Page 1979 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2016
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providing for legal custody of a detainee to transfer to Health upon admission to the secure mental health unit while at the same time ensuring that the authority and responsibility of each directorate is clearly defined and the secure detention of the detainee and the safety of the public and staff are not compromised.
As agreed between me and the Minister for Health, the directorates are currently finalising a memorandum of understanding and will continue to work together in the drafting of policies and operating procedures to ensure that this translates appropriately in an operational context and the aims of the legislation are fully realised. This includes processes and procedures that ensure that both directorates have the ability to adequately plan and manage a detainee’s escort, accommodation and care arrangements; there is clear written authority of legal custody upon a detainee’s transfer from one agency to the other; there is no gap in supervision or responsibility over a detainee as a result of legal custody transferring; and adequate notification and information-sharing processes are in place.
I fully trust that staff from both Corrective Services and ACT Health will continue to work closely together to ensure detainees receive adequate health care, treatment and support. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff in both directorates for working together to resolve this matter. I think we have received a satisfactory outcome that, as I said, is clear and is mindful of both the security responsibilities of Corrective Services and the health needs of detainees. I am pleased to support this bill in the Assembly today.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Capital Metro, Minister for Health, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Climate Change) (5.20), in reply: I would like to thank members for their contributions to this debate. As members have highlighted, this amendment bill is based on the extensive consultations undertaken during the review of the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act. Provisions in the bill coming out of those consultations were delayed and were not included in the substantive legislation which the Assembly passed last year because of the delay between the act commencing and the new secure mental health unit becoming operational, which will be later this year.
As members have observed, one of the primary purposes of the bill is to provide for smooth transitions when the lawful custody of people is required to be transferred from the directors-general under the Corrections Management Act or the Children and Young People Act to the Director-General of ACT Health.
Mr Rattenbury, my ministerial colleague, has made some observations on that. I would only add that the provisions in this bill that will provide for the transfer of lawful custody of people to ACT Health will be of assistance when the secure mental health unit opens in the coming year.
I note also the comments of Mrs Jones in relation to the notification provisions for the Public Advocate to be notified in writing about incidents of seclusion, restraint or the forcible giving of medication. I understand Mrs Jones’s concerns around this matter, but I simply want to restate the advice that the government has provided to the
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