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| Ms LAWRIE (Family and Community Services): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. Mr Acting Speaker, the purpose of introducing this bill, which includes a Northern Territory Carers Charter is, first and foremost, to acknowledge and recognise the role of carers as a critical partner in the caring role in our community. Carers Northern Territory Incorporated report that there are approximately 25 000 carers in the Northern Territory providing a crucial and often hidden role in the lives of countless Territorians. Carers are an integral part of our community providing support for many of our frail aged people, people with a disability, people with a chronic or terminal illness, and people with a mental illness. Without this support many of our Territorians would simply not be able to stay in their own homes. The role of carers should be formally recognised by including carers in the assessment, planning, delivery and review of services that impact on them and their caring role. The bill provides a mechanism for this to occur and is enshrined in the Northern Territory Carers Charter which is a schedule of the bill. The Carers Charter has eight key principles and organisations. Agencies must take all practical measures to ensure the organisation and its officers, employees or agents take action to reflect these principles of the charter in providing relevant services of their organisation. There are eight key principles of the Northern Territory Carers Charter and these are: · carers must be treated with respect and dignity; · carers must be acknowledged as individuals with their own needs within and beyond the role of carer; · the diversity of carers’ individual needs must be acknowledged and identified, taking into consideration cultural and linguistic differences, age, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, gender identification, and where people live. In particular, it is important to recognise the needs of Aboriginal carers and children, and young people who are carers; · carers must receive information on their rights when dealing with agencies; · the role of carers must be formally recognised by including carers in the assessment, planning, delivery and review of services that impact on them and their caring role; · the views and needs of carers must be taken into account along with the views and needs and best interests of people receiving care when decisions are being made that impact on carers and their caring role; · programs and services for carers must be responsive, coordinated and appropriate; and · complaints made by carers about services that impact on them and the role of carers must be properly considered. A very practical way for organisations to remember and bring attention to this charter is to display it in their working environment. It is important that the community, organisations and agencies know who the carers are and, for the purpose of this act, a person is a carer if a person is an individual who provides ongoing care or assistance to: · a person who has a disability within the meaning of the Disability Services Act; · a person who has a mental illness within the meaning of the Mental Health and Related Services Act; · a person who has a chronic illness; · a person who, because of frailty, requires assistance with the carrying out of their everyday tasks; or · a person of a class prescribed by regulation. However, a person is not a carer if the person provides the care or assistance under a contract for services or a contract of service, or in the course of ongoing community work organised by a community organisation. Also, a person is not a carer only because the person is a spouse, de facto partner, parent or guardian of the person to whom the care or assistance is being provided, or provides care to a child who has been placed in the care of that person under the Community Welfare Act. Carers are also individuals with their own needs within and beyond the role of carer. This bill outlines agencies and organisations’ obligations to carers and their responsibility to comply with the act including the Northern Territory Carers Charter. The bill provides the mechanism for an applicable organisation, as defined in the act as: · a reporting organisation; · an entity providing relevant services under a contract with reporting organisations other than a contract of employment; or · another entity declared by regulation to be an applicable organisation. To report annually on their compliance or non-compliance to the act and carers charter: this report may be combined with the annual report of their organisation. The bill also makes provision for the act to be reviewed within five years after its commencement. The bill also amends the Health and Community Complaints Act to ensure that the meaning of ‘applicable organisation’ has the same meaning as in the carers recognition act and that the carers charter has the same meaning as in the carers recognition act. The bill also amends the Health and Community Services Complaints Act to allow for a complaint to be made on the basis that an applicable organisation has failed to comply with the carers charter and to ensure that the carers charter is considered when the commissioner is investigating such a complaint. Mr Acting Speaker, on behalf of the carers and people in their care, I take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals and organisations, in particular Carers NT, who have contributed positively to this initiative. I commend the bill to honourable members. I table its accompanying explanatory statement. Motion agreed to; debate adjourned. |