Page 1374 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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This again has been the approach taken in other states and I am not aware of issues relating to relationships with departments being raised. A further issue identified through the consultation process was that each official visitor views their role differently. The mental health official visitors believe that they are an inspector of facilities, the corrections official visitors are informal complaints handlers, and the children and young people official visitor describes her role as being an auntie or an advocate for the people she sees.
The exposure draft of the bill proposed that all official visitors have a consistent method of handling and referring complaints. We noted that the model set out by the current official visitor for children and young people was the most recently updated in legislation. However, official visitors stated a preference for a more flexible complaints system than that provided by the children and young people legislation, and the best way to achieve this was by collectively drafting a set of guidelines and not having prescriptive legislation.
In the bill I am tabling today we have removed reference to generic official visitor complaints handling processes and referral powers and provided for ministers to issue those guidelines as disallowable instruments. The bill has widened the scope of the type of facilities that official visitors may visit and services they can take complaints about.
With regard to mental health, official visitors will now be able to inspect places that are funded by the ACT government and provide mental health services, but are not considered to be a typical government institution. Such facilities would include step-up, step-down facilities and respite facilities run by the government or a non-government organisation and may have just one person staying. It will not, however, cover any facility that is funded privately or by the commonwealth and it will not cover places such as GP facilities or private psychiatric offices.
With regard to who can make a complaint, we have expanded the definition of who is entitled to make a complaint so that it is not only people staying at a mental health facility but also people who are under a mental health order, irrespective of where they are staying.
With regard to the new disability official visitor, they will be able to inspect ACT government funded disability accommodation that is intended for respite for long-term residential purposes. They will also be able to visit a residential aged-care facility that accommodates a person with disability who is less than 65 years old.
The disability official visitor will be able to take complaints about ACT government funded disability services provided elsewhere and be able to visit with the complainant with their permission. The official visitor for homelessness will be able to visit any temporary or short-term supported accommodation for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness provided by an organisation that is funded under the ACT Housing Assistance Act.
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