Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Congratulations to our new senator, and it was a lovely speech. Talking about lovely speeches, it was following on from Senator Payman, who also made her contribution earlier this afternoon about her personal experience as a member of the UWU, over in Western Australia, and placed on the record her experience in terms of the aged-care crisis that this country, sadly, has had to confront and, thankfully, now the Albanese government is taking seriously to fix.

It's no secret that aged care is in crisis and has been for the last decade, but over the past several years the terrible state of Australia's aged-care system has been, sadly, a recurring headline. As we've heard, advocates, unions and the Labor Party when we were in opposition were, for a number of years, calling on the coalition government to take serious action to address the issues that the aged-care sector was facing. They were eventually dragged, kicking and screaming, to establish a royal commission into our aged-care industry. By the time we got to the federal election this year it had been well over a year since the royal commission had handed down its report. I would like to quote a particular aspect of that report for the benefit of the Senate and those who might be listening this evening. The commissioners said:

The extent of substandard care in Australia's aged care system reflects both poor quality on the part of some aged care providers and fundamental systemic flaws with the way the Australian aged care system is designed and governed.

They went on to say:

People receiving aged care deserve better. The Australian community is entitled to expect better.

It's important to pull out that recommendation from some of the commentary from the fine commissioners because it does shine a light on the core issues we are facing now as a parliament. Thankfully, the Albanese government is prepared to roll up its sleeves and tackle the aged-care crisis head-on. We saw awful standards of treatment of those who needed so much from their government in desperate times in care. We saw examples, sadly, where maggots were in the wounds of residents. Two-thirds of residents were malnourished or at risk of being malnourished. This is absolutely shocking evidence that should have driven the previous government to take urgent action. But, no, what we saw was denial—heads in the sand, pretence that there was no crisis. Again, they were dragged, kicking and screaming, to finally set up a royal commission and take the issue seriously, but today, more than 16 months since the royal commission handed down its report, you would struggle to find an aged-care resident or worker who would say the situation had actually improved. Sadly, we have a lot of work to do. The government has no qualms about it; we will address the issues and address each of the recommendations that were put forward by the royal commissioners.

Sadly, those opposite, the conservative side of politics, were so resistant to a royal commission into aged care because they knew it would show a very ugly picture. Even without a royal commission, there were horror stories in the media every week. It was completely shameful that the coalition resisted calls for a royal commission because they knew it would be politically inconvenient, but that was always the approach that those opposite, the coalition, took. The crisis was never a call to action; it was a political inconvenience, and that was how the Liberals and Nationals treated the report that was handed down by the royal commission. There were maggots in wounds, there was malnourishment, and in 2020 11,000 people died while waiting for an aged-care package. This situation was laid out in front of the coalition and they failed.

So it's great that those opposite expect to vote for this legislation today, but I think it's important that we all remember how we got here—what it took to finally get real action to improve our aged-care sector. It took a change of government. A Labor government has brought forward this legislation, one of our first pieces of legislation. This bill, the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022, responds to several of the recommendations from the royal commission into aged care. It makes a series of important changes that will improve the health, safety and wellbeing of older Australians. People have paid taxes all their lives, and all they expect is that if they're ever put in a vulnerable situation the government will be on their side.

These changes that the Albanese the government is proposing will, I believe, assist older Australians and their families. It's not just about those who are in aged-care facilities. It's also about trying to take some of the burden off those families who are helping their loved ones while they are in the care of our fantastic aged-care workers, who do an outstanding job and have done so in the last couple of years in particular, in the midst of COVID. I also want to give a shout-out to those who are looking after my aunt and uncle who are currently in an aged-care facility. I know there are continuous outbreaks of COVID, and those workers do an outstanding job, particularly with what they've had to go through in my home state of Victoria. I can't thank them enough for the great work that they do day in, day out.

