Page 1884 - Week 05 - Thursday, 16 May 2019
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of legislative powers arising from the introduction of disqualifying offences and other human rights engaged by the bill.
Disqualifying offences are those offences which are typical of the most egregious patterns of behaviour. The inclusion of disqualifying offences in this bill and the associated limitations and exceptions only apply to those seeking registration for the new regulated NDIS activity.
While anyone will be able to apply for registration under the act to participate in the regulated NDIS activity, if a person is excluded on the basis of a disqualifying offence then that person will not be permitted to make an application in the future to participate in an NDIS activity. That person will be permitted to make a general application for registration. Based on a full risk assessment, the commissioner may determine to register a person generally or under a condition or not register. The commissioner may also determine that a person poses an unacceptable risk to all vulnerable people and decide not to register them.
I acknowledge the human rights concerns raised by the committee in pursuing these amendments to the act. Decisions have had to be made to balance the rights of those who wish to register and to work and the rights of those who need to be protected. Although the government has worked hard to minimise the impact of the small number of people who may be captured under these amendments, the limitation of their rights is unavoidable. The rights of the applicant have to be weighed against those of vulnerable people, and it was determined that a vulnerable person’s right to life, their right to be free of torture and other harms and the right to be a child are prevailing rights. While some of those rights will need to be limited, I am obliged to minimise that limitation as far as possible.
I spoke earlier about the provisions enabling a person to apply generally, subsequent to being excluded from participating in an NDIS activity on the basis of a disqualifying offence. Other limitations include interference with a right to privacy. Wherever this right has been limited it has been with the express purpose of preventing harms and is only requested to assess risk and prevent harm.
Many of the decisions included in the bill have been made reviewable, in acknowledgement of the limitation of procedural fairness and other rights. In this way, for example, if a person is provided with a negative notice and the commissioner is unable to provide reasons for the negative notice due to the potential of impeding another investigation, the person may seek a review by the civil and administrative tribunal which is able to request information from the commissioner and make a decision. I will comment on the amendments in the detail stage which also follow up on the scrutiny committee’s comments.
This bill will further enhance the protections for vulnerable people in the ACT. It is predicated on discussion and agreement at the highest levels of the Australian government and other national governments and progresses policy expressly intended to improve the lives of people with a disability in the ACT accessing NDIS services. It is also the first step forward in ensuring that the blanket of protection extends across
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