Page 3572 - Week 09 - Thursday, 23 August 2018
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I take this opportunity to raise other matters that were of concern to the Australian Veterinary Association. The bill proposes that the board in a disciplinary matter could levy a penalty of up to $1,000, but the AVA pointed out that this is not on parity with New South Wales where it stands at $5,000. I note that the minister spoke about this in her comments in the in-principle stage.
I have been informed that the reason for this is that the jurisdiction of the ACAT only extends to $1,000, and a reviewable decision carrying a fine of more than $1,000 would mean that it would be outside the ACAT jurisdiction. However, I understand from the advice I received that ACAT is reviewing some aspects of its operation, including its power to levy penalties. I ask the minister to review the provision in the bill in light of the outcomes of any ACAT review to bring it more into line with New South Wales.
I also take the opportunity to suggest to the minister that the board should develop prescribed forms for the purposes of registration, application and renewals and that these forms be notified as a notifiable instrument. This may be envisaged in the regulations, but since I have not seen them I flag the comment here for the minister to note. The AVA also alluded to this.
I also note the concern of the AVA that the president will not be elected from veterinary appointees on the board in the same way as the deputy-president will be elected. I believe there is some merit in the approach contemplated in the bill that the president need not be a practising vet and can be appointed by the minister after seeking consultation with and nominations from declared professional bodies. That would at least partly cover off on the AVA’s concern but, again, I comment that a non-vet, independent president could work well for the board.
I said this to the officials and I will say it to the minister: I think the board structure envisaged in this legislation is about right. I think you really have it in the sweet spot. As someone who is a bit nerdy about the size of boards, having worked on an executive board of 35-plus, a board of seven or eight is a wonderful thing and I look at it with some admiration.
The other matter of concern raised by the AVA was that the annual registration renewal could be onerous for the board. I presume the board will be supported by a secretariat that will attend to these administrative matters and that they could be managed electronically. But these are all matters for review at the five-year review.
To conclude, I thank the minister, her office and the officials for the collaborative way we have worked on this. I think we have a good outcome, and I thank the officials for the work they have done in the preparation of this bill.
MS FITZHARRIS (Yerrabi—Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Minister for Transport and City Services and Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research) (4.22): In closing I also acknowledge the work done in the past few days in particular but, more importantly, the work done over many months by the officials in
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