Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (17:31): 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 in Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

I rise today to introduce the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2024.

In 2022, our Government was proud to support the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill 2022 which was historic legislation brought to this Parliament by the Hon Frank Pangallo.

This legislation will make life-saving defibrillators mandatory in public buildings such as schools, universities, libraries, sporting facilities, local council offices, theatres and swimming pools to help save the lives of South Australians from cardiac arrest.

This Australian-first legislation is an important measure to protect our community, ensuring access to crucial heart-starting equipment when it is needed most.

The legislation follows the lead of many organisations and businesses already installing Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), providing access for customers and team members who may suffer a sudden cardiac arrest or be required to step in and assist.

The South Australian Government has already taken positive steps to install AEDs in some of the places this legislation mandates–including CFS, MFS and SES vehicles.

We have also commenced a new grant program helping community and sporting organisations purchase AEDs with the first round of the South Australian AED Grants Program–opening in May this year—offering $1,000 grants to not-for-profit community, cultural or sporting organisations to assist with the cost of purchasing a defibrillator for their building or facility.

The AED Grants Program is to assist eligible community and sporting organisations to have AEDs installed by 1 January 2026, in line with requirements of the legislation.

The first round of the AED Grants Program provided over 200 grants to over 160 organisations right across South Australia.

There is substantial evidence that widespread access to AEDs can help prevent deaths by cardiac arrest.

According to the Heart Foundation, time is everything in a cardiac arrest–every minute without defibrillation to restart the heart reduces the chance of surviving by 10 per cent, and if bystanders haven't been trained in CPR, that means that time is wasted. Public access to AEDs will reduce this risk.

The South Australian Government are currently in the process of implementing this legislation which will commence from 1 January 2025 for Government owned buildings and 1 January 2026 for non-Government.

This Bill before Parliament is a culmination of the work of the Hon Frank Pangallo MLC and the Government on this important initiative to increase availability AEDswithin the South Australian community.

The Government has considered the views of a wide range of key stakeholders to ensure the legislative regulatory framework for installation of AEDs can be operationalised in the most effective manner.

The Bill proposes to amend the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Act 2022 (the Act) for the purpose of removing ambiguity around the applicability, scope, and requirements of the Act, which will enable consistent interpretation and application.

The proposed amendments have ensured the intent of the Act is strengthened by requiring the installation of AEDs in buildings or facilities which are publicly accessible, noting the intent of the Act is to increase the availability of AEDs in public areas to be used by the community in the event of a cardiac arrest.

Furthermore, the amendments ensure there is a clear distinction between AEDs required to be installed by building owners to be used by members of the public in accordance with the Act, as opposed to AEDs which are installed by an entity for a work health and safety purpose, which sit outside the scope of the Act.

The Bill has been supported by stakeholders across government and non-government entities, mainly due to the added definitions which clarify the scope and legal obligations under the Act.

Key provisions in the Bill include:

Refined definition clauses to clarify the applicability of the Act by defining key words.

Including a definition for 'owner' in the Act will ensure a clear distinction is drawn between the obligations imposed by the Act on a building owner versus a tenant.

Additionally, the proposed definitions to clarify what is regarded as a building or facility for the purposes of the Act will see smaller businesses being carved out from the requirement to comply with the Act, noting the Act was not intended to capture smaller businesses and cafés, with the aim to ease pressure off those businesses.

A new provision for the exclusion of certain buildings and facilities from the requirements of the Act for reasons including:

Instances where there is a superior response mechanism in place and the presence of trained medical staff.

Instances in which the presence of an AED present safety concerns.

Instances where building or facility is entirely not accessible to the public and therefore the mandated presence of AEDs would not align with the intent of the Act.

The requirement to install AEDs within the floor area that is publicly accessible.

Removal of the requirement to annually test an AED in accordance with advice from the Department's biomedical experts and advice received from consultation confirmed that AEDs should be maintained in accordance with manufacturer instructions to ensure optimal device performance in the event of an emergency.

Removal of the requirement for the Minister to establish a training scheme under the Act, noting first aid training is governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2021 and the Education and Care Services National Law.

A new provision is proposed which enables the making of exemptions on a case-by-case basis to the requirements of the Act..

