Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Ms Rishworth, I move:

That:

(1) a Joint Select Committee on DisabilityCare Australia be appointed to inquire into and report on the implementation progress with the rollout of DisabilityCare Australia and related matters;

(2) the Committee:

(a) may report from time to time but that it present a preliminary report on the rollout of DisabilityCare Australia after 12 months of operation, and a final report after 24 months of operation;

(b) will have particular reference to reports each six months from DisabilityCare Australia on implementation progress on reforms to services for people with disability under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, which address:

  (i) average expenditure on package costs;

  (ii) sector capacity and workforce issues;

  (iii) client take-up rates; and

  (iv) differences between the child, adolescent and total population launches; and

(c) consist of twelve members, three Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, two Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, three Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, two Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, one Member of the House of Representatives or Senator to be nominated by the Australia Greens Whip, and one Member of the House of Representatives or Senator who is an Independent or from another party;

(3) every nomination of a member of the Committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(4) the members of the Committee hold office as a joint select committee until presentation of the Committee’s report or the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time, whichever is the earlier;

(5) the Committee elect a Government Member as its Chair;

(6) in the event of an equality of voting, the Chair has a casting vote;

(7) five members of the Committee constitute a quorum of the Committee provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government Member of either House and one non-Government Member of either House;

(8) the Committee:

(a) have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of three or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the Committee is empowered to examine; and

(b) appoint the Chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only, and at any time when the Chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as Chair at that meeting;

(9) the quorum of a subcommittee be two members of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall comprise one Government Member of either House and one non-Government member of either House;

(10) the Committee or:

(a) any subcommittee have the power to call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;

(b) any subcommittee may conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit; and

(c) subcommittee have the power to adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the House of Representatives and the Senate;

(11) the Committee be:

(a) provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the Committee with the approval of the Presiding Officers; and

(b) empowered to print from day to day such documents and evidence as may be ordered by it, and a daily Hansard be published of such proceedings as take place in public;

(12) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders; and

(13) a message be sent to the Senate acquainting it of this resolution and requesting that it concur and take action accordingly.

I thank the shadow minister, who has indicated his support for this process.

Question agreed to.

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