Dr. Cameron McLaren:

That is a very good question because at the time you are drafting and passing the legislation, you do not have control over the regulations and procedures that will then ensure the activity of the legislation. The individual forms that we have to fill out with patients are in our legislation. They are not in our regulations or policies. We found errors in those forms in terms of how the patients flow through the process such as, for example, with intravenous administration, we still have to appoint a contact person who is responsible for the medication. That medication is never in the possession of the patient or the contact person but is dispensed to the practitioner. There are certain things that are unexpected and were unforeseen. We try to explain to those who act as contact people for loved ones, which is a role many people feel is a burden. If it is not necessary, we should not burden that loved one any more. We would like that to be changed but we cannot change it until there is a proper legislative review. It would be important to consider how much one can trust the regulations to ensure a certain step is included at that stage and not necessarily in the legislation. The legislation needs to be very clear about for whom it is intended, the eligibility criteria and the overarching process but much of the nitty-gritty has been over-legislated in Victoria, in particular. That was a by-product of it being the first state to legislate and everyone wanting to ensure it was as safe as possible, which was admirable. However, parts of what was done could have been brought in at the next level.