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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (4 December) . . Page.. 4664 ..

2

Mr Speaker,

The Health Professions Board (Procedures) (Amendment) Bill (No.2) 1997 seeks to amend the Health Professions Board (Procedures) Act 1981.

The Act provides procedures for most health profession registration boards.

The Bill proposes two amendments to the Act.

First, the Bill provides for the remuneration of members of health profession registration boards, covered by the Act, for time spent on Board Inquiries.

Second, the Bill provides for a member of a health profession registration board, who is a legal practitioner, to preside at Board Inquiries in the absence of the Chair of the relevant Board.

At present, Board members are not entitled to be paid for fulfilling their duties as Board members.

While I accept this principle for the general operation of the registration boards, I believe that remuneration should be paid for members sitting on Board Inquiries.

Inquiries into practitioners have the potential to be complex and lengthy. It can be difficult for Boards to plan and conduct inquiries where Board members are unable or unwilling to put on hold their commitments to their practice or employer.

The remuneration of Board members for sitting on Inquiries will provide some recognition of the sacrifice which Board members must make in accepting the responsibility of sitting on an Inquiry .

This approach is consistent with other similar bodies, such as the Professional Standards Tribunal of the Law Society.

Payments will be made in accordance with a determination from the Remuneration Tribunal. An Interim Determination will be made while waiting for the Tribunal to consider this issue.

The cost of the payments to Board members is not expected to exceed twenty five thousand dollars. The cost will be absorbed within the current allocations for the Health and Community Care portfolio.

The Bill also provides for a member of a Board, who is a legal practitioner, to preside over an Inquiry in the absence of the Chair. The legal practitioner would still be able to assist the Inquiry at all other times.

This will ensure that Board Inquiries are conducted in accordance with accepted legal principles and processes, and reduce the possibility of Board decisions being appealed to a higher authority.

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