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Omnibus Emergency Bill prepared for amendments
The Victorian government is set to announce that it will amend its COVID-19 Omnibus Emergency Bill in light of concerns from major legal organisations and commissions.
Naomi Neilson
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission welcomed a decision from the state government to amend the COVID-19 Omnibus Emergency Amendment Bill to remove pre-emptive detention and clarify enforcement powers.
Under the proposed changes, the revised bill will now provide greater criteria on which appointments can be made authorised officers under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act by specifying the classes of people who can be named. It will also specify the limits on the particular powers that each of those classes of authorised officers can exercise.
“Importantly, it is expected that the new classes of authorised officers will not have the emergency powers (including the ability to issue detention notices). Only appropriately trained DHHS staff will have the power to detain,” the commission clarified.
In a statement, the commission added that throughout the pandemic, it has been very critical for the government to keep human rights at the centre of decision-making.
“Any limitation on human rights must be necessary, justifiable and proportionate – and we are pleased that the government has responded to community concern to adopt a less restrictive measure in this instance, while still responding to serious public health risk,” the commission said.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