The changes before the parliament that the Albanese government is proposing are introducing a new aged-care subsidy calculation; providing a legislative basis for the star rating system; introducing a code of conduct and banning order scheme; extending the Serious Incident Response Scheme to aged care delivered in home settings; strengthening the governance of approved providers, and I think that's a very important area of concern that we saw play out over the last couple of years; enhancing information-sharing across related sectors; increasing financial and prudential oversight; broadening the functions of the renamed Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority; and addressing the issues with the informed consent arrangements in respect of the use of restrictive practices in residential aged care.

I don't propose to go into any greater detail. I just wanted to provide a very brief contribution today in the Senate. I know there have been others, as we heard earlier today, from those who have been very involved in this sector. I want to stress that it is important and good to see that colleagues on the other side of the chamber are looking at supporting the legislation that the government has put forward. These are very, very important changes, important reforms, and many were recommended some time ago by the royal commission into aged care. But, now that we have a Labor government, I'm glad that we are finally getting on with the job of implementing these essential changes, and I hope that everyone in this chamber can support this necessary and urgent legislation, because, quite frankly, older Australians deserve so much better than the neglect and the abuse that they've experienced over many years.

Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022. As its title describes, this bill legislates several recommendations from the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. All but one of the measures in this bill were included in the former government's bill, which lapsed when the last parliament was prorogued. The one new measure relates to star ratings that will provide greater transparency and accountability in the aged-care system. Star ratings will be published online for all residential aged-care services so that everyone will be able to make more-informed decisions about aged-care providers.

I agree with the royal commission's observations that it's critical for the public to have good information about the performance of individual services. The system of star ratings will be an essential tool in differentiating between aged-care services—essential both to those who are needing to choose an aged-care provider and to those who are receiving those services. As the royal commission said, people receiving aged care have 'a right to know about the performance of their service provider and alternatives so that they can make informed decisions about whether to change providers'. Then, of course, families and friends, advocacy organisations, policymakers, legislators and the media should also be able to access the information and guidance that a star rating system will provide.

The star rating system that Labor's legislation will deliver will replace the service compliance rating system which the last government introduced. That system, as the royal commission reported, falls well short of what is needed. That's because, under that inadequate and discredited system, services that meet all minimum standards and have no current sanctions are automatically given the highest ratings. That's not good enough in our book because that rating system does not differentiate between providers who just meet the standards and those who are outstanding. Our scheme will allow older people and their families to make meaningful comparisons of the quality and safety performances of providers.

Our rating system will give comfort and confidence to both those needing to enter aged care and those who are already receiving care. A good rating will be a reflection of good governance, and this bill will serve to strengthen the governance of approved providers. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner will be given powers to take enforcement action for substantiated breaches, such as being able to issue a civil penalty or a banning order. The royal commission was not impressed with the quality of governance across the aged-care sector. It's pretty clear that was the case. The commission gained plenty of evidence to support its findings that the level of substandard care was 'unacceptably high', to put it mildly. As it said in its final report, if all aged-care providers had good governance arrangements in place, it is highly likely that the level of substandard care would reduce significantly.

The final report quotes the Governance Institute of Australia, which explains that values and behaviours determine and define organisational culture. The governance arrangements reflect and promote the culture of an organisation. We in the government agree with the royal commission that the existing governance arrangements and requirements do not provide a sufficiently strong basis for the governance and leadership of aged-care providers. From 1 December this year, approved providers and their governing bodies will be required to meet new responsibilities. The new measures will improve leadership and culture. The emphasis here will be on transparency and accountability to ensure that the focus of approved providers from the top down is in the interests of those in care.

New reporting responsibilities will help those in care and their families better understand the operations of providers. Approved providers will be required to notify the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission of changes to key personnel. Further, there will be increased financial and prudential oversight of the aged-care sector. In particular, this legislation will increase financial and prudential oversight of refundable accommodation deposits and bonds. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner or the secretary will be able to request information or documentation from a provider or borrower of a loan made using a refundable accommodation deposit or bond. It will be an offence if a borrower does not comply with a request. Rigorous financial and prudential oversight was seen by the royal commission as critical if we are going to see any improvement in the aged-care system. It will protect taxpayers' investment in aged-care services and will help identify potential risks to the quality and safety of aged care.

