Page 3770 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 24 September 2019
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Today we are formalising the clinical governance arrangement for nurse practitioners, that is, to include the term nurse practitioner in part five of the Health Act 1993. This amendment proposed by the Health Amendment Bill 2019 will allow the scope of clinical practice of nurse practitioners in the ACT to be reviewed and credentialed for clinical privileges by a scope of clinical practice committee. This amendment aligns the ACT government with the clinical governance standard 2017 of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the national safety and quality health service standards guide for hospitals.
The proposal will, as Ms Lawder noted, reduce regulatory and administrative duplication in relation to the governance of nurse practitioners in the ACT. Removing this legislative burden will assist employers to develop new and innovative positions that better serve the public’s needs.
The amendments to the Health Act 1993 as recommended are technically feasible. There is also a minor technical amendment that updates the section 2 note in the Sex Work Act 1992 due to changes to the Health Act 1993 relating to nurse practitioners. As I mentioned when introducing the legislation, the note previously referred to a definition of authorised nurse practitioners in the Health Act. However, that definition was omitted in 2017.
During the bill’s development due regard was given to its compatibility with human rights as set out in the Human Rights Act. Consultation on the changes was extensive and the proposed changes were accepted by all stakeholders. I acknowledge and thank the scrutiny committee for their consideration of the bill. I note their commentary around the lack of commentary in the explanatory statement about human rights compatibility, and I table today a revised explanatory statement to the bill.
The ACT has over 45 nurse practitioners registered in the ACT. This means that there are 10 nurse practitioners for every 100,000 people in the ACT. This represents the highest uptake of nurse practitioners in Australia, and I am delighted to be able to bring forward this bill and, in a small way, recognise the vital role that nurse practitioners play in the delivery of safe and effective health services in our city. I commend the bill to the Assembly and again thank colleagues for their support.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.
Bill agreed to.
Sitting suspended from 11.48 am to 2.00 pm.
Questions without notice
Education—public to private school transfers
MR COE: My question is for the minister for education. Minister, since 2016, how many children have transferred from their local ACT public school and enrolled in an independent or Catholic school in the territory?
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