Kerry Nettle (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

(1)

Schedule 1, page 3 (after line 6), before item 1, insert:1A Paragraph 2-1(1)(e) After “gender”, insert “, sexual orientation”.

This amendment is to insert new words into the objects of the act where there is a list of all of the factors for which people who are receiving aged care should not be discriminated against. The factors go to the issues of language, ethnicity and gender. The Greens’ amendment here is to include sexual orientation there. That is the phraseology that is used in the international arena in dealing with this issue.

The amendment is about seeking to make clear at the beginning of the act, in the objects of the act, that in accessing aged-care facilities it is not the intention that people should be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation. In my speech in the second reading debate, I spoke about some of the examples of people who are in same-sex relationships and who have found themselves having difficulty getting into an aged-care facility or being in an aged-care facility that is run by a religious organisation that has a particular view in relation to homosexuality and how that is played out for them. I also spoke of instances where people have had to deal with discrimination from other residents in the home or from staff who have not been trained properly or appropriately to deal with the issues of complexity.

It is a rising issue that the gay and lesbian community are very involved in. For example, a number of people who are HIV positive are finding themselves in nursing homes. They have particular care needs that relate to their circumstances. They want to ensure that they have aged-care workers in those facilities who are sensitive to their needs. That is what this amendment is about.