Page 3326 - Week 11 - Thursday, 11 November 2021
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The amendments will improve the administration and operation of the territory’s laws for different groups in our community. The amendments not only improve protections and promote better services for the more vulnerable members of our community but also promote an improved regulatory framework and operation of the ACT government and its agencies.
The changes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act clarify that information about an adopted person’s date of adoption and important details about their birth, such as their family history and adoption records, can be included in their integrated birth certificate. This information is considered significant to an adopted person, and the amendment provides certainty that this information is more readily accessible.
The Births, Deaths and Marriages Act is further amended to clarify some technical issues identified in the implementation of reforms which commenced in August this year. For example, the amendments ensure that the Public Advocate is able to participate fully in hearings to advocate for young people applying to the ACAT for a grant of leave to change their given names and/or registered sex.
The changes to the Guardianship and Management of Property Act ensure greater protection for protected persons by confirming that fees are not payable for decision-making by guardians, while retaining the ability for guardians to be reimbursed for expenses. This amendment will also bring the territory in line with the current thinking across Australian jurisdictions about the nature of the role of guardians, who are those who are appointed to act as substitute decision-makers for individuals deemed to lack decision-making capacity.
The bill, through amendments to the Legal Aid Act, seeks to improve access to justice outcomes for vulnerable members of our community. The bill will permit the disclosure of data or information held by Legal Aid to commonwealth entities for the purposes of complying with the National Legal Assistance Partnership Agreement, or NLAP, and to third-party entities for research purposes where the request relates to improving access to justice outcomes or the provision of legal assistance services. These amendments will support the commission to not only comply with reporting requirements under the NLAP, a key funding mechanism for legal assistance providers in the territory, but also to participate in research projects which can assist in providing a more accurate and up-to-date picture of the areas of greatest legal need in our community.
While these provisions engage and may limit the right to privacy, I consider that any limitation imposed is reasonable and proportionate, in accordance with the Human Rights Act 2004. Extensive care has been taken to craft the amendment from a human rights perspective, and several safeguards have been included to minimise any impacts on the right to privacy. For example, the chief executive officer must be satisfied that any requesting commonwealth agency is required to manage the information in accordance with the Australian privacy principles. Further, only data collected from 1 July 2021 may be disclosed and the chief executive officer may only authorise a disclosure pursuant to ministerial guidelines, which are currently in development.
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