Investor Presentaiton
Our system manager function
Abortion Legislation Reform Bill 2023
On 21 June 2023, the State Government introduced proposed reforms
to existing abortion legislation to improve access to safe and timely
abortion care in WA. The proposed changes will include abortion in the
Public Health Act 2016 and remove it from the Criminal Code.
The Bill will address inequity of access in line with other Australian
jurisdictions and remove clinically unnecessary barriers for women
accessing abortion. During the consultation period over 17,000
responses were received from the community. Responses indicated
overwhelming community and medical practitioner support for change.
Figure 1: Abortion legislation community consultation
A total of
17,514
Gender
Female
Male Other
14,188 2,731 241
81.0% 15.6% 1.4%
Place of residence
responses were received
Respondent experience
of abortion services
Patient or support person
3,241 18.5%
WA residents
16,026
91.5%
Metro
13,133
75.0%
Regional/remote
2,257
12.9%
Abortion service provider
276 1.6%
of respondents of respondents of respondents
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 per cent due to some respondents electing not to answer
all questions, or all parts of each question; and/or due to rounding of whole numbers.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Health (the Director General) is
responsible for carrying out the system manager role for the WA health system
under the Health Services Act 2016. The system manager operates at arm's
length from health service delivery and is responsible for providing stewardship,
strategic leadership and direction for the WA health system, and to allocate
resources for the provision of public health services in the state. The department
is part of the WA health system and supports the Director General in performing
system manager functions.
Health service providers (HSP) form the remainder of the WA health system. They
are established as statutory authorities and are each governed by a board and/or
chief executive. These statutory authorities are responsible and accountable for
delivering public health services or health support services as prescribed through
service agreements between the Director General and each HSP. The service
agreements define and detail the scope of services, targeted levels of activity,
performance requirements, and roles and responsibilities of the system manager
and the HSP.
Mental health, alcohol and drug health services are purchased from HSPs by the
Mental Health Commission through service agreements. These agreements are
enabled via a Head Agreement between the department and the Mental Health
Commission, provided for within the Health Services Act 2016.
In performing the role of system manager, the Director General also issues
binding policy frameworks to HSPs to ensure service coordination, integration,
effectiveness, efficiency and accountability in the provision of health services.
The WA health system is also directed to operate under the Outcome Based
Management Framework to provide a systematic approach to improving results
through evidence-based decision-making, improved transparency and an
increased focus on accountability for performance.
Figure 2 describes the governance relationships between the system manager,
the department, HSPs and the Mental Health Commission.
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Contents
About us Significant issues Report on operations Agency performance Operational disclosures
Key performance indicators • Financial disclosures and compliance • AppendixView entire presentation