I contribute to debate on the Health Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2023. The bill proposes to make a range of amendments to various health‑related Acts, eight in total. However, it is the Human Tissue Act 1983 that I will pay particular attention to in my contribution. The bill amends the Human Tissue Act to clarify that a donor's next of kin may consent to the release of information about the donor when the donor has, sadly, passed away. Specifically, section 37 of the Human Tissue Act creates an offence for medical practitioners or staff at a hospital where a transplant occurred to publicly release information about an organ donor or recipient except in limited circumstances, including with the consent of the donor or recipient. Concern has been raised that section 37 may limit the ability of families to publicly talk about a deceased organ donor. While the Act does not prohibit family members from speaking about their loved one's experience, the aim of the bill is to clarify that family members are not prevented from sharing information about a deceased donor.

On Friday 1 September many members would have donned a jersey for Jersey Day. I donned my Liverpool third kit, which is red and green, sharing its colours with South Sydney. Souths and Liverpool are two of my favourite sporting clubs. As members know, Jersey Day celebrates the life of Nathan Gremmo. Nathan passed away at 13 years of age, but the donation of his organs saved six people. We celebrate that each and every year. It is a wonderful occasion where people of all ages put their jerseys on and push what is a wonderful cause. It would be a tragedy if, through some unintended drafting, his family and that organisation were unable to do the amazing work they do. This particular amendment clears that up. It means that other families and friends can go out there and speak about the amazing contribution their loved one may have made through organ donation.

I am passionate about organ donation. Members might not know that very few people can become an organ donor when they pass away. There are specific criteria. A person must die in a hospital in specific circumstances in an intensive care unit or emergency department. The organs need to be functioning well to be considered for transplantation. Only around 2 per cent of people who die in Australian hospitals meet those criteria. Around 1,400 of the 80,000 people who die in Australian hospitals do so in a way that allows their organs to be considered for donation. Sadly, there are about 1,800 Australians on the waitlist for an organ transplant and 14,000 people who are on dialysis several times a week waiting for their kidney transplant. In fact, just before I came down to the House I had a meeting with the Meningitis Centre Australia and heard from someone who has been battling the effects of meningitis infection. She was lucky enough to receive her kidney transplant a few years ago—quite a coincidence. It is wonderful that the bill makes that easier for people.

While the majority of Australians support organ and tissue donation, only around one in three is registered to be a donor. Members may remember years ago we ticked a box on our driver licence. That is not the way to do it any more. There is now the Australian Organ Donor Register. I have long been registered as an organ donor and I encourage everyone to look into it, do the research and seriously consider being an organ donor. I am glad that we are here today making amendments to allow families to speak on the amazing impact that their loved ones may have made in the act of donating their organs. I commend the bill to the House.