Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aged Care, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Santoro, the Minister for Health and Ageing. Can the minister confirm that 217 aged care facilities have still not complied with the Commonwealth’s fire safety standards that were required by December 2005? Can the minister advise how many of the 217 facilities have had their certification reviewed, given that is what the department’s website says will happen in the event of noncompliance? Given that we are now almost one year on from this compliance deadline, when will all the facilities actually meet the fire safety standards the government said would be met a year ago? What guarantee can the minister give to residents in these 217 non-compliant facilities that the facilities will be upgraded to meet current Commonwealth fire safety standards by the end of 2006?