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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-02 Daily Xml
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Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 20 August 2025.)

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (16:38): I rise to make the opposition's contribution on the Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill 2025. The Community Visitor Scheme is a cornerstone of our mental health system. It is an independent safeguard designed to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our community, specifically those receiving treatment for severe mental illness, have their voices heard and their rights protected. Community visitors provide oversight, advocacy, and reassurance for consumers and their families and, of course, it goes without saying that their work is invaluable.

This bill makes targeted amendments specifically to sections 50, 51, and 52 of the Mental Health Act 2009. It does not attempt a wholesale reform, if you like, of the act, and we know that the minister has indicated that a broader rewrite is still to come, but it does address some pressing operational issues that have been raised by the Public Advocate and the Principal Community Visitor in recent times. Specifically, these changes include:

establishing a Principal Community Visitor appointed by the Governor for a period of up to five years;

giving the minister the authority to appoint, suspend or remove community visitors; and

allowing the Principal Community Visitor to delegate functions to other visitors or designated individuals, improving flexibility in regional and remote areas.

Additionally, one of the other things I think is most significant is that it allows the frequency of visits to be adjusted; that is, treatment centres will continue to be visited every two months, but there will be changes to the residential community facilities, which will now be visited at least once every four months, and outpatient facilities will be visited at least once every six months. The opposition views this as appropriate.

These amendments respond directly to problems that have been identified in practice, as I said, raised before by the Public Advocate and the Principal Community Visitor and others. For example, we know that in 2022-23, almost one in five scheduled visits had to be cancelled because of volunteer unavailability, and we know that in some outpatient facilities bimonthly visits were simply not effective because consumers were often not present. A more targeted approach was needed and what is adopted by this bill is, in the opposition's view, quite sensible,

The Liberal Party has long supported the Community Visitor Scheme. Indeed, under the former Liberal government, the scope of the scheme was expanded to cover community facilities for the first time, and we backed the statutory review process through SALRI. That review made it clear that some urgent reforms could not wait, something the Public Advocate underlined and called for expiated legislative action on, which we are seeing here today.

We acknowledge that this bill was brought forward at the urging of the Public Advocate and the Principal Community Visitor. It is about ensuring the scheme remains workable, transparent and responsive until the more comprehensive reforms are implemented, we expect later this year. It is for that reason that the opposition will support this bill. It strengthens oversight, eases administrative pressure on volunteers, and ensures the scheme remains sustainable until the more comprehensive reforms are introduced.

The Community Visitor Scheme is not just about compliance; it is about dignity, rights and the confidence that families have in knowing their loved ones are safe and secure in the most difficult of times and circumstances. These amendments, while somewhat technical in nature, create some degree of real change, and we believe that it is essential to progress this legislation for the benefit of people in these circumstances. With those brief remarks, we support the bill.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (16:41): I rise to indicate my support for the Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill 2025, and to associate myself with the comments just made by the Hon. Dennis Hood, and those that have been made by the government previously in relation to the need for this piece of legislation.

I think the honourable member just did an exceptional job of summing up why it is that this piece of legislation is necessary and, importantly, touched on the fact that there is obviously a bigger body of work that is currently underway, which I know will be the subject of much more extensive consultation and discussion, and probably very lively debate in this place. But, for the time being, we have a bill before us that, as has been referred to by other members, is addressing some of the issues that will result in more efficiencies for the scheme overall and for the visitor, and that is, I think, something that should be welcomed by all of us.

It is on that very short note that I indicate my support for this, noting of course—and I am sure all of us here have had the opportunity to be briefed by our Chief Psychiatrist, Dr John Brayley—the work that has gone into this to ensure that those efficiencies are just that, and there is not anything here that should be concerning to any of us, but rather all the changes are intended to make the scheme run more efficiently and effectively than it does now. It is on that basis that I indicate my support for this bill.

The Hon. S.L. GAME (16:43): I rise to speak on the government's Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill 2025. According to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, these amendments will improve the practicality and flexibility of the Community Visitor Scheme, which requires visits and inspections of community mental health facilities. It has been put forward that this proposal will enable inspections and visits to focus more on risk rather than directing limited resources to ticking boxes, low-risk facilities, and potentially missing legitimate issues or concerns.

