12th Nov 2018, 3:56 PM – Senate Motions - My Health Record - Extend opt-out period

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Richard Di Natale (Vic), which means it succeeded. Motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own, but can be politically influential since they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) members of the community have expressed significant concerns about the inadequate privacy and security provisions currently present in the My Health Records Amendment (Strengthening Privacy) Bill 2018 (the bill),

(ii) senators will not have an opportunity to debate the bill until the week beginning 12 November 2018,

(iii) the opt-out period for the My Health Record is currently scheduled to end in the same week, on 15 November 2018, and

(iv) the Federal Government has extended the opt-out period once before, supposedly to allow passage of the bill;

(b) expresses disappointment that the Federal Government has chosen to not follow through on their commitment to the Australian people to strengthen the legislation which governs the My Health Record, meaning that any choices that the Australian people make about opting out will not be sufficiently informed; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to extend or suspend the opt-out period until the legislation and any amendments are passed, outstanding privacy and security concerns are addressed, and public confidence in this important reform is restored.