Robert Hart, Parliamentary ReporterDEBATE ON legislation aimed at updating licensing arrangements for nurses and midwives was stalled in the Senate yesterday as concerns were raised that the Bill might unfairly criminalise administrative negligence.
In the proposed Nurses and Midwives Amendment Bill, fines would be spiked by as much as 1,000 per cent, to a maximum $40,000, against individuals working without a licence in the field of nursing or midwifery.
While trade unionist and Opposition senator Dwight Nelson complained that the fines increased from between $20 and $100 were too high, it was Government Senator Keste Miller who questioned the implications of a clause that will make it a requirement for registered nurses, assistant nurses and midwives, to renew their licences every two years.
"My difficulty here is whether or not that (unregistered) person would now attract a criminal record for an administrative breach," Senator Miller argued.
He pointed out that, with nurses and midwives previously registered for life, anyone who worked without a licence would not have ever been registered. Under the new legislation, registered nurses could be fined for forgetting to renew their licences or for continuing to work after failing to complete a now-required minimum 30 hours of training during the two years.
SEEK FURTHER ADVICE
Members on both sides of the aisle were in agreement with the concern, and opted to seek further advice before concluding deliberations on the Bill.
But Senator Nelson's proposals were rejected after his earlier contribution to the debate, in which he suggested that the 30 hours of required training could potentially prove a significant hindrance to the nursing practice.
"We don't have enough nurses to allow us the opportunity to send them off to get training while others man the hospitals," he said.
The number of hours required for training was a contentious issue when the legislation was debated in the House of Representatives, leading to a compromise in which the Government agreed to reduce the proposed minimum from 60 hours to 30 hours.
Senator Nelson also argued that the Government should agree to wave, for public sector nurses and midwives only, a proposed $2,000 registration fee until the end of the lifespan of the Memorandum of Understanding which has put a freeze on public sector wages.
"When a group of professionals in the public sector make this kind of sacrifice all of us parliamentarians have a commensurate responsibility to recognise the sacrifice," Senator Nelson said.
However Government Senator Noel Montieth, who piloted the Bill, suggested the new proposals were already in practice and nurses did not appear to be having any difficulty fulfilling the requirements.
