Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I'm trying to get the issues out there on the table and talk about them but not hold the chamber up.

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Continue, Senator Siewert.

As I was articulating, we believe this particular role is absolutely essential to the work of the commission. It's an issue that will come up time and time again in terms of those restrictive practices. I am aware of the sensitivities with the states and territories. I feel a great deal of sorrow at the fact that we can't work together with the states and territories across this country to achieve some harmony in the approaches to those particular issues. We're in 2017 and we still haven't worked that out. I'm pleased that there will be ongoing negotiations, but we think these amendments are so important in making sure that the role of the senior practitioner is enshrined in the legislation.

Another set of amendments I have moved are related to market oversight. We in this bit of the chamber are deeply concerned about the conflicting roles for the commission in market oversight and in looking at complaints when they are raised. If there's a provider that is fairly dodgy but the only provider in a particular place, it may be allowed to continue because of the market. We are deeply concerned about that, and I'm articulating the concerns of people with disability that were raised during the inquiry and that have been raised with me privately on a number of occasions.

I have also articulated that we have concerns about the minister's directions to the commissioner under subclause 181K(1). We believe those directions should be disallowable. I'm sure I will hear the argument from the government that it is the same provision that applies to other agencies, but it doesn't apply to all agencies, so we believe that it should be amended.

The last set of amendments provides for the NDIS rules to prescribe arrangements relating to the management and resolution of complaints, both those arising out of, or in connection with, the provision of supports or services by NDIS providers and providers of local area coordination services and early childhood early intervention services and those arising out, of or in connection with, actions of the agency. Again, I articulated that in my second reading speech. We believe that the role of the commission should extend to LACs, to providers of early childhood intervention services and, of course, to the actions of the agency because people accessing those services are going to be left to very clunky existing services, about which people complain all the time. We think these belong in the purview of the commission.