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| Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The Cancer (Registration) Bill 2009 updates and replaces the Cancer (Registration) Act 1988 which permits the establishment and maintenance of the Northern Territory Cancer Registry. The Northern Territory Cancer Registry collects information on all cancer cases diagnosed in the Northern Territory. Similar registries exist under legislation in all other Australian states and territories. Cancer registry data is used to monitor and report cancer incidence and mortality, to inform policy and planning of cancer services, and to increase public awareness about cancer. Within Australia, the Northern Territory registry has special importance as it is the longest established and most reliable source of information on cancer in the Indigenous population. For all these reasons, it is essential the quality and completeness of the Northern Territory cancer data remains as accurate as possible. Changes in national legislation and in the classification and management of cancer have meant that the Northern Territory Cancer Registry has experienced difficulties in carrying out some of its legitimate functions under the current act. The purpose of this revised Cancer (Registration) Bill 2009 is to address these issues, with the overall aim of promoting and maintaining the high quality and completeness of population cancer data in the Northern Territory. A central requirement for the Northern Territory Cancer Registry is that the cancer register includes all cancers occurring in the Northern Territory, and that the information on these cases is complete and accurate. The current act mandates the notification of cancers diagnosed by pathology laboratories and cancer deaths by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to the Northern Territory Cancer Register. This means that cancers diagnosed by health care providers without the pathological test may not be included on the register. In addition, the Australian government Privacy Amendments (Private Sector) Act 2000 makes it inappropriate for private health providers to disclose identifiable information to the Northern Territory Cancer Registry, which has limited the ability of the Cancer Registrar to correct or complete data from individual case notifications. The Cancer (Registration) Bill 2009 mandates that hospitals notify cancer diagnosis to the registrar, which is consistent with legislation in other Australian states and territories. This will improve the ability of the registrar to detect and record all cancers. The bill also requires private health care providers to respond to requests from the Cancer Registrar for prescribed details of the cancer. This is in line with legislation in all states and territories except for South Australia, and will improve the quality of completeness of data held by the register. The second major issue relates to the appropriate use of information held by the register. The current act prohibits the provision of Northern Territory cancer data for purposes that can be considered proper use, but were not foreseen at the time the act was written. This negatively impacts on the Northern Territory’s ability to contribute to and influence national policy-making around cancer service development and delivery - for example, the 2002 Australian government’s radiation oncology Inquiry. The existing limitation also restricts the use of the Northern Territory Cancer Registry data when undertaking quality assurance audits for cancer-related services. The Cancer (Registration) Bill 2009 expands the use of the data by providing the Chief Health Officer with the authority to approved users that meet current research guidelines, as well as for quality assurance or other reporting purposes. A similar power exists in the legislation of the ACT, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. To ensure the data collected by the Northern Territory has national and international relevance, we must be responsive to changes in the definition of cancer and conditions included as cancer. For example, the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries has recently expanded its list of notifiable cancers in accordance with changes in the World Health Organisation’s cancer classifications. These changes have implications for health service provision and should be reflected in the Northern Territory Cancer Registry data. The current act does not allow the register to collect information on these new cancers. The Cancer (Registration) Bill 2009 allows the minister to include a new cancer by Gazette notice without the resource intensive process of legislative amendment. Finally, the Cancer Registrar and members of the medical community have previously expressed concerns regarding their legal protection providing this information. The Cancer (Registration) Bill 2009 addresses this by clarifying indemnity for these individuals when performing in good faith under the act. In summary, this bill aims to promote and maintain the high quality of population cancer data in the Northern Territory, and its usefulness in influencing service provision and policy decision while respecting important privacy issues. This will bring the Northern Territory Registry into line with contemporary legislation in other Australian states and territories. Both government and non-government stakeholders support the bill. Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members and table the explanatory statement accompanying the bill. Debate adjourned. |