Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I try to be; I'm a very nosy person! But this is getting right down into the detail, as I knew you would. The proposed amendments to the responsible person definition for government entities reflect the different levels of responsibility in government organisations, especially where the registered provider is a state or territory as a body politic. They also bring the definition of responsible person back into line with the current definition of key personnel from section 8B of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018, which exempts government providers from the equivalent paragraphs.

These amendments are important, as the definition of responsible person is used throughout the Aged Care Bill 2024, not just in the context of new statutory duties on aged-care providers. Without them, the definition of responsible persons in clauses 12(1)(a) and 12(1)(b) of the bill would potentially apply to a large number of individuals, including ministers and executives of departments of state, who have limited oversight of the aged care services delivered by one part of the entity. Such a large list of responsible persons would make it difficult to identify with precision who is accountable for aged-care regulatory matters and impede the effective enforcement action. It would also involve significant administrative effort in reporting these responsible persons and assessing their suitability, and take the regulator away from focusing on matters that could directly impact quality and safe care being delivered to older people. The proposed amendments will ensure the definition of a responsible person is consistent with the risk-proportionate approach to regulation intended by the bill. Does that answer your question?