Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Hansard source

I am not sure whether the minister wants to indicate the government’s position first, but I am happy to indicate the view of the opposition. Labor is supportive of a sunset provision in relation to those subsections in the legislation which enable a provider who is not holding a certificate of compliance to provide rehabilitation services to in fact provide them. I think Senator Siewert’s suggestion that a 12-month window is sufficient for private providers to ensure they become compliant in order to provide these government services is a sensible one. I look forward to hearing the government’s view on this.

I indicate one thing, and I apologise to Senator Siewert for this. It was only when looking more closely at this amendment that it occurred to me that it might be appropriate for you to consider the sunset provision as applying only to section 19(2)(b) rather than to the entirety of section 19(2) because subsection (2)(a) is in fact the general requirement that a certificate be held. I could be wrong—perhaps the advisers in the minister’s advisers box can confirm it—but it seems to me that if the amendment as drafted proceeds there will be a sunset provision around the certificate of compliance issue. It might be useful if the minister could indicate the government’s position on this while Senator Siewert considers it.