Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

A parent with a child born with a degenerative neurological condition faces a future with challenges. My constituent Katherine McDowell of Dubbo has been fighting for her son, Harley, since he was diagnosed with incurable juvenile Huntington's disease at age 11. That was 15 years ago. As her son's condition has deteriorated, Katherine and her family's lives have been further impacted by the stress of trying to navigate Australia's even more complicated disability schemes and systems. This dedicated mother has run into difficulty after difficulty, facing long delays, inconsistent decisions and limited clinical oversight as her family tries their best to find solutions for Harley. Now, they are faced with the fallout of the Albanese government's National Disability Insurance Scheme amendment bill that was introduced last year. Whilst I 'll acknowledge there are cases where the system is being abused by criminals, Labor must be labour focused to identify those abusing the system without placing barriers in front of Australians who desperately need quality care, like Katherine and her family.

One of those changes to the NDIS to be rolled out this year that keeps this dedicated mother awake at night is the introduction of the automated tool to make life-changing decisions. It has been widely reported that the internal briefing to the National Disability Insurance Agency last year stated funding and support plans would be generated by automation. This means a computer will be making critical decisions about very vulnerable people's lives, and staff will not have the discretion to make changes. These lives are not a game and they are not a problem to be solved by AI.

Katherine registered a petition—Harley's Law: National Safeguards for Terminal, Degenerative and High-Complexity Disabilities—to fight this ridiculous automated approach to human lives. As Katherine's petition notes:

There are no enforceable timelines, no protections against unsafe automation and no independent body to intervene when delays or errors put lives at risk.

This caring, determined woman has asked for the federal government to establish Harley's law, to legislate mandatory deadlines for essential equipment and urgent funding; clinical oversight and mandatory human review for all decisions affecting terminal, degenerative or high-complexity disabilities; a ban on automated tools reducing supports without human sign-off; transparency for all automated tools used in disability assessments; enforceable rights for people and families to choose home, community or residential care; and the creation of an independent dignity in care commission.

I support Katherine, Harley and this petition, and I will fight for a better system for Australians either living with a disability or caring for somebody with a disability. Only humans are capable of offering quality care, not computers.

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