Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I think I follow your question. The point I think you are asking about is: if a residential aged-care facility has a missing person, the residential aged-care facility contacts the police—that is correct—and then the next thing the RCF has to do is contact the department. That is what we are requiring through the principles. You are suggesting that, following that, sanctions may be applied. I think there is a big jump between the point at which there is contact with the department and what might happen after that. The purpose of contacting the department is so that the department can be assured—and there will be a range of ways that that assurance can be achieved—that the residents in the facility are not at risk. Most of the time when a person goes missing it is because of a form of dementia. On the odd occasion—and it is a very unusual occasion—there are unsafe practices occurring. If that is the case, the government is of the view that we need to be assured that the residents in the facility are safe. To extrapolate from that event to sanctions being applied is a huge jump. If the department were concerned that the facility was not safe, if there was an honest fear, then I think you would ask for the accreditation agency to come in and have a look at the facility. If there were a concern, then that process would be started. But to go from reporting a missing resident to the imposition of a sanction is a massive jump.