A new provision is proposed which enables the Minister to confer their functions under the Act to a specified body or person.

The current Act contains limited and narrow regulation-making powers, which do not enable standardisation or operationalisation of the Act's requirements. The Bill proposes to allow broader regulation making powers to support effective operationalisation of the Act.

A new provision is proposed to give power to the Minister to appoint a suitable person to be an authorised officer. This provision aims to strengthen compliance with the Act, as authorised officers appointed under the Act will have powers to confirm that installation, registration, and maintenance of AEDs by building owners meet the requirements of the Act.

The Bill proposes a delayed commencement date for prescribed vehicles due to the logistical implications of removing fleet to enable installation of AEDs on public buses, noting almost all fleet are in use.

It is this Government's view that the Bill before the Parliament strikes a balance between upholding the intent of the Act whilst also ensuring it can be operationalised in the most effective manner.

I would like to thank the many people who have provided feedback to the public consultation on this Bill earlier this year.

I sincerely hope the passage of this Bill will be supported to support the implementation of this important legislation and to improve access to crucial heart-starting equipment when it is needed most.

I commend this Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Act 2022

3—Amendment of section 3—Interpretation

This clause amends section 3 of the principal Act as follows:

it sets out definitions used in the measure and the principal Act;

it amends the definition of public building or facility to exclude additional buildings and facilities that are not relevant buildings (being buildings with a floor area of 600 m² or more or that are prescribed by regulation) or relevant facilities (as defined in the measure);

it provides an explanation of when land will be taken to be used for commercial purposes;

it allows the regulations to provide for methods of calculating floor area and to exclude certain areas of buildings or facilities for the purposes of calculating floor area;

it provides that if 2 or more buildings constitute a facility, or relevant facility, they will be treated as a facility, or relevant facility, rather than as buildings.

4—Amendment of section 4—Meaning of designated building or facility

This clause amends the list of buildings and facilities that are designated buildings or facilities for the purposes of the principal Act and allows the regulations to exclude a building or facility, or class of buildings or facilities, from the ambit of the definition.

5—Amendment of section 5—Meaning of prescribed building

This clause makes a consequential change to the list of buildings that are prescribed buildings for the purposes of the principal Act as a result of the new definition of relevant building and allows the regulations to exclude a building, or class of buildings, from the ambit of the definition of prescribed building.

6—Insertion of section 6A

This clause inserts section 6A into the principal Act as follows:

6A—Application of Act—certain buildings and facilities

This section provides that the principal Act does not apply to certain buildings and facilities.

7—Amendment of section 7—Installation of Automated External Defibrillators—buildings and facilities

This clause amends section 7 of the principal Act as follows:

it requires that only publicly accessible floor area be included in the calculation of floor area required by the section when determining how many Automated External Defibrillators are required to be installed in a relevant designated building or facility or prescribed building;

it sets out the meaning of publicly accessible floor area;

it allows the regulations to prescribe a maximum number of Automated External Defibrillators required to be installed in a relevant designated building or facility or prescribed building;

it inserts an expiation fee of $5,000 for the offence of contravening or failing to comply with a requirement under the section;

it amends the definition of relevant designated building or facility or prescribed building by restricting the relevant floor area to that which is publicly accessible and allowing the regulations to exclude a building or facility, or class of buildings or facilities, from the ambit of the definition.

8—Amendment of section 8—Installation of Automated External Defibrillators—vehicles

This clause amends section 8 of the principal Act as follows:

it clarifies that an Automated External Defibrillator required to be installed in a vehicle used in the provision of emergency services by an emergency services organisation only needs to be for use by, or on behalf of, the organisation, rather than for public use;

it changes the person responsible for ensuring that an Automated External Defibrillator is installed in a prescribed vehicle (being a train, tram, public bus or any other vehicle prescribed by the regulations) to a relevant authority, rather than the owner of the vehicle;

it inserts an expiation fee of $5,000 for the offence of a relevant authority contravening or failing to comply with ensuring that an Automated External Defibrillator is installed in a prescribed vehicle.

