Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

AGED CARE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (INCREASING CONSUMER CHOICE) BILL 2016

I am pleased to introduce the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Bill 2016.

This Bill creates the legislative framework for a more flexible, consumer driven aged care system that will support older people to remain living at home.

The Bill gives effect to the first stage of the home care reforms announced in the 2015-16 Federal Budget. These changes will provide consumers with more choice and control over their aged care services and will reduce red tape and regulation for aged care providers.

The Government has a strong track record when it comes to aged care. The changes announced in the Budget will build on our successful record and set the platform for future reform.

The 2011 Productivity Commission Caring for Older Australians report identified a number of key weaknesses of the system including that:

The Government has implemented a range of measures to address these weaknesses. Some were started by the previous government but this Government has landed those changes and is going further - moving the system more in line with the Productivity Commission's recommendations.

In January this year, the Government transferred responsibility for the aged care complaints scheme from the Department of Health to the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner creating a more independent and robust approach to complaints.

The My Aged Care Gateway is now supporting people to find their way through the aged care system and, despite some initial difficulties, is now undertaking assessments for those people who need low level care at home. It is increasing its role as the one identifiable place to go for information and support to access aged care.

There has been significant work on addressing inconsistency and inequity in the pricing and consumer contributions to the cost of their care.

The Productivity Commission's report also stated that competition, rather than extensive regulation, is the key to delivering innovative, quality services and an efficient and sustainable system.

The Government maintains a crucial role in setting policy and in ensuring safety and compliance in aged care services. It will be there to promote equity of access, support vulnerable consumers and address market failures.

But it has to be acknowledged that market based solutions and consumer choice will increasingly be the driving force for quality, value and performance of services.

Moving to a market-based system, giving consumers choice and allowing providers to run their own services, is central to the Government's plan for the future.

The aged care system in Australia is world class and well respected, with high quality services that reach and meet the needs of a very diverse population.

However, as people are living longer thanks to better health and better health care, the demands on Australia ' s aged care system are changing. Older Australians want more choice and control over the care they receive. This demand will only increase as the " Boomers " and future generations require aged care services.

The Government ' s home care reforms, announced in last year ' s Budget, place a priority on ensuring choice and flexibility for older people.

At the same time, the reforms will strengthen the aged care system to provide high quality and more innovative services through increased competition.

These reforms will occur in two stages.

From February 2017, home care packages will be allocated to assessed consumers who will be able to direct Government funding to the provider of their choice. Even more importantly they will have the flexibility to change their provider if they want to or if they move to another area or state they can take their package with them.

Once these changes come into effect, providers will no longer have to apply for home care places through the Aged Care Approvals Round, significantly reducing red tape for businesses. The changes will also establish a consistent national approach to prioritising access to care.

This major policy change has received widespread support and the implementation arrangements for these changes have been developed in close consultation with stakeholders, including the National Aged Care Alliance and groups representing consumers, carers and providers.

Building on this first stage, the Government has also clearly signalled its intention to move to a single, integrated care at home programme. The second stage of home care reform, will further simplify the way that services are delivered and funded, and will commence from July 2018.

This next stage provides an opportunity to explore different funding and service delivery models, including activities that promote restorative care and firmly put the consumer in control.

The integration of the Home Care Packages Programme and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme in the second stage will be informed by extensive consultations with stakeholders.

This Bill implements stage one of the reforms and will amend the Aged Care Act 1997 and the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 in three main areas.

Firstly , funding for a home care package will follow the consumer, rather than be allocated to an approved provider in respect of a specific location or region.

This will mean that the consumer will be able to take their package to any approved home care provider – consumers will no longer be restricted to providers that hold an allocation of places. Put simply, a consumer will be able to choose a provider that is suited to them. For example, a consumer may seek a service that specialises in providing linguistically and culturally appropriate care.

A home care package will also be portable for the consumer, if they wish to move location or change to another provider. The package, including any unspent funds, will move with the consumer to their new provider.

Approved providers will no longer have to apply through the Aged Care Approvals Round to receive home care places. This will reduce red tape and also increase competition in the sector by allowing more consumer focussed and innovative providers to expand their businesses to meet local demand and consumer expectations, including the needs of consumers with dementia and other special needs. The current Aged Care Approvals Round is expected to be the last round in which home care places are allocated to approved providers.

Secondly , there will be a consistent national system for prioritising access to subsidised home care. Currently, w aiting lists for packages are managed by individual providers. There can be significant variation in the waiting periods for packages across Australia with no systematic way of measuring or addressing the variation.

