Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The decision to donate organs is a deeply personal one, and I support organ donation. I think being able to improve or extend the life of a stranger, or many strangers, is a profound gift. It's an example of something positive coming from what are often tragic circumstances. Australia has a best-practice organ and tissue donation system. It's a proud legacy of the Rudd Labor government. This bill, the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Disclosure of Information) Bill 2023, aims to help increase the rate of organ donation by building on this legacy so more individuals and families can benefit from this process.

Organ and tissue donation is one of the greatest gifts you can give. As a number of previous speakers have remarked, it's actually, sadly, very uncommon for someone to be in the position of being able to donate organs or tissues at the end of life. This is because, to be considered for organ donation, donors need to pass away in hospital with well-functioning organs. Nationwide each year, only around two per cent of people, about 1,400, meet these criteria. While we have an opt-in system where people can nominate that they wish to be organ donors and about 76 per cent of Australians say they are willing to be organ donors, ultimately it is the decision of the family members at the critical time when donation is an option. Altogether, this means that our rate of organ donation is extremely low. Meanwhile, the list of people awaiting transplants grows.

If we could hear the stories of lives changed, renewed and reinvigorated by organ donation, of times of great sorrow turned into times of deep meaning, perhaps more Australians would register to be organ donors and tell their families and friends of their wishes. Perhaps a family faced with this decision at a time of great sorrow would see this as a way in which their loved one could continue to contribute a lasting legacy to the world. And that is what this bill is about.

When passed, this bill will allow the Organ and Tissue Authority and DonateLife staff to obtain consent from authorised family members for the disclosure of information about an organ or tissue donor so that that information about the deceased donor can be included in promotional and educational activities. Basically, it will allow the appropriate authorities to gain appropriate consent to enable the sharing of stories of organ donation. Currently, this is governed by different processes across different states and territories. Indeed, my home state of South Australia is one of the strictest regarding prohibiting people from disclosing information about donation, including by the family members of donors.

This bill seeks to set a unified standard across the Commonwealth, and this has been reached in consultation with all relevant state and territory ministers. Once this bill is passed, and providing consent has been given by an authorised family member as defined in the bill, the law of a state or territory will no longer prevent the publication or dissemination of the information. This will enable the family of an organ donor to commemorate the gift that their family member gave—the gift of life for up to seven people—if that is their wish. I of course acknowledge that it will not be the wish of every donor family.

These families and loved ones are making brave and generous decisions to say yes to organ donation at what is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times of their lives, and it's important that we respect the wishes of donors and of their families. It is important that we do not cause any additional stress at this distressing time. But we do also have a growing transplant waiting list, and encouraging people to focus on the very great and positive benefits that it is in their power to give is an important part of increasing organ donor rates.

For those willing, this bill will make it easier for families to tell their stories and, in doing so, encourage the broader Australian public to do the same and to understand the process and the benefits of organ donation. The ultimate aim is to encourage more Australians to sign up to be organ and tissue donors themselves. It's hoped that this more public discussion of donation and people's experiences with family members' donations will help to normalise what can be difficult conversations with loved ones about organ and tissue donation. It's hoped it will help people share their wishes with their loved ones with regard to donation.

The bill maintains important safeguards in regard to privacy for donors and donor families, and these are undeniably vital to the functioning of our best-practice organ and tissue donation system.

The bill will not facilitate direct contact between donor families and organ and tissue recipients, and all governments are committed to continuing to protect the rights of both donor families and transplant recipients who wish to remain anonymous. Donor families and those who have received a transplant can continue to contact each other anonymously through their jurisdictional DonateLife agency. What the bill will do is harmonise legislative requirements on disclosure nationally, supporting increased community awareness about donation and registration, and allowing donor families to tell their powerful stories and commemorate their loved ones in remembrance services.

I pay tribute to the Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney for her work to bring about this legislation, and I encourage anyone listening now, if they wish, to get their phone out and sign up to be an organ or tissue donor today. You can do it quickly online at donatelife.gov.au or with just three taps on your Medicare Express Plus app. I encourage everyone to have the sometimes difficult conversation with loved about your wishes. Organ donation can change lives—not just the lives of the recipient but also their family and their friends. I personally know of a recipient in my electorate who without receiving a kidney would have left a widow and two teenaged children. Receiving the donation has changed the lives of that entire family. They were on the list for some time, and it was a very blessed day when they actually got the call. I'd encourage those listening to sign themselves up and have that conversation with their family so that their wishes are known and, hopefully, respected should the worst happen. I commend the bill to the House.

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