House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Aged Care, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP)

Outline

Purpose

The Bill amends the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Aged Care Act) and the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency Act 2013 (the Quality Agency Act) to:

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make provision for a single set of aged care quality standards (the Aged Care Quality Standards), to be implemented in the Quality of Care Principles, that apply to all aged care providers under the Aged Care Act; and

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vary the functions of the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency (Quality Agency) to reference the Aged Care Quality Standards.

The Bill also amends the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to ensure that documents containing protected information acquired by the Quality Agency in the course of its functions are exempt from disclosure. The unauthorised disclosure of protected information is a criminal offence.

Background

Implementing the Aged Care Quality Standards contributes to the establishment of a single consolidated and streamlined quality framework for all aged care services as announced in the 2015-16 Budget.

Under the existing quality framework, aged care providers funded under the Aged Care Act and/or the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 (the ACTP Act) Act are required to meet one or more sets of aged care quality standards depending on the type of care that the service delivers (set out in Division 54 of the Aged Care Act and the Quality of Care Principles). These standards include:

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accreditation standards for residential care;

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home care standards for home care; and

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flexible care standards for short term restorative care.

The Bill enables the implementation of the Aged Care Quality Standards that would replace the existing standards applicable to residential, home and flexible care services.

Consultation

Since September 2015, the Department has been working closely with stakeholders to develop the single quality framework.

As part of the consultation process, the Department has met with relevant Commonwealth agencies and a wide range of stakeholders to seek input on the content of the quality standards. Consultations have occurred with aged care sector committees, technical advisory groups, industry and consumer stakeholder bodies, other Commonwealth agencies (including the Department of Social Services, the National Disability Insurance Agency, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care). In addition, the Department released a consultation paper on draft quality standards, titled 'Single Aged Care Quality Framework - Draft Quality Standards Consultation Paper 2017' which received over 200 submissions.

There was support for a single set of standards, applicable across all aged care programs. Stakeholders noted that this would reduce duplication of effort for providers delivering more than one type of service and be of greater value to consumers.

However, there were questions raised about whether the proposed implementation date from 1 July 2018 would be achievable, noting transitional arrangements need to provide sufficient time for the sector to prepare, including modifying their current quality frameworks and educating staff and consumers about the changes.

As a result of these concerns, a 12 month transition period is proposed through the 1 July 2019 commencement of the amendments in this Bill.

Financial Impact Statement

The Bill does not have a financial impact.