It should be noted that there will be no changes to the frequency of inspections of treatment centres and only minor changes to visits required for residential and outpatient facilities. These appear to be reasonable and proportionate measures, allowing for the appropriate allocation of resources to meet the greatest need. However, the centralisation of ministerial powers, combined with the enabling powers of the Principal Community Visitor, should not go unnoticed. Any expansion in executive power, as well as any increase in the force of prescribed regulations, should not pass this place without comment, especially when it concerns the care of our most vulnerable South Australians.

Under the previous regime, it was the Governor who could remove or suspend a community visitor, with some parliamentary oversight required; however, under this proposal, clause 50A(3), the minister, on their own initiative or after consultation with the Principal Community Visitor, may suspend or remove a person from a position of community visitor for any reason the minister thinks fit.

This is a broad power, indeed, which goes well beyond any justified need for improvement to operational efficiency. While the prompt removal of visitors for legitimate reasons may well be necessary and the previous regime may have made it more difficult for removal to occur, it is questionable whether all of the measures binding the Governor's power should be replaced with 'any reason the minister thinks fit'.

The need for flexibility and efficiency may well require a tweaking of transparency and accountability measures; however, when it comes to the provision of care for our most vulnerable, we should all be concerned when the scales tip too heavily in favour of broadening and expanding the powers of the minister.

This bill also proposes to remove the requirement for two community visitors to attend visits and inspections, which is, no doubt, a better use of resources, but, once again, raises concerns about accountability, as we all know that two sets of eyes are much better than one. In the end, the rights of our most vulnerable people deserve our full attention and while these proposals appear to be minor, there remain legitimate concerns about the increasing power given to the executive and the reliance on regulatory authority.

Unfortunately, the increasing need for efficiency and flexibility often results in a reduction of individual rights protection, which remains an ongoing issue for public policy in this state. Nevertheless, as legislation concerning mental health in South Australia continues to evolve, our mental health services will need to confront the challenges associated with providing an effective and efficient service, whilst also ensuring that appropriate safeguards for clients and checks and balances on executive power are not compromised.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (16:45): I rise today to speak on the Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill 2025. The Community Visitor Scheme is a volunteer-led scheme that plays a central role in promoting the wellbeing, dignity, safety and rights of people receiving care from a mental health service in South Australia. Led by Principal Community Visitor, Anne Gale, experienced, skilled and independent volunteers from all walks of life conduct frequent visits and inspections of mental health treatment facilities across our state.

Community visitors engage with clients and their families to ensure that they have adequate information regarding their treatment, care and rights, and are supported to achieve better outcomes. The scheme also upholds the rights of people with disability who receive state-run disability services; however, the bill before us today focuses solely on amendments to the Mental Health Act 2009. I understand that amendments proposed by this bill were requested by the Principal Community Visitor and that targeted stakeholder consultation has been undertaken with lived experience groups and professional bodies by the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist.

The bill seeks to make practical changes that will offer the Community Visitor Scheme greater flexibility to conduct visitation by streamlining appointment processes. It will authorise the minister to appoint, remove or suspend a community visitor, while the Principal Community Visitor will continue to be appointed by the Governor.

The bill will also enable the Principal Community Visitor to delegate powers and functions to a particular person or body. I understand that this is primarily intended to allow for the paid staff of the Community Visitor Scheme to fill in if required when volunteer community visitors are unexpectedly unavailable, to ensure that the visits can take place as planned and ensure the smooth operation of the scheme.

Currently, all treatment sites must be visited and inspected at least once in every two-month period, and I am advised that the Principal Community Visitor has questioned the value in having such frequent visits to lower risk sites, such as outpatient community mental health facilities. While stakeholder feedback made it clear that the visitation schedule should remain embedded within legislation for transparency, changing the visitation frequency for residential community mental health facilities to at least once every four months and outpatient facilities to once every six months is a sensible change. Visits may still be conducted more frequently if required and if requested by a client, their family, friends or others supporting the person.

It is important to note that visits to high-risk sites, such as hospital wards and the neurobehavioural units at the Repat and Northgate House, will continue to occur at least once every two months due to the complex nature of care provided at these treatment centres. The amendments proposed are practical changes intended to reduce the administrative burden and increase the operational efficiency of the Community Visitor Scheme.