While I'm on the subject of safety, it is important to note that this bill will expand the Serious Incident Response Scheme from residential care to home care and flexible care delivered in a home or community setting, from 1 December 2022. The royal commission noted that the need for oversight of allegations of abuse and neglect in home settings will increase as more people receive aged care in their homes for longer. Those people will also most likely have increased level of frailty, cognitive impairment, or both. As the commission said:

Frailty is directly linked to vulnerability.

Any serious incident response scheme must have the capability to detect patterns in reports that indicate an ongoing risk to the safety of people receiving aged care services.

The royal commission heard a litany of horror stories of abuse and exploitation of elderly people in care. This legislation will ensure that individuals, including persons with a disability, who are subjected to cruelty and inhumane or degrading treatment can be assured that the incident will be promptly reported and impartially examined by the relevant authorities. Further, it extends protections for people who report abuse or neglect so that they don't face repercussions such as civil or criminal liabilities for reporting an incident.

This legislation is long overdue, and that's why the Albanese Labor government has introduced this bill at the very first available opportunity in this 47th Parliament. The Albanese government is determined to protect all people in aged care, especially those at risk of abuse and neglect at the hands of unscrupulous and uncaring operators. We are determined that people who place their elderly and infirm family members in aged care should have peace of mind that their loved ones are being looked after and well looked after. The whole nation has been shocked by the harrowing accounts of abuse and neglect that have been revealed by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, whose investigations and reports have helped to chart this new course of reform. I commend the royal commission for its careful and considered investigation and for its comprehensive report.

This legislation is a first response to that report. We have more legislation in the pipeline that will further improve care and quality standards. The Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill, when it is enacted, will implement another three of Labor's election promises. Importantly, residential care providers from July next year will have to have a registered nurse on site at all times. We also want to cap the amount that providers can charge for administration and management. As the aged care minister, Anika Wells, said when she introduced legislation in the other place last week:

The royal commission report is riddled with examples of people whose lives were up-ended by astronomical fees, by home care packages that were eaten up in administration costs and management charges that reduced care instead of aiding it.

And last, the bill will honour Labor's commitment to better transparency about how much providers spend on care, nursing, food, maintenance, cleaning, administration and profit. The bill will require the secretary to publish this information.

This government is serious about bringing about real change to the aged-care sector. Legislating our concerns will serve to improve the lives of those in care and give comfort to their families, and that cannot come and happen soon enough.

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on and support the measures contained in the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022. For countless generations, elders have provided care, wisdom, guidance and authority over our culture, country and people. Elders have been our story keepers, our protectors of cultural knowledge and teachers of our young people. Their contribution to our culture and to our country is immeasurable. As I touched on in my first speech, I would not be standing here in the Senate today if it were not for my own elders—especially my great-grandmothers, Alice Kelly and Annabelle Jackson, and my grandparents, Alvie and Joe Kelly. Elders, along with all older Australians—including generations of migrant communities—have helped build and create modern-day Australia. Older Australians have worked hard, paid their taxes and raised their families. It is our elderly, and their sacrifices, who have paved the way for us today and for the generations of tomorrow.

Older Australians have every right to expect that the federal government will support them in their later years. That's what they deserve; that's what they've earned after a life contributing to their communities and to our country. However, as tragically exposed through the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the care and treatment of our elderly in aged care has been far from acceptable, to say the least. The royal commission's findings were clear: it exposed an aged-care system that has been in crisis. As the royal commissioners wrote, over the last several decades successive Australian governments have brought a level of ambivalence, timidity and detachment to their approach to aged care. The royal commission heard countless stories of neglect, of a system in crisis and of thousands of Australians crying out for just a little bit better—for just a little care, for just a sense of humanity.

