Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:45): (1875) My adjournment matter is for Minister Stitt, and the action I am seeking relates to outright discriminatory provisions built into the Worker Screening Act 2020 related to NDIS worker screening. Under the Worker Screening Act the secretary must refuse to give NDIS clearance on an NDIS category B application unless exceptional circumstances exist. Distressingly, listed as category B offences in schedule 3 of the act at section 6(k) and 6(l) are the repealed offences of buggery and attempted buggery.
Until 1981 in Victoria gay men were convicted and even imprisoned for the offence of buggery. Sex between consenting adults should never have been criminalised, which is what these laws did. In some cases individuals who would today be treated as victims of sexual abuse were charged with criminal offences such as buggery.
In 2014 the Victorian government legislated to erase the criminal records of homosexual men who were convicted for having consensual sex in the past when it was illegal. The Victorian government made a formal state apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts on 23 May 2016, so this is something I thought this government had well and truly corrected.
But it appears not in respect of the Worker Screening Act, a supposedly modern piece of legislation, introduced in 2020—it still has the offences of buggery in it. So the action I seek is that the minister move immediately to remedy this aspect of law that discriminates against gay Victorians.
Fiona Patten MP
Leader of Reason
Member for Northern Metropolitan Region
Adjournment matter 6/4/22
