Page 3015 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 23 August 2005
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If I may, Mr Speaker, I would also make some comments to conclude debate on the Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment Bill, which we are currently debating cognately. The remarks that I just made were addressed to the Human Rights Commission Bill. I now wish to direct some remarks to close the debate on the Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment Bill as well.
That bill, that is, the Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment Bill, makes amendments to other legislation, which are needed as a consequence of the establishment of the new human rights commission by the Human Rights Commission Bill 2005. Many of the amendments in the second of the two bills that we are debating cognately are to take account of the fact that statutory oversight functions that were contained in several acts will now be brought together and exercised by the human rights commission.
Other changes are to insert references to the new human rights commission and to change reference to the Community and Health Services Complaints Commissioner to the health services commissioner. The bill also provides transitional provisions to ensure that complaints already being considered can be taken over by the new commission and that existing rights to make complaints are not lost.
Although the bill amends the Health Professionals Act, it will not change the way in which the health profession boards, which help regulate certain health professions, work together with the health services commissioner. Working as part of the new human rights commission, the health services commissioner will continue to collaborate with health profession boards to deal with complaints and concerns about service provision and to maintain appropriate service standards. The commission and the health profession boards will work as equal partners to examine issues raised in complaints about registered health professionals. The changes to the legislation that flow from the new structure in the Human Right Commission Bill will not alter the existing relationship between the boards which are concerned with standards of practice and suitability to practise in particular health professions and the health services commissioner.
The resources of the human rights commission will also be able to be used to aid health profession boards in looking into reports made about health professionals. This is the mutually beneficial relationship of shared consideration and specialist expertise that was envisaged when the Health Professionals Act was introduced by the government.
While making necessary consequential amendments to the Discrimination Act, the Human Rights Act and the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act, no rights created by those acts are affected. People whose discrimination complaints cannot be conciliated will still be able to go to the discrimination tribunal.
The human rights commission will work within the framework of consideration and conciliation of complaints in a way that is appropriate to discrimination matters and will give the complainants notice of their right to take matters to the discrimination tribunal, just as the discrimination commission has done to date.
Another amendment is to change the Ombudsman Act to make administrative processes of the human rights commission open to scrutiny by the Ombudsman. This is to ensure
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