Tuesday, 12 November 2024

 Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (13:55): I rise to commence my contribution on the Aged Care Restrictive Practices Substitute Decision-maker Bill 2024. We know that the use of restrictive practices can be very, very controversial, and we heard about that in the recent royal commission, which delved into their misuse in aged care. Restrictive practices are very necessary at certain times to ensure a person’s safety, but their use does need to be well monitored and it needs to be restricted to cases where it is appropriate. That is why it is important to have the appropriate safeguards, checks and balances in place when it comes to restrictive practices as best as possible that can be achieved. It is a very, very contentious area at times. But as this bill strives to improve oversight in this area, we are happy on this side to support the passage of this bill through the Legislative Assembly.

I wish to note up-front that this legislation that we will be debating in the chamber here today is about the appointment of substitute decision-makers for restrictive practices rather than about the restrictive practices guidelines themselves, which largely sit within the federal jurisdiction. Having said that, it is important to cover off on some background in relation to the larger issue around restrictive practices. In 2021 the former coalition Commonwealth government introduced new legislative requirements for residential aged care, and this included for providers of aged care to seek informed consent from substitute decision-makers to authorise the use of restrictive practices when they are required. This of course comes into play when the person on whom the restrictive practices are being used has lost the capacity to give informed consent themselves. This was in response to the 2021 royal commission, as I said. The royal commission made a couple of very, very pertinent statements on this topic. It said that restrictive practices have been identified as a problem in aged care in Australia for more than the last 20 years, which is a significant amount of time. The inappropriate use of unsafe and inhumane restrictive practices in residential aged care has unfortunately continued.

Whilst it had been identified as a problem for some time, the fact that it was continuing was of great concern. This was despite multiple reviews and reports highlighting the problem. The royal commission said ‘It must stop now.’ Recommendation 17 also went into a lot more detail around restrictive practices and their use. It said that restrictive practices should only be used:

in accordance with relevant State or Territory laws and with the documented informed consent of the person receiving care or someone authorised by law to give consent on that person’s behalf

Over the course of the royal commission there were numerous stories about substandard care and there were numerous stories of misuse of restrictive practices from those who experienced it, from family members of those who experienced it and also from people who had witnessed it or heard about it. There was feedback from aged care workers, there was feedback from service providers, there was feedback from peak bodies and there was feedback from advocates and experts. There was an enormous amount of information that came forward in the submissions that highlighted a range of experiences, both sad and confronting.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.

The SPEAKER: I acknowledge the presence in the gallery today of a delegation from the Bougainville House of Representatives. I welcome the Honourable Speaker Simon Pentanu, Deputy Speaker Therese Kaetavara, Deputy Clerk Peter Topura and Secretary Ignatius Hamal.