In particular, it was the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison coalition governments that have neglected older Australians and the aged-care system for the best part of a decade. It is a national disgrace. However, I'm proud to be part of an Anthony Albanese Labor government that is committed to fixing the aged-care crisis. In this regard, I would like to acknowledge our new Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells; the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ged Kearney; and the Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, for having hit the ground running to begin the hard work of reforming and rebuilding our aged-care sector.

Just as we promised at the election, the Albanese Labor government will take practical measures consistent with the recommendations contained in the royal commission to ensure older Australians receive the care and dignity they deserve. This bill amends aged-care law and other legislation to implement a series of urgent funding, quality and safety measures, several of which were recommended by the royal commission into aged care. The bill replaces the outdated Aged Care Funding Instrument with a new model for calculating aged-care subsidies called the Australian National Aged Care Classification model, which has been developed in consultation with the aged-care sector and consumer groups. Importantly, the bill includes several measures that will provide additional protections directly to older Australians. These protections cannot be delayed any longer. The Serious Incident Response Scheme will be expanded to establish obligations on approved providers of home care and flexible care in a community setting to report and respond to incidents and to take action to prevent incidents from reoccurring. A new code of conduct will set high standards of behaviour for aged-care workers, approved providers and governing persons of approved providers to ensure they are delivering aged care in a way that is safe, competent and respectful. Improved information-sharing between care and support sector regulators will enable proactive monitoring of cross-sector risks and better protection of consumers and participants from harm. An interim solution for the provision of consent for the use of restrictive practices will also be established while the state and territory consent arrangements are reconsidered.

The bill also includes a series of measures that provide greater transparency and accountability for providers. Star ratings will be published for all residential aged-care services on My Aged Care by the end of 2022. Star ratings will enable senior Australians, their families and carers to make informed decisions about their aged care. From 1 December 2022, approved providers and their governing bodies will be required to meet new responsibilities that will improve governance. Approved providers will be required to notify the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission of changes to key personnel, and the current disqualified individual arrangements will be replaced with a broader suitability test. Amendments will also be made to increase financial and prudential oversight in respect of refundable accommodation deposits and bonds, and the functions of the renamed Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority will be expanded to include the provision of advice on healthcare and aged-care pricing and costing.

The bill makes a series of important and urgent changes that will improve the health, safety and wellbeing of older Australians and will assist older Australians and their families to understand the quality of care and operations of providers. As a First Nations senator, I'm particularly interested in ensuring that policy reform and investment to further enhance aged-care access, service and quality is provided for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, as well as for other marginalised and disadvantaged communities. The royal commission's report, with respect to First Nations peoples' experience of the aged-care system, in talking about First Nations people, stated:

They descend from the first inhabitants of the land we now know as Australia, having developed, over millennia, a rich, varied and unique cultural heritage. In contemporary Australia, Elders and older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 'cultural knowledge holders'. They provide the 'social glue' within their communities. They are central to the continuation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and communities.

However, the royal commission raised serious concerns with the level of access and care provided to support our First Nations elders through the aged-care system, saying:

There is strong evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not access aged care at a rate commensurate with their level of need …

…   …   …

A combination of factors creates barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's access to the aged care system. These arise from social and economic disadvantage, a lack of culturally safe care, and the ongoing impacts of colonisation and prolonged discrimination. Access issues are further compounded by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's additional vulnerability arising from higher rates of disability, comorbidities, homelessness and dementia. To feel secure and obtain culturally safe services, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people prefer to receive services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. However, there are currently not enough Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and other people with high levels of cultural competency, employed across the aged care system.

…   …   …

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people … experience earlier onset of ageing-related conditions and disability compared to the rest of the Australian population. Long-term health conditions affect 88% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 55 years. Dementia is also more prevalent. By any objective measure, they should be receiving proportionately higher levels of aged and health care.

The current aged care system does not ensure culturally safe care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The report also states:

After a lifetime of experiencing marginalisation, discrimination, disadvantage and racism, the Elders and the older people descendent of the first inhabitants of this ancient land deserve better than this.

