Page 1522 - Week 05 - Thursday, 11 April 2013
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This bill includes amendments that are technical, non-controversial and deliver minor policy changes, as an omnibus bill should. The bill demonstrates the government’s commitment to using this process in a responsible way. The bill presents an opportunity for the Assembly to ensure that the territory’s laws operate effectively and that changes to those laws are accessible to all Canberrans. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Wall) adjourned to the next sitting.
Community Housing Providers National Law (ACT) Bill 2013
Mr Rattenbury, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo—Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Housing, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for Ageing) (10.29): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
I am pleased to present the Community Housing Providers National Law (ACT) Bill 2013, which will repeal part 4A of the Housing Assistance Act 2007 and apply the Community Housing Providers National Law. This will replace the current, similar ACT regulatory system with a national one, reducing the regulatory burden for those providers operating in multiple jurisdictions.
The object of this act is to apply, as a territory law, a national law for the registration and regulation of community housing providers under a national system of registration, facilitate investment in the community housing sector and ensure the protection of that investment, ensure that registered community housing is developed as a viable and diversified component of the ACT social housing sector, and support the provision of registered community housing for people on a very low, low or moderate income.
The regulatory powers will be vested in the registrar, who will be the director-general responsible for administering the act. There will be a registrar in each state and territory. The registrar will exercise the functions under the act subject to the control and direction of their state or territory minister.
The Community Housing Providers National Law empowers the registrar to register, monitor, intervene—which is referred to as “enforcement” powers—and deregister any housing providers. The consequence of deregistration would be the loss of any tied government assistance and publicly funded assets.
The national regulatory system includes three tiers of registration applied based on a risk management approach. Under the national regulatory system the national
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