I thank the Health Committee for its consideration of the bill and appreciate the hard work of the members in considering the submissions. Submitters were almost unanimously supportive of the bill. The Health Committee has examined the bill and recommended that it progress mostly unamended, but with some minor changes to extend the amendments to mental health and addiction support workers employed by clients who may directly receive their own individualised funding, primarily from the Ministry of Health. The committee noted that although these workers and their employers are included in the settlement agreement, the definition of "employer" in the principal Act does not currently cover individually funded clients, this meaning that under the bill as introduced, care workers employed directly by individually funded clients may not consistently receive the pay and conditions they are entitled to under the relevant settlement agreement. 