Page 1250 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2015

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The bill also repeals the Mediation Act, including the outdated registration scheme it contains for mediators. References in other legislation to a registered mediator will be amended to refer to a person who is accredited under the national mediator accreditation standards and registered on the register of nationally accredited mediators. This will bring the ACT into line with the national accreditation process for mediation and will reduce red tape for mediators. The repeal of this act will not take effect for 12 months, allowing mediators who are not yet accredited to undertake the appropriate requirements.

A minor practical amendment is also being made in this bill to change the Oaths and Affirmations Act to remove the requirement that a religious text needs to be used to take an oath. That will bring that act into line with the Evidence Act and with modern and accepted principles in relation to oaths and affirmations.

The bill makes a number of valuable amendments to improve the ACT’s coronial processes. These amendments result from holistic ongoing review of the way coronial services are provided in the territory. The first is an amendment to the Coroners Act to simplify the reporting and inquiry requirements for fires. The change requires the coroner to hold an inquiry into a fire only when requested by the Attorney-General. The coroner will continue to be able to investigate a fire if it is considered appropriate to do so or on request, and the amendment will not impact on their powers to investigate deaths and disasters. The change will significantly reduce the workload of coroners but still allow for inquiries to be held for the most serious of fires.

In addition, the bill introduces clear investigation powers for police at coronial scenes. Under an order issued by a coroner, a police officer will be able to manage a coronial investigation, including people or evidence at the scene. These new powers will apply in cases where there are no obvious criminal circumstances surrounding the death and it is inappropriate to use investigation powers under the Crimes Act. Clear police powers at death scenes are important. They avoid delay in the investigation process and loss of evidence, which can lead to further unnecessary distress for families of the deceased.

The bill also creates further efficiencies in coronial processes by clarifying certain definitions in the Coroners Act and clarifying and narrowing the types of deaths that must be referred to the coroner for investigation. For example, the amendments remove a number of requirements to hold an inquest into a person’s death where that death is not of a type, such as suspicious, unknown or unnatural, that automatically requires an inquest to be held. These amendments arise from recommendations of the final report of the review of ACT coronial post mortem process and practice by Queensland’s chief forensic pathologist, Dr Charles Naylor, in 2013.

The bill makes a range of important changes and it highlights the government’s ongoing commitment to improve access to justice and efficiency in the conduct of court processes. I commend the bill to the Assembly.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.


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