Chiropractors

SOCIAL SERVICES SELECT COMMITTEE
9 February 2000
COMMITTEE PROGRAMME; CHIROPRACTORS, HOMEOPATHS AND ALLIED HEALTH SERVICE PROFESSIONS AMENDMENT BILL

Documents handed out:
Chiropractors, Homeopaths and Allied Health Service Professions Amendment Bill: Summary (see Appendix 2)
Draft Committee Programme (see Appendix 1)
Report on the Chiropractors, Homeopaths and Allied Health Service Professions Interim Council (email [email protected] for this)

MINUTES
Chiropractors, Homeopaths and Allied Health Service Professions Amendment Bill.
Ms L Jacobus (Chairperson, ANC) informed the Committee that the draft Bill seeks to extend the term of office of the Interim Council retrospectively, with effect from 13 February 1999. She said the aim is to allow the Interim Council to finalise the discharge of its mandate and to prepare for the elections of a permanent Council.

Non Profit Organisations Bill and the Welfare Governance Bill
These two Welfare Department bills are currently with the State Law Advisors and it is hoped that they will be ready for the next parliamentary session.

Committee Programme
The Committee adopted the draft committee programme for this quarter.

Appendix 1
SELECT COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SERVICES DRAFT PROGRAMME -
1^ST QUARTER (2000)

Appendix 2:
Chiropractors, Homeopaths and Allied Health Service Professions Amendment Bill

SUMMARY:
In February 1996 the Chiropractors, Homeopaths and Allied Health Service
Professions Interim Council ("Interim Council") was established to replace
the old Chiropractors, Homeopaths and Allied Health Service Professions
Council.

The main objective of the Interim Council is to make recommendations to the Minister of Health on the constitution of a new permanent council still to be established. However, the term of office of the Interim Council expired on 12 February 1999 before the permanent Council could be established. Because there was no permanent council at the time of the expiry of the term of office of the Interim Council, the latter had to continue to exist to regulate the day to day activities of the relevant professions.
The draft Bill seeks to extend the term of office of the Interim Council retrospectively, with effect from 13 February 1999 so that the Interim Council can finalise the discharge of its mandate and to prepare for the elections of the permanent Council.

DISCUSSION:
The draft Bill has three clauses.
Clause 1 amends the time frame within which the Interim Council has to discharge its mandate referred to above. The current framework within which the mandate has to be discharged is 36 months. Clause 1 seeks to amend the framework from 36 months to 60 months.

Clause 2 seeks to amend the term of office of the Interim Council. The current term of office of the Interim Council is 36 months. Clause 2 seeks to amend the term of office from 36 to 60 months. The rationale for extending the term of office of the Interim Council from 36 to 60 months is to enable the Interim Council to finalise the discharge of its mandate including the electoral process for the permanent Council and also to enable the Department to finalise the general amendments to the Principal Act.

Clause 3 seeks to make the extension of the term of office of the Interim Council from 36 to 60 retrospective. The retrospective application of the Bill (an Act after it has been passed by Parliament) is necessary because as stated under the Summary above, the term of office of the Interim Council expired in February 1999. The delay in extending the term of office of the Interim Council before the term of office expired was occasioned by an oversight on the part of the Department.

The Department omitted to amend the principal Act before the expiry of the term of office of the Interim Council as since the beginning of 1999, immediately after receiving the Portfolio Committee on Health's report on the proposed permanent council's structure, the Department has been busy drafting a general amendment to the Principal Act on the basis of the recommendations submitted and it was not envisaged that the process would take long to finalise.

CONSTITUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS:
The Bill, when passed will apply retrospectively. As the provisions of the draft bill do not violate individuals constitutional rights, we are of the view that its retrospective application is not unconstitutional_.