Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2025

Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2025

An Act to amend certain Acts and other legislation and provide for matters of a transitional nature consequent on the enactment of the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2025 .

2.   Commencement

(1)  Subject to this section, the provisions of this Act commence on the day on which the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 commences.

(2)  The provisions of Part 11 commence on a day or days to be proclaimed.

PART 2 - Savings and Transitional Provisions

3.   Interpretation

In this Part –

commencement day means the day on which the new Act commences;

former Act means the Disability Services Act 2011, as in force immediately before the commencement day;

former Senior Practitioner means the person who was, immediately before the commencement day, appointed to be Senior Practitioner under the former Act;

new Act means the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 ;

new Senior Practitioner means the person appointed to be Senior Practitioner under the new Act;

regulations means regulations made for the purposes of this Act, whether made under this Act or the new Act;

Tribunal means the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal;

undetermined application means an application made under the former Act that has not been withdrawn, abandoned or determined before the commencement day.

4.   Senior Practitioner

An approval, determination, delegation, direction or other decision that –

(a) is made, given or issued, by or on behalf of the former Senior Practitioner, under or for the purposes of a provision of the former Act; and

(b) is in effect immediately before the commencement day –

is taken to be an approval, determination, delegation, direction or other decision, respectively, made, given or issued by the new Senior Practitioner under the provision, if any, of the new Act that most closely approximates the provision of the former Act.

5.   Annual report

(1)  In this section –

annual report means the report required under section 47 of the new Act;

transition year means the financial year during which the commencement day falls.

(2)  The new Senior Practitioner is to prepare the annual report for the transition year.

(3)  The former Senior Practitioner is to provide, in respect of the portion of the transition year that precedes the commencement day, a report that includes all of the information that is required under section 47 of the new Act to be included in an annual report.

(4)  The former Senior Practitioner is to provide the report under subsection (3) to the new Senior Practitioner within 30 days after the commencement day.

(5)  The new Senior Practitioner is to include the information in the report provided by the former Senior Practitioner under subsection (4) in the annual report for the transition year.

6.   Preservation of approvals to use restrictive practices

(1)  An approval to carry out a type of restrictive intervention granted by the Secretary under section 38 of the former Act, that is in force immediately before the commencement day, continues in force as an authorisation for the use of a type of restrictive practice granted by the new Senior Practitioner under section 52 of the new Act on the same terms and conditions.

(2)  Subject to section 9, an approval, granted by the Tribunal under section 41A or section 42 of the former Act for the carrying out of a type of restrictive intervention, that is in force immediately before the commencement day, continues in force as an authorisation for the use of a type of restrictive practice granted by the new Senior Practitioner under section 52 of the new Act on the same terms and conditions.

7.   Applications to use restrictive practice

(1)  In this section –

restrictive intervention application means an undetermined application to the Tribunal under section 41 of the former Act.

(2)  An undetermined application made to the Secretary under section 37 of the former Act is taken, on and after the commencement day, to be an application made to the new Senior Practitioner under section 51 of the new Act.

(3)  If, before the commencement day, the Tribunal has not commenced holding a hearing in relation to a restrictive intervention application, that restrictive intervention application is taken, on and after the commencement day, to be an application to the new Senior Practitioner under section 51 of the new Act.

(4)  If, before the commencement day, the Tribunal has commenced holding a hearing in relation to a restrictive intervention application, the Tribunal may, on and after the commencement day, continue hearing that application under the former Act as if –

(a) that Act had not been repealed; and

(b) any amendments to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 made by this Act had not been made.

(5)  If, after the commencement day, the Tribunal grants an approval under section 41A or section 42 of the former Act to carry out a type of restrictive intervention, that approval is taken to be an authorisation for the use of a type of restrictive practice granted by the new Senior Practitioner under section 52 of the new Act on the same terms and conditions.

8.   Review by Secretary under former Act

An undetermined application to the Secretary for a review under section 40 of the former Act is taken, on and after the commencement day, to be an application made to the new Senior Practitioner for the review of a reviewable decision under section 75 of the new Act.

9.   Review by Tribunal under former Act

(1)  An undetermined application made to the Tribunal under section 45 of the former Act for the review of an approval to carry out a type of restrictive intervention may be continued under that Act until determined, as if –

(a) that Act had not been repealed; and

(b) any amendments to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 made by this Act had not been made.

(2)  If the Tribunal, under section 45 of the former Act, amends an approval to carry out a type of restrictive intervention, that approval, as amended by the Tribunal, continues in force as an authorisation for the use of a type of restrictive practice granted by the new Senior Practitioner under section 52 of the new Act on the same terms and conditions.

10.   Review by Magistrates Court under former Act

An undetermined application made to the Magistrates Court under section 48 of the former Act may, on and after the commencement day, be continued under that Act until determined as if that Act had not been repealed.

11.   Information

(1)  Any information kept or provided under the former Act before the commencement day is, on that day, information kept or provided for the purpose of the new Act.

(2)  For the avoidance of doubt, a person or body to whom or which an underdetermined application was made under the former Act may share any information they possess regarding the application with the person or body to whom or which the application is taken to have been made under the new Act.

12.   Savings and transitional regulations

(1)  The Governor may make regulations of a savings and transitional nature consequent on the enactment of the new Act to effect and facilitate the transition from the former Act to the new Act.

(2)  Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) , regulations made under that subsection may –

(a) provide for the preservation, continuation, extension, variation or revocation of any one or more of the following matters under the former Act:

(i) decisions, determinations, approvals, or other such authorisations;

(ii) notices or other instruments or documents;

(iii) any other matter; and

(b) deal with any incidental or ancillary matters.

(3)  Regulations made under subsection (1) may –

(a) take effect on the commencement day or a later day specified in the regulations, whether the day so specified is before, on or after the day on which the regulations are made; and

(b) be made so as to apply differently according to the matters, limitations or restrictions, whether as to time, circumstance or otherwise, specified in the regulations; and

(c) authorise any matter to be from time to time approved, determined, applied or regulated by –

(i) the Minister; or

(ii) the Secretary; or

(iii) such other person specified in the regulations.

PART 3 - Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023 Amended

PART 4 - Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997 Amended

PART 5 - Dangerous Criminals and High Risk Offenders Act 2021 Amended

PART 6 - End-of-Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Act 2021 Amended

PART 7 - Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity Act 1994 Amended

PART 8 - Poisons Regulations 2018 Amended

PART 9 - Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Regulations 2024 Amended

PART 10 - Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 Amended

PART 11 - Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 Further Amended

[Commences: Never commenced]

36.   Principal Act

In this Part, the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 is referred to as the Principal Act.

PART 12 - Miscellaneous

39.   Effect of certain consequential amendments

The amendment by this Act of a provision of any regulations does not prevent that or any other provision of those regulations from being amended or rescinded by a subsequent regulation.

40.   Administration of Act

Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under section 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990  –

(a) the administration of this Act is assigned to the Minister for Disability Services; and

(b) the department responsible to that Minister in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Premier and Cabinet.