Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher is correct; the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner does report on a quarterly basis, as is required, and the quality and safety commissioner provides a reporting process to government as well. The expectation of government is that all aged-care providers respond to and comply with the regulatory framework that is in place across the country. My conversation with the quality and safety commissioner is to ensure that the regulatory actions that are being taken by the commission, as an independent agency of government, ensure that they work with the providers to ensure that they are brought to compliance with the requirements of the quality code. That's the requirement. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, as an independent agency, has the responsibility to ensure that it takes appropriate regulatory action and compliance action with respect to what it finds as a result of its inspections and reporting processes. So my expectation is that all providers comply with the quality standards and, again, my expectation of the quality commission is that they ensure that providers do come back to compliance once they have met.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher, a supplementary question?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister confirm that, for the October to December 2019 reporting period, standards were not met in 45 per cent of site audits and 100 per cent of review audits? When did the minister become aware of these alarming results and what immediate action did he take in response to this warning?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I've just said in my answer to the primary question, it is the responsibility of the quality commissioner, as an independent regulator, to take regulatory action and to work with providers to ensure that they bring their compliance back to standard. That's the responsibility of the commission. The Labor Party voted with the government late last year to complete the formation of the quality commission, to bring it under one control, to ensure that we—as has been recommended by a number of reform processes—bring it into one organisation that has regulatory responsibility across the aged-care sector. I expect the providers to meet the standards and the quality commission to fulfil its role, which is to ensure that they do.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher, a final supplementary question?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

From January to March 2020, the latest reporting period, standards were not met in 41 per cent of site audits and 87.5 per cent of review audits. Given that these appalling and shameful audit results came before the series of warnings he ignored, including Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Newmarch House, how can Australians possibly have confidence he will ever protect Australians in aged care?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All of us have our various responsibilities—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What's yours?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

within the government—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Watt.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and within the regulatory process. My expectation as minister is that all providers comply with the quality standards. That is the expectation of the government, and I expect that it's an expectation of all of those who use residential aged care in this country. We all expect high-quality care to be provided by residential aged-care providers, and that's why we have the regulatory frameworks in place. That's why the quality commissioner has the responsibility for the oversight of those regulatory frameworks and of compliance with those frameworks: to ensure that providers conform with those standards.