Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Legal and Social Issues Committee

Register and Talk about It: Inquiry into Increasing the Number of Registered Organ and Tissue Donors

Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (10:17): I rise to continue my contribution on the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee’s inquiry into increasing the number of registered organ and tissue donors, which I last spoke on on 2 April. The inquiry heard evidence and highlighted a number of persistent challenges, barriers and misconceptions that continue to influence current donor registration and donation consent rates, including the need for continued data collection about why some families may object to transplantation and donation from a loved one, better understanding of why some families may not consent to fulfilling and recognising the wishes of a registered donor, greater education and promotion throughout the community about the benefits of tissue donation and dispelling the myths about the donation process.

Even if Victoria did return to a fully fledged drivers licence donation registration system, drivers licence renewal generally only occurs every three or 10 years, meaning limited opportunities to engage during these limited intervals. Even if we can improve engagement with families near the end-of-life phase of a loved one, the donation conversation can be very difficult and sensitive. It is a difficult discussion to broach and have given the emotion and the trauma family members may already be going through at that stage of the loved one’s life.

Donation registration rates still remain particularly low, mainly amongst culturally and linguistically diverse and newly arrived communities, whether due to cultural beliefs, misinformation or lack of awareness. As stated by the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria on page 129 of the report, not all cultures are comfortable talking about death, dying and donation. There are many differences between multicultural communities and one approach will not fit all communities.

Victoria’s overall registration rate, at 23 per cent, continues to remain lower than many other states and territories, including South Australia at 72 per cent, New South Wales at 42 per cent, Tasmania at 48 per cent, Western Australia at 38 per cent and Queensland at 31 per cent. That is why in acknowledging all of these challenges and the opportunities, I draw the house’s attention to the very comprehensive 74 findings and 41 recommendations that I encourage the government to support and implement.

Recommendation 1 is that, given the uncertainty around the historical Victorian drivers licence registrations, the Victorian government should advise people aged 42 years and older who hold a licence to check they are registered using the MyGov or Medicare apps. Recommendation 2 is the Victorian government scope the ability of the state’s driver licence system to allow Victorians to register on the Australian Organ Donor Register when applying for or renewing their drivers licence, and this should include a ‘yes’ registration option. Recommendation 3 is around the Victorian government increasing its promotion of the organ donation register through the Service Victoria app and other government websites and channels and avenues like the Victorian Electoral Commission, the proof of age application process, Ambulance Victoria membership and more.

Recommendation 23:

The Victorian Government include information about organ and tissue donation in the primary and secondary school curriculum.

Finding 43:

Awareness and education about organ and tissue donation should target and include all generations of families from multicultural and faith-based communities to assist them to have effective discussion about donation –

and work towards tailored approaches for each community group. That is why, along with supporting the adoption and implementation of these recommendations by government, I am also very pleased to have been the co-founder in the establishment of the newly formed Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Transplant Australia. The new parliamentary friends group will provide a forum for MPs to partner with health, wellbeing and donation stakeholders – namely, Transplant Australia – to advance the promotion of organ and tissue donation across Victoria. We will look to facilitate opportunities for MPs to engage with the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority; DonateLife; the Healthcare Awareness Society of Australia, HASA; Body Buddies, who particularly specialise in multicultural communities in this respect; and other transplant and donor organisations. We will look to advance the bipartisan recommendations from this parliamentary inquiry into increasing numbers of registered organ and tissue donors across our respective communities.

In establishing the group I want to particularly acknowledge and thank fellow co-convener the member for Euroa, the Deputy Chair of this inquiry; the secretary; the member for Melton and all of the members who have enthusiastically joined, including the member for St Albans, amongst others; Chris Thomas, the CEO of Transplant Australia; Peter Wain, chair of Transplant Australia’s Victorian branch; Dr Raj Khillan of HASA; Dr Preeti Khillan of HASA; and Aayushi Khillan of Body Buddies, also a previous Channel 7 Victorian Young Achiever Award recipient. Furthermore, I would like to encourage members to attend the upcoming Light a Life fundraising gala dinner on 24 May, which is dedicated to advancing organ donation awareness across multicultural communities. Last year the event raised $125,000 to support the promotion and the awareness of organ and tissue donation across multicultural and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Again, my strong commendations to Dr Raj, Dr Preeti and Aayushi for their fantastic work in promoting these groups and for their support of the parliamentary inquiry and respective recommendations.

I also want to acknowledge of course the committee members who undertook this comprehensive work: the member for Lara, the member for Geelong, the member for Mornington, the member for Narre Warren South, the member for Eildon, the member for Clarinda and the member for Bayswater. I thank them for their leadership in putting together this comprehensive piece of work, which will hopefully lead to better outcomes.