Once these changes take effect, there will be a national system to manage eligible consumers ' access to packages within My Aged Care (the aged care gateway). An effective national system is important to ensure there is equitable access to care, as the total number of home care packages will continue to be capped in line with the aged care planning ratio.

A prioritisation process will take into account the relative needs and circumstances of consumers, determined through the comprehensive assessment undertaken by an Aged Care Assessment Team, and the time that a person has been waiting for care. A consumer who has been assigned a package will be supported by My Aged Care with referrals to approved providers, but the consumer will be able to choose which provider delivers their care.

There will be close monitoring of the new arrangements to ensure that all consumers, including people with special needs and those living in rural and regional areas, are able to access care in an equitable manner.

Thirdly , the Bill will reduce the red tape associated with providers becoming approved under the Aged Care Act 1997 .

Increasing the number of approved providers able to provide home care will support greater choice for consumers, but importantly, new providers will still be required to demonstrate their suitability to become an approved provider. All approved providers will need to meet the Home Care Standards and will be subject to independent quality reviews.

The legislative criteria for assessing the suitability of a person to become an approved provider will be streamlined and made more contemporary. This will encourage new providers, including some current Commonwealth Home Support providers, to enter the home care market, expanding the choices available to consumers.

Existing providers of residential and flexible care will also be able to become providers of home care through a simple ' opt-in ' process. This recognises that these providers have already been tested against the standards required to become an approved provider of aged care.

Further, an organisation ' s approval to provide home care will commence as soon as the approval is granted and will not lapse. Currently, approved provider status lapses after two years if the provider does not hold an allocation of places. To streamline the approved provider arrangements, the lapsing provision will be removed across all care types – home care, residential care and flexible care.

The changes proposed in this Bill are an important step in reforming the home care system so that older Australians have more choice and flexibility to receive care and services at home.

The changes also lay the platform for future aged care reforms, which will be informed by, and developed with, the Aged Care Sector Committee Roadmap for Reform.

TAX LAWS AMENDMENT (NORFOLK ISLAND CGT) BILL 2016

This bill amends the income tax laws to implement improvements to Australia's tax laws.

This bill will provide a full capital gains tax (CGT) exemption on assets held by Norfolk Island residents, to assist the Norfolk Island community in transitioning into Australia's mainstream taxation system.

On 14 May 2015, the Parliament passed the Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015 ending decades of uncertainty for the residents of Norfolk Island. The Australian Government will integrate Norfolk Island with mainland social security systems, including access to Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Immigration, customs and quarantine services will also be extended from 1 July 2016.

Norfolk Island residents will begin to fully apply the mainstream taxation system to all of their income for the first time and gain access to a broad range of Australian Government programs to help improve vital infrastructure and other community assets.

Following further consultation with the community, it was found that a historical lack of formal documentation for asset sales, as well as cultural practices relating to inheritance assets, are likely to inhibit the legislated application of CGT in some instances. To address these concerns, this bill will provide a full CGT exemption on assets held by Norfolk Island residents prior to 24 October 2015, the day after the exemption was announced.

This exemption will apply to those Norfolk Island assets that were exempt from CGT before Norfolk Island was fully brought within Australia's mainstream tax system. Similar to the treatment of assets when CGT was first introduced in Australia in 1985, these assets will continue to be exempt until a CGT event happens (for example, the asset is sold).

The CGT exemption demonstrates the Government's commitment to actively and regularly engage with the Norfolk Island community to ensure all residents have significant input into their future governance including through the Norfolk Island Advisory Council.

This exemption is part of a broader reform package which addresses longstanding issues facing Norfolk Island, which were explored in a Royal Commission, numerous reports, twelve Parliamentary enquiries and submissions over a 35-year period.

The Australian Government is committed to delivering the broad reform package with a focus on economic growth and prosperity for Norfolk Island.

Unlike any other community of its size, Norfolk Island has been required to deliver its own local, state and federal services since 1979. Asking a community of around 1800 people to deliver federal functions (such as immigration, quarantine and customs, social services and taxation), and state and local government services, is neither appropriate nor sustainable.

The reality is, much infrastructure on Norfolk Island is in poor condition, the health system will be improved by better delivery of health and aged care services and many laws will be modernized to reflect those in other Australian jurisdictions.

This is why the Government is putting in place the necessary structural reforms to improve service delivery and boost economic growth, whilst preserving the island's culture and local representation through concessions such as the CGT exemption in this bill.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Norfolk Island community to progress these important reforms.

Full details of the measure are contained in the explanatory memorandum.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that the resumption of the debate be made an order of the day for a later hour.

Ordered that the bills be listed on the Notice Paper as separate orders of the day.