Health and Community Services Complaints (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (16:40): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Health and Community Services Complaints Act 2004. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (16:41): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and explanation of clauses inserted into Hansard without reading them.

Leave granted.

This bill will amend the Health and Community Services Complaints Act 2004 (the Act) so that the National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (National Code), approved by COAG Health Council for adoption by the states and territories, will replace the Code of Conduct for Unregistered Health Practitioners (South Australian Code) which is currently in the regulations under the Act.

The National Code is based on the current South Australian Code. The South Australian Code was adopted from New South Wales after the Social Development Committee 'Inquiry into Bogus, Unregistered and Deregistered Health Practitioners'. I was a member of this committee, which was, as the report states, in part established as a result of complaints made to the South Australian Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (the Commissioner) regarding the treatment of people with terminal cancer by unregistered health practitioners. During the inquiry people related their stories of being exploited by dubious health practitioners using unconventional methods to allegedly cure cancer and other terminal illnesses. These people were obviously vulnerable and susceptible to practitioners who claimed they could provide what mainstream medicine could not.

The National Code will be, or has already been adopted by the states and territories so that a nationally consistent approach is taken. Orders from one jurisdiction will be enforceable in another. The amendments to the Act are concerned primarily with aligning the Act and the National Code so that it can be administered. The changes are all designed to ensure that the health and safety of the public can be protected. For this reason volunteers will be included within the ambit of this part of the Act.

Section 9(4) of the Act specifies that volunteers should not be unnecessarily involved in proceedings under the Act. This clearly applies to the parts of the Act which are dealing with complaints and their resolution. Division 5 of Part 6 of the Act which is the section of the Act concerned with unregistered health practitioners is about protecting the health or safety of the public. If a volunteer is placing the health or safety of the public at risk they need to be captured by this part of the Act so that the public can be protected.

The sections of the Act concerned with the nature of the orders that the Commissioner can make if the requirements are satisfied are amended. This is to make it clear that in making a prohibition order, this may include preventing the person from offering, advertising or otherwise promoting health services, holding themselves out as a provider of health services or providing advice in relation to health services. These prohibitions may be applied in addition to preventing the person from providing services or specific services.

I wish to make it perfectly clear that this bill is not about restricting people's access to complementary and alternative medicine. While the code applies to practitioners such as naturopaths and homeopaths, it also applies to mainstream practitioners such as social workers, assistants in nursing and aged care workers. The bill is about preventing further harm when it is demonstrated that a practitioner, irrespective of their model of service provision, poses an unacceptable risk to the health or safety of members of the public.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Health and Community Services Complaints Act 2004

4—Amendment of long title

This clause amends the long title to replace a reference to users with a reference to consumers.

5—Amendment of section 3—Objects

This clause amends section 3 of the Act to replace a reference to users with a reference to consumers.

6—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

This clause inserts a definition of corresponding law for the purposes of the amendments made to the Act by clauses 15 and 17.

This clause also deletes a reference to the repealed Occupational Therapy Practice Act 2005.

This clause also inserts the definitions of community service consumer and health service consumer to replace the defined terms of community service user and health service user respectively.

7—Amendment of section 9—Functions

This clause amends section 9 of the Act to replace references to users with references to consumers.

8—Amendment of section 24—Who may complain

This clause amends section 24 of the Act to replace references to health or community service user with references to health or community service consumer.

9—Amendment of section 25—Grounds on which a complaint may be made

This clause amends section 25 to remove the limitation on volunteers being subject to proceedings and action under the Act in circumstances where—

(a) a code of conduct under section 56A applies in respect of the volunteer; and

(b) the Commissioner is satisfied that conduct of the volunteer poses or has posed a risk to the health or safety of members of the public.

This clause also amends section 25 of the Act to replace references to users with references to consumers.

10—Amendment of heading to Part 6 Division 5

This clause amends the heading to Part 6 Division 5 and is consequential on the amendments to section 56A in clause 11.

11—Amendment of section 56A—Codes of conduct

This clause amends section 56A(1) so that the Governor may, by regulation, prescribe 1 or more codes of conduct relating to the following:

(a) the provision of health services by persons who are not registered service providers;

(b) the provision of health services by persons who are registered service providers and who provide health services that are unrelated to their registration.

This clause also amends section 56A to insert new subsection (2a) which provides that a regulation under the section prescribing a code of conduct may refer to or incorporate, wholly or partially and with or without modification, a code, standard or other document prepared or published by a prescribed body, either as in force at the time the regulations are made or as in force from time to time.

12—Amendment of section 56B—Interim action

This clause amends section 56B as follows:

(a) references to a prescribed health service provider are removed and replaced by references to a person who has provided a health service;

(b) in subsection (2)(a), the matters about which the Commissioner may make an interim prohibition order have been expanded to include—

(i) the offering, advertising or promotion of health services or specified health services (including where those services may be provided by another person); and

(ii) the promotion of a person as a provider of health services or specified health services; and

(iii) the provision of advice in relation to health services or specified health services (including where those services may be provided by another person);

(c) in subsection (2), a new paragraph (c) has been added which permits the Commissioner, when taking interim action, to publish a public statement, in a manner determined by the Commissioner, identifying a person and giving warnings or such other information as the Commissioner considers appropriate in relation to the health services, or specified health services, provided by the person.

13—Amendment of section 56C—Commissioner may take action

This clause amends section 56C as follows:

(a) references to a prescribed health service provider are removed and replaced by references to a person who has provided a health service;

(b) in subsection (2)(a), the matters about which the Commissioner may make an interim prohibition order have been expanded to include—

(i) the offering, advertising or promotion of health services or specified health services (including where those services may be provided by another person); and

(ii) the promotion of a person as a provider of health services or specified health services; and

(iii) the provision of advice in relation to health services or specified health services (including where those services may be provided by another person).

14—Amendment of section 56D—Commissioner to provide details

This clause amends section 56D(1) to remove references to a prescribed health service provider.

15—Insertion of section 56EA

This clause inserts new section 56EA containing a requirement for a person to comply, in this State, with an interstate order in force against the person. The person will commit an offence if—

(a) an interstate order is in force in respect of the person; and

(b) the person engages in conduct in this State that would constitute a contravention of the interstate order if it occurred in the jurisdiction in which the order is in force.

An interstate order is defined to be an interstate final order or an interstate interim order, being an order, or order of a type, made under a corresponding law that is declared by the regulations to be an interstate interim order or interstate final order for the purposes of the new section.

16—Amendment of section 74—Protection of identity of service consumer or complainant from service provider

This clause amends section 74 of the Act to replace a reference to a user with a reference to a consumer.

17—Amendment of section 75—Preservation of confidentiality

This clause amends section 75 to include the purposes of a corresponding law in the list of exceptions to the general prohibition on the recording, disclosure or use of confidential information gained by the person through involvement in the administration of the Act.

18—Amendment of section 76—Returns by prescribed providers

This clause amends section 76 of the Act to replace a reference to users with a reference to consumers.

19—Amendment of section 77—Returns by registration authorities and prescribed bodies

This clause amends section 77 to broaden the application of the section to include prescribed bodies in the requirement to provide returns as determined by the Commissioner.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.