Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table the revised explanatory memorandum to the bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

I have great pleasure in introducing the Human Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 which integrates Medicare Australia and Centrelink into the Department of Human Services.

This Bill supports the Government's Service Delivery Reform agenda, which was announced by the former Minister for Human Services, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, in December 2009.

The Bill continues a broader program of reform that commenced in 2004 when the previous government created the Department of Human Services to place greater emphasis on the way government delivers services to Australians.

In 2007, the Department's role was expanded to reflect responsibility for the develop ­ ment, delivery and co-ordination of government services, and development of service delivery policy.

The continued reform of service delivery through this Bill will create a better exper ­ ience for people and contribute to improved policy outcomes for government, particularly in areas such as economic and social participation, edu ­ cation, child care and health. These outcomes are in line with greater integration and cross-agency service provision initiatives within government.

Service Delivery Reform will significantly improve the way services are delivered by the Human Services portfolio. The progressive rollout of co-located offices will extend the portfolio's reach by providing one-stop-shops in more places. Increased self service options will allow people to manage their own affairs, including through expanded online services. People facing significant disadvantage or multiple complex challenges will be offered more intensive support through coordinated assistance with a case coordinator.

Effective and accessible service delivery is also an important element of the Govern ­ ment's efforts to build a more inclusive society. Service Delivery Reform will simplify people's dealings with the government and provide better support to those most in need.

A key element of the reform is the integration of the portfolio into a single department of state. Bringing together back office functions will drive efficiency, reduce the cost of service delivery for government and free up staff for more frontline customer service delivery.

Schedule 1 of the Bill amends the Medicare Australia Act 1973. The primary purpose of the amendments is to integrate Medicare Australia into the Department of Human Services. The statutory office of the Chief Executive Officer of Medi ­ care Australia will be replaced by a new statu ­ tory position, the Chief Executive Medicare. The Chief Executive Medicare will be a Senior Executive Service officer in the Depart ­ ment of Human Services, who will have broad service delivery functions and will maintain statutory powers.

These administrative changes do not alter the Government's commitment to Medicare. Medicare has provided Australians with afford ­ able, accessible and high quality health care since 1984. The integration of agencies will further extend the reach of the widely recognised and successful Medicare brand in the community. For example, through the co-location of services the number of shopfronts where Medicare services are available will double from 240 today to around 500.

The Bill also amends the investigative powers of the Chief Executive Officer of Medicare Australia, in Part HD of the Medicare Australia Act. The investigative powers will not be extended in scope. The amendments will bring the provisions into line with the Crimes Act 1914 and reduce unnecessary notifications to patients whose medical records are seized but not examined in an investigation.

Schedule 2 of the Bill amends the Com ­ monwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997. Schedule 2 replicates, for Centrelink, the governance changes made by Schedule 1 for Medicare Australia. Schedule 2 integrates Centrelink into the Department of Human Services and replaces the statutory office of Chief Executive Officer of Centrelink with a new statutory position, Chief Executive Centrelink. Like the Chief Executive Medicare, the Chief Executive Centrelink will be a Senior Executive Service officer in the Department of Human Services who will have broad service delivery functions and will maintain statutory powers.

Centrelink and Medicare Australia employees will become employees of the Department of Human Services under the machinery of government provisions in the Public Service Act 1999. Departmental employees will be able to assist both Chief E xecutives to perform their functions, enabling consolidation of back-office functions and greater focus on frontline service delivery.

Schedule 3 amends the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. The amendments align the provisions for the appointment of the Child Support Registrar with the provisions for the appointment of the two Chief Executives.

The Bill also contains transitional provisions to facilitate the transition from the current gov ­ ernance arrangements to the new integrated Department of Human Services, with no interruption to service delivery.

Finally, Schedule 4 makes consequential amendments to a range of legislation to reflect the new governance arrangements. References in legislation to Medicare Australia, Centrelink or the Chief Executive Officers are amended to refer to the Department of Human Services and the new Chief Executives.

The secrecy provisions will continue to operate in essentially the same way under the new governance arrangements for the portfolio. To bring this about, the conse ­ quential amendments include changes to various provisions in program legislation, for example the Health Insurance Act 1973 and the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.

The Government is conscious of the need to protect customer data, therefore only existing customer data sharing arrangements supported by legislation will continue. Importantly, any new sharing of customer data within the integrated Department of Human Services will occur only with customer consent. The Govern ­ ment is particularly aware of the trust Australians place in Medicare Australia's management of their clinical health informa ­ tion and the need for this information to be held separately and securely. For this reason clinical health information will be excluded from any data sharing under Service Delivery Reform.

The changes I have outlined today are an essential component of the Government's Service Delivery Reform agenda. Service Delivery Reform will transform the delivery of services by the Human Services portfolio and will provide better outcomes for generations of Australians. It will put people first in the design and delivery of services and will ensure services are delivered more effectively and efficiently, especially to people who need more intensive support and to those with complex needs. The Human Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 is a significant step towards achieving this vision.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Human Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011. This bill continues a program of reform that was initiated by the previous coalition government in 2004 when it created the Department of Human Services to place greater emphasis on the way government delivers services to Australians. This bill merges the back-end support services and some customer areas for Medicare and Centrelink, locating both within the Department of Human Services. The bill will achieve this through making amendments to the provisions of the Medicare Australia Act 1973 and the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997, which is more widely known as the Centrelink act.

It will abolish the statutory offices of the chief executive officer of Medicare Australia and the chief executive officer of Centrelink and create statutory offices of Chief Executive Medicare and Chief Executive Centrelink within the Department of Human Services. It will also abolish Medicare Australia and Centrelink as statutory agencies, and the existing functions that both of these agencies provide will be delivered by employees of the Department of Human Services in support of their chief executives.

The inquiry into the legislation by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee did raise issues regarding privacy, and this bill brings in amendments to clarify the operation of program secrecy provisions after the restructure to ensure that there is substantially no change from previous arrangements with respect to the sharing of customer data. As a consequence, the bill will bring in new defined terms of 'Medicare programs' and 'Centrelink programs' to replace the current secrecy provisions which focus on the agencies as the basis for regulating information sharing.

The bill also amends the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 to align the provisions for the appointment of the Child Support Registrar with the provisions for the appointment of Chief Executive Centrelink and Chief Executive Medicare. It also makes consequential amendments to a number of other acts that currently refer to the agencies or statutory authorities that will be abolished. The amendments to formalise the new structure of the Department of Human Services will be implemented on 1 July 2011 and transitional arrangements have been put in place to ensure no disruption in customer service delivery occurs consequent to these changes.

The bill also amends the investigative search and seizure provisions of part IID of the Medicare Australia Act. Many of these provisions were modelled on earlier versions of the corresponding provisions in the Crimes Act 1914. Because there have been amendments to the Crimes Act over time, some of the provisions in the Medicare Australia Act are no longer aligned with provisions in the Crimes Act. The main purpose of the proposed amendments to the investigative search and seizure provisions is to bring those provisions into closer alignment with the Crimes Act provisions.

The coalition believes in smaller and more streamlined government. This bill continues in that reforming tradition. This bill, which will consolidate the back-office operations of Medicare and Centrelink into a single department, should enhance service delivery from the perspective of the taxpayer with minimum change to the interaction of the clients of Centrelink or Medicare. Clearly, it is not the intention of the opposition to oppose this bill.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his contribution on the Human Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.