Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

I thought it might be appropriate to try and cover off some of the issues that I raised in my speech on the second reading that the minister has partly addressed in his summing up. There are two issues in particular. Minister, the question that you did not have an opportunity to address is the question of reasonable grounds. The legislation provides that, when a suspicion is held on reasonable grounds by a person of there being a sexual offence or abuse of the kind that is covered in the legislation, that should be reported. But, if there is an allegation, that allegation does not have to be on reasonable grounds. This was canvassed during the inquiry. It was put to us that allegations are made on many occasions by people who are suffering from dementia. If an allegation of sexual abuse is made by a person with dementia, that allegation—the way I and many others read the legislation—must be reported. The question that was not clarified during the inquiry and that I am asking to be clarified here is why a suspicion must only be reported if it is on reasonable grounds but an allegation must be reported even if it is not on reasonable grounds. In residential aged care we are dealing with many people who suffer from dementia, and I think this is a point that the sector in particular would like some clarification of. That is the first issue.

You addressed the second issue, Minister, in your summing up, and that goes to when a diagnosis of mental impairment is made and how that is recorded. You indicated that that will appear in the principles and that there needs to be some flexibility. The diagnosis of mental impairment is absolutely essential for an approved provider to operate in certain ways. I am keen to know how that diagnosis will be recorded. If it can be made, as you said, by an appropriately qualified registered nurse, I would like to know what the appropriate qualification of that registered nurse is. And is it not possible for an approved provider who is not playing the game properly to simply tick the box for every single person in their facility and deem that they have a mental impairment? That is not what is intended in this legislation, but I am concerned that that is what may in fact occur. Finally, the question that I and certainly the aged-care sector need to know is: when will these investigation principles be available? They are fundamental to the operations of this proposed act and without them we can honestly hardly make decisions about how it will occur.

They are the three questions that I am looking for a response to: why do there have to be reasonable grounds on a suspicion but not an allegation, when will the principles be available, and what is ‘appropriately qualified’ when it comes to a registered nurse who can make a diagnosis of mental impairment?