9—Amendment of section 9—Maintenance and testing

This clause amends section 9 of the principal Act as follows:

it replaces the requirement for each Automated External Defibrillator to be properly maintained and tested at least once every 12 months with a requirement that each Automated External Defibrillator is maintained in accordance with any instructions of the manufacturer of the Automated External Defibrillator;

it inserts an expiation fee of $5,000 for the offence of contravening or failing to comply with a requirement under the section;

it makes a consequential amendment to the definition of designated entity.

10—Amendment of section 10—Signs

This clause amends section 10 of the principal Act to make a consequential amendment and to insert an expiation fee of $500 for the offence of contravening or failing to comply with a requirement under the section.

11—Amendment of section 12—Register

This clause amends section 12 of the principal Act as follows:

it provides that the register need only relate to Automated External Defibrillators installed in buildings or facilities, not vehicles;

it provides that the information in the register, rather than the register itself, must be made available on a website and allows the Minister to determine the appropriate format;

it inserts an expiation fee of $500 for the offence of contravening or failing to comply with a requirement to provide information to the Minister to be included in the register, or to notify the Minister of a change to such information, within the required timeframes;

it allows the regulations to provide that the section does not apply to an Automated External Defibrillator or a class of Automated External Defibrillators, or that the section applies with modifications prescribed by the regulations.

12—Substitution of section 13

This clause deletes the section in the principal Act relating to a software application and substitutes the section as follows:

13—Software application

This section requires the Minister to ensure that a software application is able to provide registered users with the location of the nearest Automated External Defibrillator that is installed in a building or facility in accordance with the principal Act and that is accessible by the public at the time.

It provides that the software application may restrict the persons who may register as users of the application and may provide for conditions with which registered users are required to comply.

It also allows the regulations to provide that the section does not apply to an Automated External Defibrillator or a class of Automated External Defibrillators, or that the section applies with modifications prescribed by the regulations.

13—Repeal of section 15

This clause deletes section 15 of the principal Act which required the Minister to establish a scheme for the provision of training in the use of Automated External Defibrillators to certain persons.

14—Insertion of Part 3A

This clause inserts Part 3A into the principal Act as follows:

Part 3A—Authorised officers

15A—Appointment of authorised officers

This section allows the Minister to appoint suitable persons to be authorised officers for the purposes of the principal Act.

15B—Identification of authorised officers

This section requires authorised officers to be issued with identity cards and to produce the card for inspection, if requested.

15C—Powers of authorised officers

This section sets out the powers of authorised officers and makes it an offence for a person to hinder or obstruct an authorised officer in the exercise of their powers or to refuse or fail to comply with a requirement made under the section. The maximum penalty for the offence is $10,000.

15—Insertion of sections 16A to 16D

This clause inserts sections 16A to 16D into the principal Act as follows:

16A—Exemptions

This section allows the Minister to exempt a specified building, facility, vehicle or person from the operation of the principal Act or a specified provision or provisions of the principal Act.

16B—Delegation

This section allows a Minister conferred with functions under the principal Act to delegate a function conferred on them to a specified body or person.

16C—False or misleading information

This section makes it an offence for a person to make a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular (whether by reason of the inclusion or omission of any particular) in any information provided under the principal Act. The maximum penalty for the offence is $10,000.

16D—Self-incrimination

This section requires a person to provide information or produce a document required under the principal Act regardless of whether it would tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to a penalty, and provides that the information or document will not be admissible in evidence against the person in proceedings for an offence, other than an offence against the principal Act or any other Act relating to the provision of false or misleading information.

16—Amendment of section 17—Regulations and fee notices

This clause extends the power of the regulations to exempt persons from the application of the principal Act (or a provision of the Act) to vehicles and allows the regulations to prescribe requirements in relation to the placement and accessibility of Automated External Defibrillators and make provision in relation to what constitutes installation of an Automated External Defibrillator or sign for the purposes of the principal Act.

17—Amendment of Schedule 1—Transitional provision

This clause amends the transitional provision so that it operates as follows:

the principal Act applies to a building or facility owned by the Crown (or an agency or instrumentality of the Crown), and to an emergency services vehicle, from 1 January 2025;

the principal Act applies to a building or facility owned by a person that is not the Crown (or an agency or instrumentality of the Crown), and to a prescribed vehicle, from 1 January 2026.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon D.G.E. Hood.