Page 3708 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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The community is being asked to consider the commissioner’s functions, powers, governance structures, physical location and a culturally appropriate process for recruitment. Jumbunna has been holding one-on-one and small-group conversations with community members, and online community dialogues are also occurring this week. These discussions will continue over the next few weeks to develop and refine the commissioner role. I expect to introduce legislation to establish the permanent commissioner next year so that the commissioner can begin operating as soon as possible in 2022.
I encourage the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to consider participating in the co-design process. If anyone has not yet, they can go to Jumbunna’s website, which can be found by googling “Jumbunna”, and within the UTS domain there are contact details on the page and people can get in touch with Jumbunna to discuss participating in the process.
MRS KIKKERT: Minister, will the commissioner have the authority to intervene in child protection decisions, as the community wants?
MS CHEYNE: I am not going to pre-empt the consultation that is occurring currently.
COVID-19—testing centre fees
MS CASTLEY: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, yesterday in the first correction you provided to this Assembly you said that the $112 fee comprised a $50 testing fee, plus $5 GST, a $50 handling fee, plus $5 GST, and an “initiation fee” of $2.40. In your second correction to this Assembly you said that you would be refunding the testing fee. Does this mean that a person who has paid the fee will get the whole $112 back?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: Yes, it does.
MS CASTLEY: A supplementary.
MADAM SPEAKER: Ms Castley.
MS CASTLEY: Minister, why are you are charging GST on COVID-19 tests when the GST act makes health services, including pathology services, GST free?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I will take that question on notice.
MRS JONES: Minister, how many people have paid this fee and how many will receive a refund?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: Since 23 October 2021, ACT Pathology has identified a total of 314 consumers who have been billed or who have been queued to be billed. Since 14 November, ACT Pathology has seen a number of requests to support domestic travel. While the analysis was incomplete yesterday, at that stage it had
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