Monthly Archives - May 2016

May 11, 2016
Legislative Compliance Alert

Hospital and Health Boards (Safe Nurse-to-Patient and Midwife-to-Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2015 (QLD)

The Hospital and Health Boards (Safe Nurse-to-Patient and Midwife-to-Patient Ratios) Amendment Act 2016 (Qld) and the Hospital and Health Boards Amendment Regulation (No.2) 2016 (Qld) both commenced on 1 July 2016. The main objective of the amending Act and Regulations is to provide for safer patient care in hospitals by guaranteeing minimum nurse-to-patient ratios and midwife-to-patient ratios for public sector health services. Along with the improved patient safety and quality of care, minimum ratios also ensure safer workloads for the nursing and midwifery staff, providing greater workforce sustainability and staff satisfaction.

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May 10, 2016
Legislative Compliance Alert

Rooming House Operators Bill 2015 (Vic)

The Rooming House Operators Act 2016 (Vic) commenced on 1 July 2016. With a view to improving the operation of rooming houses, and to protect the rights of rooming house residents, the Act establishes a new licensing scheme for rooming house operators, whereby only ‘fit and proper persons’ are permitted to operate rooming houses. Prior to the commencement of the Act, there was no legislation in Victoria regulating who could and could not operate a rooming house. The Act changes this by requiring individuals or eligible corporate entities to apply for and be granted a licence in order to operate a rooming house (as well as to meet existing legal requirements).

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May 8, 2016
Legislative Compliance Alert

Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic)

The Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic) passed the Lower House of Parliament on 27 April 2016, received Royal Assent on 3 May 2016 and is due to commence on 1 February 2017. The primary purpose of the Act is to establish a more comprehensive complaints process to better support the Victorian public. To this end, the Act will repeal the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1987 (Vic), and the existing Health Services Commissioner will be replaced by the Health Complaints Commissioner (the HCC). Organisations should be aware that the HCC will be empowered under section 47 of the Act to conduct an investigation into the conduct of a health services provider even when no complaint about that health services provider has been lodged with the HCC.

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