeting, these meetings have been able to be held via alternative communication methods. By making these amendments permanent, the health and safety of retirement village residents can be upheld while also preserving their right to participate in meetings about the villages where they reside.
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