Page 990 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 15 March 2005
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posted in the course of their employment and people of that order—people with that degree and level of mobility.
I understand that in New South Wales there is case law on when a person is considered to be posted away for their employment. Usually this is when the posting is compulsory rather than a posting initiated by a tenant. I anticipate that the New South Wales case law on this issue will be utilised in the ACT.
The bill also includes important provisions relating to tenancy databases. The provisions provide a procedure to be followed before information can be put on a public tenancy database and allow an individual to apply to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal to have their personal information on a database omitted or corrected. The provisions ensure that the right to privacy is not interfered with unlawfully or arbitrarily.
The scrutiny of bills committee has queried why the provisions apply only to public databases. The legislation does not cover internal databases, for information is not released to external organisations, as this would cover databases that would not affect people’s ability to get housing. Extending this provision to cover internal databases would cover internal databases that simply list the names of previous and current tenants on databases held by Housing ACT.
The bill also permits Housing ACT to rent premises at a rate that initially reflects the additional cost of past debt. These arrangements will be endorsed by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. This will enable, in a small number of cases, the Housing Commissioner to offer new premises to a person, even though they may have an outstanding rent debt. The provision does not require that such an arrangement be entered into and the Commissioner for Housing may still, in the appropriate case, enter into arrangements for waiver or the partial repayment of the debt.
The bill includes a number of provisions dealing with evictions. The scrutiny of bills committee raised a concern about the regulations providing what is appropriate action to be taken under an eviction warrant. The regulations are included in the bill, for members. The regulations provide that it is appropriate action to evict a tenant between the hours of 8.00 am and 6.00 pm, Monday to Thursday, except on public holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances. This will ensure that tenants are able to access emergency accommodation.
The bill also includes a series of other amendments such as permitting the Residential Tenancies Tribunal to adjust the tenancy agreement to take into account a court order and deal with the transfer of public housing by will.
I should also foreshadow at this point, Mr Speaker, that I will be presenting a small government amendment to the bill, flowing from discussions with stakeholders. The amendment makes a correction to clause 10 by replacing the word “lease” with the phrase “residential tenancy agreement”.
I look forward to, in the first instance, taking further advice and also to debating the amendment that Dr Foskey has foreshadowed in relation to substitution of tenant in section 107A. The government has only just recently—I think in the last day—become aware of issues raised by the Women’s Legal Service and the Welfare Rights and Legal
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