Page 4040 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 December 2021
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As an additional safeguard for decisions that have a significant impact on an individual’s human rights and wellbeing, certain decisions may be further reviewed by an independent external reviewer. An externally reviewable decision can be escalated to a qualified and independent external adjudicator if an individual is not satisfied with the outcome of an internal review. Decisions eligible for external review include a request for an exemption from a segregation or isolation direction—that is, isolation or quarantine—or a request to enter the ACT for compassionate or medical reasons that has been denied.
This bill is a significant bill which promotes, engages and limits a range of human rights. The government has consulted with the Human Rights Commission in the drafting of this bill, and revisions have been made to ensure that robust safeguards of human rights and protections are embedded in the bill. I thank the Human Rights Commission, and in particular the President and Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Helen Watchirs, for their ongoing engagement through this process and throughout the pandemic to date.
Human rights protections in the bill include the requirement for all public health directions to be consistent with human rights protected through the ACT’s Human Rights Act, and that any limitations on human rights must be reasonable and demonstrably justifiable in accordance with the act. The bill requires statements to be publicly released by the Minister for Health, the Chief Health Officer or the executive outlining how each direction is consistent with the Human Rights Act. Consultation must also occur with the Human Rights Commission prior to the making of any direction, or as soon as practicable if the direction is made urgently to respond to an immediate or imminent risk. I refer the Assembly to the bill’s detailed explanatory statement, which discusses in significant detail how the bill engages and interacts with human rights and the proportionality of measures within the bill.
Under the bill, compensation would not be payable to a person in relation to any loss or damage suffered as a result of anything done in the exercise of a function under the proposed amendments while a public health direction under this part is in force. This section operates in the same way as the amended compensation clause for a COVID-19 emergency under part 7 of the Public Health Act. The government considers that this approach is justified on the basis that other mechanisms in the bill provide effective safeguards against disproportionate impacts on the community.
In addition, as was extensively canvassed when the previous amendment was debated in this place, the government has invested significantly in supporting individuals, businesses and other organisations whose incomes have been reduced as a result of the public health response to the pandemic.
The decision not to include a compensation provision in the bill does not impact the territory’s ability to implement support arrangements for individuals and business that are significantly affected by public health directions. For example, access to the ACT government’s COVID-19 hardship payment, which provides financial support for eligible workers who are unable to work due to a public health direction or directions from an authorised officer, will not be affected. The government has previously
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