Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the Minister for Health and Aged Care has just advised the other place, we have some further advice from the DCMO which relates to my answer to the last question in question time regarding the status of the training of the doctor involved. We had a statement from the Vaccine Operations Centre that Healthcare Australia had confirmed the doctor had undertaken the training. We had some other advice from the DCMO: 'HCA has advised that the doctor and all the health professionals involved in the immunisation rollout have had their AHPRA, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, registration checked as part of employment, and that all health professionals involved have completed the online training provided through the Australian College of Nursing. The company has advised that it has copies of the successful certificate of completion of the course for each health professional involved in the vaccine rollout.'

The revised advice that we've just received is that, on further investigation, HCA has now advised that the doctor had not completed the required training. This is being investigated by HCA, and we are expecting a report later today. HCA has advised that all other HCA immunisers have completed the training. HCA has also advised that this doctor has not been involved in the vaccination rollout in any other facilities. We provide this information because we feel it's important to be upfront with the Australian people. There is, in fact, an investigation being undertaken into this matter by the DCMO, Michael Kidd.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the minister's answer.

I acknowledge the update from Minister Hunt and Minister Colbeck in this chamber following question time. It is extremely concerning that we had inaccurate information provided publicly in media conferences earlier today, and to both houses of this parliament, about the early stages of the vaccine rollout to extremely vulnerable Australians in residential aged care. It seems that the government may have taken the word of providers without doing its own checks, which is worrying. The minister alluded to AHPRA. If there is a question about whether there were restrictions on this doctor, we would welcome that information to come back to this chamber. What sorts of checks have the government done when they've outsourced this?

This is the Commonwealth taking responsibility for an area that they don't usually operate in—running immunisation programs. The states and territories are well across how they do it. You've taken responsibility for aged care. You're putting in place a vaccination program, and, on almost the first day, we have two residents of residential aged care in hospital because their vaccination was botched by a doctor that hasn't been trained. I don't think this sends a message of assurance to residents of aged care or indeed the broader Australian community about the vaccine. We need confidence in this vaccine rollout. We need people to believe that it's done safely by trained professionals who have had all the ticks in their boxes and that the government has checked all this.

It seems, from what we're learning now, that that is not the case. You were taking the word of private providers who no doubt have got very large, fat contracts from this government, from the taxpayer, to deliver this service, which should be delivered safely. The residents of aged care should have confidence that this government has their back on this. You might be trying to portray it as misinformation from a provider, but it goes to the heart of the safety and the quality of this vaccine rollout. Any further information needs to be brought back to this chamber at the earliest opportunity, and the government needs to work out how it's going to ensure that there is confidence in this process and in the information that you've been provided. The minister was out reasonably early this morning with this information, so it has sat out there all day that this doctor was trained and that there was nothing really to worry about. These updates are extremely concerning. The government needs to put in place better checks. I have no doubt there will be more questions from the opposition on this.

Question agreed to.