Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill – Second Reading speech

Tuesday 29 November 2022 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:30): I rise to speak in support of the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill 2022. As we know, a heart attack can occur at any time, and quick action is crucial to give people the best chance of survival. Approximately 30,000 Australians suffer a cardiac arrest every year. The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are significantly higher when a person receives early life support in the form of CPR and the use of an AED. That is why it is important for an automated external defibrillator (AED) to be available. 

The Heart Foundation advise that time is everything in a cardiac arrest; every minute without defibrillation to restart the heart reduces the chance of surviving by 10 per cent. If bystanders have not been trained in CPR, it simply means time is being wasted. Public access to AEDs will reduce this risk. AEDs are fairly easy to use and everyone can be trained to use them from a young age. Once it is turned on, they step you through the process, so you can set out the AED while another person is performing CPR. 

I thank the Hon. Frank Pangallo for introducing this bill in the other place and am pleased that our Labor government is supporting its passage through this house, unlike the former government, which failed to prioritise this life-saving bill. They were a government that did not prioritise health, unlike this government, which is delivering more ambulances, more paramedics, significant investment in hospitals, including a new Women's and Children's Hospital, and significant investment in Country Health. 

I was pleased to join the Minister for Health last week and speak with some of the 32 new paramedics hitting the roads of the southern and western suburbs, servicing the state's busiest areas of Adelaide and adding 23,000 hours of annual crewing to care for South Australians. The new crews, supported by an additional four ambulance vehicles for Marion and Edwardstown, form part of the Malinauskas Labor government's $124 million investment for 350 more ambos. 

The paramedics are split evenly across the two locations—16 for Marion and 16 for Edwardstown—but the Edwardstown crew will initially join crews at the Marion station before a brand-new Edwardstown station is built, with land searches currently underway: a government delivering on its election promises, a government that cares about South Australians. 

This bill will require the installation and registration of AEDs in certain buildings, facilities and vehicles. This is an important measure to protect our community, ensuring access to potentially life-saving equipment when it is needed most. Importantly, an AED cannot do any harm to someone who is unconscious. An electric shock is only distributed if it is required. It is very safe technology, and we often see cases where an AED has been the difference between a person living, to enjoy more time with their family and friends, or passing away. 

The coverage of AEDs across the designated buildings and facilities will ensure that South Australians have access to these easy-to-use devices most of the time. If there is not an AED in the building where it is needed, there will be one close by. This is important; as I said earlier, seconds are critical during a cardiac arrest. I encourage all local community clubs and public buildings across my electorate, if they do not already have one, to make the small investment of the less than $3,000 to purchase an AED. 

I also remind everyone to ensure they check the pads and batteries in their AED regularly. It is important that the state government also makes AEDs available, so I am pleased that this bill will mandate an AED in SA Ambulance vehicles, Metropolitan Fire Service trucks and SES vehicles. I commend this bill to the house.