Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response No. 2) Bill 2021. This bill is part of our government's commitment to undertaking significant reform of the aged-care system to ensure that it meets the needs of senior Australians. The bill amends a number of acts to implement changes in response to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and delivers the second stage of reforms—

(Quorum formed) As I was saying, this bill amends a number of acts to implement changes in response to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and it delivers the second stage of reforms following the royal commission's final report. The bill will introduce a new subsidy calculation to fund approved providers, strengthen provider governance arrangements and financial accountability and expand the functions of the pricing authority. It also extends the Serious Incident Response Scheme, helps establish a nationally consistent preemployment screening process for aged-care workers, provides the basis for an enforceable code of conduct and enhances information sharing between the aged-care and disability sectors.

I want to touch on a small number of these changes in more detail, starting with reforms to the aged-care subsidy for providers. Currently, funding levels for residential aged-care services are determined using an outdated aged-care funding instrument. This doesn't effectively differentiate between residents in terms of the costs of delivering their care, it's resulted in volatile revenues for providers and it requires residential aged-care workers to dedicate time to assess residents for funding rather than actually focusing on providing the care and the support they need. The introduction of a new funding model and a new specialist assessment workforce will help to assist in addressing these issues. From 1 October next year, subsidies paid to providers for permanent residential care and respite care will consist of a fixed component to account for costs across all care recipients and a variable component based on each individual recipient's needs. These amendments will create an efficient, effective and stable funding approach to promote investment in residential aged-care refurbishment and expansion, boosting the sector and ensuring its long-term sustainability.

There are a number of aged-care providers in my electorate of Robertson and, indeed, right across the Central Coast. They provide a home to so many senior Australians who live locally in what I consider to be the very best region in the very best country in the world. Examples of some of our outstanding aged-care provider services includes Peninsula Village, a group of three retirement homes that care for many locals. Peninsula Village are an integral part of our local community. They are involved with a number of local organisations, including the outstanding Umina Beach Men's Shed, located alongside, who recently donated four sensory boards for residents with dementia or memory loss.

BlueWave Living is based in Woy Woy, and it operates not-for-profit residential aged-care services. One of the things I really appreciate about BlueWave is the absolutely beautiful and extraordinary Anzac Day service that they hold every single year at their venue. Residents contribute to a handknitted poppy wall which includes some purple poppies, reminding us of the sacrifice of the animals who also died in the war. It's a very poignant reminder. Contributions are made by residents every year. It is such a fitting tribute to those who have served our country, and many stay to chat afterwards, sharing stories of their own experiences when they were young. Aurrum, at Kincumber, is another great provider on the Central Coast. I visited the facility to have a look at some of the upgrades that have been completed and to look at their incredible community garden, which has really become a favourite among residents. It really is a lovely space and one that many residents are rightly very proud of. These are just a few examples of some of the many aged-care providers on the Central Coast.

To assist aged-care providers, the government has announced a substantial funding uplift to residential aged care in the 2021-22 budget. This includes $3.9 billion in increased funding from October next year to support providers to increase direct care for residents and to meet the new mandatory care time standards. A two-year $53.3 million transition fund will also be established to assist providers who may need support during the transition to the new model. I hope that these amendments will benefit providers across our region and enable them to continue to offer the very best quality care to local residents, because it's so important that we as a government ensure that every aged-care provider is delivering the world-leading care that every resident deserves. After all, these aren't just aged-care facilities. They are places that our senior Australians call their home, and each and every resident deserves to feel valued, supported and cared for in their home, because our senior Australians deserve the very best care. Their contribution to local communities around our nation have helped to craft Australia into the great nation that we are today, and we as the next generation are all better off because of their service and their commitment.

This bill also strengthens the legislative arrangements to improve the governance of providers, and the amendments will introduce new reporting responsibilities for approved providers and their governing bodies to improve transparency and accountability and drive cultural change from the top down. This will help to strike a balance between giving providers the resources they need and ensuring oversight and accountability so residents see improved outcomes. Another key amendment relates to regulating the aged-care workforce to ensure high standards of care are delivered to those who need it. These changes respond to the royal commission's recommendation to strengthen regulation of the personal care workforce. The bill will also help to establish nationally consistent pre-employment screening of aged-care workers by replacing existing police check obligations and provides the basis for a national database of cleared and excluded individuals.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner will be given powers to enforce a code of conduct that applies to approved providers and aged-care workers. The commissioner will be able to deal with alleged breaches of the code, including having the ability to apply for a civil penalty order and, in the case of individuals, imposing a banning order restricting them from being involved in the aged-care sector. These penalties ensure both providers and workers are held accountable for poor conduct and protect our vulnerable senior Australians. At the same time, the bill extends the Serious Incident Response Scheme to providers of home care to ensure action is taken to prevent incidents from reoccurring. There are currently no mandatory incident reporting requirements for providers of home care or flexible care delivered in the home and community, meaning there's no oversight of allegations of abuse and neglect of senior Australians receiving care in these settings. The bill introduces new responsibilities for providers of in-home services to identify, record, manage and resolve all incidents and the reporting of serious incidents. The focus of the scheme is on a provider's response to an incident and the supports that they put in place for those affected as well as the actions that they take to continuously improve and reduce the likelihood of incidents reoccurring. The commission will be notified of serious incidents and will be able to oversee the management of reported issues and ensure compliance with the scheme. They'll also be able to analyse reportable incidents based on a range of factors and use this data to drive education campaigns to address common issues.

All of these measures will assist in reducing the risk of harm arising from abuse and neglect of those receiving in-home aged-care services. I never, ever want to hear another story like some of the ones that we heard during the royal commission. We heard stories of some of our most vulnerable senior Australians being mistreated or neglected or not being afforded the respect that they deserve. After all, they are our mothers, our fathers, our grandfathers and our grandmothers. They're our great-grandparents and our great-great-grandparents who have cared for us deeply, who have contributed to this nation so strongly and who we all care about so much. We owe it to all of them to make sure that their senior years are filled with proper care and where their home is in a place with the highest standard of care and attention and the utmost respect and consideration. So I do commend this bill to the House, as it will help to deliver on the federal government's promise to reform the aged-care sector and to provide better care for our senior Australians.

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