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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-10-19 Daily Xml
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Bills

Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:40): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Advance Care Directives Act 2013. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:40): I move:

That this bill now be read a second time.

Today, I rise to introduce the Advance Care Directives Review Amendment Bill 2022. This bill seeks to amend the Advance Care Directives Act to improve the functioning of the advance care directive legislation in South Australia.

This is necessary to continue supporting the community and health practitioners by having legislation as up to date and appropriate for the task of achieving compliance with the act. The bill enhances the operation of the act in response to the statutory review of the act that was conducted by Professor Wendy Lacey in 2019.

With your leave, sir, I seek leave to introduce the remainder of the second reading explanation and explanation of clauses into Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

The Advance Care Directives Act 2013 was passed by the South Australian Parliament in 2013 and commenced on 1 July 2014.

An Advance Care Directive enables a competent person to make decisions and give directions in relation to their future health care, accommodation arrangements and personal affairs; provides for the appointment of substitute decision-makers to make such decisions on behalf of the person if a person is not able to make them due to impaired decision-making capacity; ensures that health care is delivered to the person in a manner consistent with their wishes and instructions; facilitates the resolution of disputes relating to advance care directives; and provides protections for health practitioners and other persons giving effect to an advance care direction.

Section 62 of the Act provides for a review of its operations to be completed before the fifth anniversary of the commencement of the Act.

The Department for Health and Wellbeing engaged Professor Wendy Lacey to undertake the review which was conducted over a 10-week period from 10 April 2019 to the end of June 2019. Professor Lacey consulted extensively, with both targeted consultation with interested organisations, persons and professions; as well a broad invitation to contribute provided to members of the community.

The Lacey Review made 29 recommendations and was tabled in Parliament on 1 August 2019. The former Government's Response to the Review was tabled in Parliament on 23 July 2020 and supported, in full or in principle, 22 of the recommendations.

To guide the implementation of the recommendations of the Review, an Advance Care Planning Oversight Group and a Working Group were established by the Department for Health and Wellbeing. This ensures the implementation has been overseen by a broad range of stakeholders from the health, aged, disability, legal and community sectors, including the Australian Medical Association, Council on the Ageing and the Legal Services Commission South Australia.

The Malinauskas Labor Government is committed to continuing to implement the recommendations of the Lacy Review to improve the functioning and uptake of Advance Care Directives in South Australia.

This Bill has been drafted to implement the recommendations of the Review that recommend changes to the Act. It closely aligns with the Bill that was introduced into Parliament in 2021, which was subject to extensive consultation in 2021.

The bill includes amendments on the following:

Inclusion of references to digital copies of ACD documents

Interaction with other Acts and laws

Giving advance care directives where English is not the first language

Requirements in relation to appointment of substitute decision makers and their empowerment

Resolution of disputes by Public Advocate; and

Referral of certain matters to Tribunal.

The previous Minister introduced amendments on how an ACD cannot be used as the basis for refusing life-saving treatment following an attempt to suicide or cause self-harm. This provision does not exist within the current Act but may be subject to members consideration in committee stage.

Strengthening Advance Care Directives legislation will support all South Australians to make clear legal arrangements for their future health care.

I commend this Bill to members.

I seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Advance Care Directives Act 2013

3—Insertion of section 5A

This clause inserts new section 5A into the principal Act, providing for the recognition of certain digital copies of advance care directives.

4—Insertion of section 8A

This clause inserts new section 8A into the principal Act, setting out the relationship between the principal Act and other Acts and laws.

5—Amendment of section 14—Giving advance care directives where English not first language

This clause amends section 14 of the principal Act to set out requirements and limitations relating to the use of interpreters under the Act.

6—Amendment of section 21—Requirements in relation to appointment of substitute decision-makers

This clause amends section 21 of the principal Act to clarify that there can be any number of substitute decision-makers under an advance care directive.

7—Substitution of section 22

This clause substitutes a new section 22 into the principal Act setting out the relationships between substitute decision-makers under an advance care directive and how they exercise their powers, including by providing for orders of precedence.

8—Amendment of section 24—Exercise of powers by substitute decision-maker

This clause amends section 24 of the principal Act to provide that substitute decision-makers under an advance care directive can produce certified or electronic copies of advance care directives rather than the original.

9—Amendment of section 45—Resolution of disputes by Public Advocate

This clause amends section 45 of the principal Act to remove to the ability of the Public Advocate to make certain declarations relating to mediation under the section.

Schedule 1—Statute law revision of Advance Care Directives Act 2013

This Schedule is a statutes law revision exercise correcting obsolete references and gendered language in the principal Act.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.A.W. Gardner.

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