Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I will make a couple of quick points. One point is about consultation, which I referred to in my second reading contribution. It has been very difficult to get people's opinions on the rules because only some of the rules have been released and they have only been released to certain organisations. They haven't been released for public comment. To be fair, the government did at least release them so that some people could look at them, but they haven't been out for wide public consultation, which makes it very difficult for us to ask stakeholders what they think about them. Some people who are part of that process feel compelled not to engage with us about it, because there is a certain level of confidentiality around them. But at least they have gone out. Some of the rules haven't gone out, and that is a concern.

As to how we envisage this as working, this would essentially be the framework for how rules could be made around this particular code of conduct. There are things in this code, such as that 'A person or an entity must respect the privacy of people with a disability'—I don't think that is going the change—and 'A person or entity must provide supports and services in a safe and competent manner with care and skill.' Those sorts of issues are not going to change. We understand that things will change into the future, but have the framework in the legislation—the very bones of it—and then you put the meat on the bones in the rules. We think these sorts of things are so important that they belong in the legislation. I hear that it doesn't have support here yet, but I strongly encourage the government to make sure they carry out much wider consultation on these rules.