Thank you to Dr John Brayley, the Chief Psychiatrist, for providing a detailed briefing to my office, and to Anne Gale, the Principal Community Visitor, for her significant contributions to this bill and the supporting strategies that she has developed for increasing client participation and engagement. Finally, I wish to extend a very special thank you to all the wonderful volunteer community visitors who are dedicated to promoting the wellbeing of those accessing mental health services in South Australia. I would encourage anyone interested to consider becoming a community visitor, particularly those with diverse backgrounds. With those comments, I commend the bill.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (16:51): The Community Visitor Scheme plays an important role as an independent oversight body visiting mental health and disability services in South Australia. The Mental Health Act 2009 aims to safeguard the rights of persons interacting with mental health services, including via the Community Visitor Scheme, while outlining the treatment, care and rehabilitation of persons with severe mental illness, with the goal of bringing about their recovery as far as is possible.

The government and the mental health system values the role of community visitors, who volunteer their time and expertise for the scheme to succeed, under the guidance of the Principal Community Visitor, Anne Gale. The Principal Community Visitor and community visitors are independent statutory appointments established under the Mental Health Act 2009. Their independence is vital to the scheme. The role involves listening to clients about their experience, care and treatment, reviewing the environment and client records, understanding the work of the service, and clients' engagement in community and activities.

The role goes beyond a social visit and requires considerable inquiry and report writing skills. The reports, with observations and issues noted, are forwarded to the services and escalated where appropriate. Community visitors provide a valuable and critical role in independent safeguarding. Mental health care is a universal human right. Community visitors support and promote the rights of people at every visit while advocating for improvements to services.

Over the last reporting period, 753 community visits were undertaken, with 506 reports completed. The Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill 2025 seeks to amend the Mental Health Act to:

authorise the minister to appoint, remove or suspend a community visitor, rather than the current Governor appointments;

enable the Principal Community Visitor to delegate powers and functions, ensuring more visits can go ahead when there are volunteers unable to attend at the last minute;

allow for visits and inspections of residential community mental health facilities to occur at least once in every four-month period, unless specified by regulation; and

allow for visits and inspections at least once in every six-month period for outpatient authorised community mental health facilities.

These amendments will provide greater flexibility for the scheme as more community services are gazetted by the Chief Psychiatrist, while ensuring the current legislative requirement to visit and inspect treatment centres, being higher acuity services, at least once in every two-month period is not affected. I urge the house to support the legislation.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:54): I rise to speak in support of the Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill. This bill, of course, seeks to introduce a series of amendments to the Mental Health Act that will improve the operations of the Community Visitor Scheme, including changes to the frequency of visits and inspections of community mental health facilities; authorising the minister to appoint, suspend or remove a community visitor; and allowing for the delegation of powers and functions of the Principal Community Visitor.

The Community Visitor Scheme, of course, plays a really crucial role in the functioning of our Mental Health Act, bringing in a really important human rights component and promoting the wellbeing, dignity, safety and rights of those mental health consumers in our state. A volunteer-led scheme, the Community Visitor Scheme conducts visits and inspections of facilities. It engages with clients and their families to ensure they are informed and supported during their care.

Under these amendments that the government proposes with this bill, inspections of treatment centres will remain at a frequency of at least every two months, residential authorised community mental health facilities will move to four months, and outpatient authorised community mental health facilities will move to six months. This will ensure that the visits are effective, as currently some facilities, particularly those in regional areas, do not always have consumers present for bimonthly visits.

In line with recommendations from the South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI), this bill, of course, creates provisions for the minister to appoint, suspend or remove community visitors. This will provide for better efficiency than the current provisions, which require the appointment, suspension or removal to be done by the Governor.

I would like to particularly thank the Chief Psychiatrist, Dr John Brayley, along with Sally Cunningham and Gabrielle Karas, for taking the time to provide me and my office with a briefing on these amendments. I associate myself with the so far wholehearted support of the bill and look forward to its speedy passage.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (16:56): I thank everyone who spoke for their contributions and their indications of support for this bill and look forward to the committee stage.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: I have a quick question for the minister. Minister, can you just inform the chamber of the process of who was consulted, how that went and who was involved?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I thank the honourable member for his question. I am advised that the amendment bill was provided to stakeholders for comments and briefings. Stakeholders were provided time to respond and make comments on the bill. I am advised that the stakeholders ranged from health groups to legal groups to those with lived experienced, such as the Lived Experience Advisory Group.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Just finally, was there any negative feedback from any of the stakeholder groups?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: There was a range of views. One thing that did come up was in terms of the frequency of review. There were some submissions that it could be put in legislation rather than regulation.

Clause passed.

Remaining clauses (2 to 6), schedule and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (17:00): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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