Page 3490 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 17 September 2019
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The bill was developed in consultation with the official visitor working group. The group is made up of ACT official visitors, representatives of all operational directorates, the ACT Human Rights Commission and the Public Trustee and Guardian. The bill makes important changes to the administration of the scheme. It amends the Official Visitor Act to provide more executive support for official visitors. The bill does this by clarifying the role and functions of the official visitors board and by creating a new role for a dedicated executive officer.
I am aware that the review of the official visitor scheme recommended abolishing the board. However, following significant consultation with the working group I have decided to retain the board and clarify its role and functions. Under the Official Visitor Act the board arranges training for official visitors, facilitates interaction between official visitors and arranges for the provision of administrative assistance to official visitors. The bill clarifies the functions of the board so that it can provide ongoing support to official visitors.
The board will have the following responsibilities: it will oversee the exercise of functions by official visitors; it will arrange for the recruitment, induction, training and support of official visitors; and it will provide support for and manage the exercise of functions by official visitors. The board will also consider and try to resolve any complaints about official visitors. The board will also be responsible for preparing an annual report, and I will discuss the reporting requirements further in a moment.
Under the current act the board must meet at least twice a year. The bill changes this requirement to require the board to meet at least quarterly. The board will need to meet more often because of the expansion of its functions under the bill. Under the current act the chair of the board is the Public Trustee and Guardian. The bill changes this to a chair appointed by the minister. This reflects some changes in the administration of the scheme whereby a new executive office will be established.
I now return to the reporting requirements proposed by the bill. The bill provides a more comprehensive reporting framework for official visitors and for the official visitors board. There are currently reporting requirements in the act, but the review recommended replacing these with a more comprehensive structure to improve consistency and make sure all relevant ministers are kept informed.
The Official Visitor Act currently requires official visitors to provide a quarterly report to the operational minister about the number and kinds of complaints received by the official visitor, the action taken on the complaints and the number and kinds of matters referred by the official visitor to an investigative entity such as the Human Rights Commission or the Ombudsman. This report is given to the minister who is responsible for the operational act, and not the minister who is responsible for the whole official visitor scheme. The bill builds on these requirements.
The bill amends the Official Visitor Act to require the quarterly report to include more detail. This gives the operational minister more information about systemic issues. The official visitor must prepare a full written report for the operational minister each quarter summarising: the number and kinds of complaints received by the official
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