Furthermore, with respect to non-English speaking communities and other disadvantaged communities' experience with the aged-care system, the royal commission's report found:

Older people who migrated to Australia from non-English speaking countries find it hard to access care that meets their cultural and language needs. Older people with disability receiving aged care do not have access to services and supports at the same level as those provided to people through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Other groups that have experienced trauma, such as veterans, people from LGBTI communities, and care leavers, find it difficult to find care that meets their needs.

This bill, thankfully, begins to make a series of urgent changes that will begin to help improve the health, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, as well as those of older Australians from non-English-speaking and other minority groups in the aged-care sector. As outlined by the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, we have a significant opportunity to continue to enhance aged-care services for elders.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is projected to grow by 59 per cent by 2031, but the 65-and-over Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is projected to grow by 200 per cent by 2031—much faster than the population aged zero to 24, which just sits at just 47 per cent. The rapid population growth is even more prevalent in the cohort of Aboriginal Victorians of retirement age, with this cohort projected to increase by 142 per cent by 2031.

Along with the reforms being introduced today, I look forward to advancing a number of the findings and recommendations contained in the royal commission's final report which will work to enhance options, access and care for the increasing number of First Nations people who will require aged care in the coming years. They include the following.

A Commissioner of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care will oversee the transformation of aged care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and create a new flexibly-funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander run service pathway within the aged care program to deliver culturally safe care.

…   …   …

The pathway should incorporate the best aspects of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFACP), including pooled and flexible funding.

…   …   …

The proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care pathway should be embedded in a single national system available across Australia, bringing culturally safe and flexible aged care that meets the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wherever they live.

I look forward to working with my parliamentary colleagues on helping to progress not only the reforms being debated today but also these future reforms, which will help improve aged-care services for First Nations elders.

In this regard, we do not have to start from scratch. Along with the tremendous work that has been undertaken through the royal commission into aged care and the many submissions provided by stakeholders, when it comes to First Nations aged-care needs, we have pre-existing and longstanding models to draw from and build on. Along with the Rumbalara Elders Facility, which is based in the Shepparton region, Aboriginal Community Elders Services, based in Brunswick in Victoria, have for 31 years operated and served the specific needs of First Nations elders across Melbourne's northern region.

ACES was the first Aboriginal residential aged-care facility established in Victoria and was established due to the tireless work of the late Aunty Iris Lovett-Gardiner and other elders both past and present. They were concerned that elders were dying in mainstream nursing homes without any Aboriginal cultural practices being observed. Since opening their doors in 1991, ACES have been providing invaluable and tailored care to generations of elders through culturally appropriate services and engagements.

I had the pleasure of visiting ACES, along with our then shadow minister for ageing, Clare O'Neil, and the federal member for Wills, Peter Khalil, to announce a $2.1 million election commitment to help ACES continue providing improved service for the growing number of First Nations elders. While the $2.1 million commitment has been warmly welcomed by ACES as it will enable them to upgrade their facilities, as only a 25-bed residential aged-care centre, they will continue to require more investment to expand to cater for the growing number of elders anticipated to require culturally tailored care over the coming years.

In this regard, Labor's broader package to support First Nations aged care contains a number of key elements that will assist across the sector, including investing $115 million to build culturally safe aged-care facilities over four years and $106 million to provide face-to-face support for older First Nations people. This also includes implementation of a Trusted Indigenous Facilitators program to build a First Nations workforce to help individual older First Nations people and their families and carers to access aged-care services that meet their physical and cultural needs. In partnership with the federal government, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation will work with Aboriginal community controlled organisations to assist older First Nations people and their families to navigate and access aged-care services. A workforce of around 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff across Australia will provide this trusted support.

This government is committed to delivering aged-care and health services that meet the needs of our elders and enable them to remain close to their homes and connected to their communities. The royal commission into aged care recommended the government 'ensure that the new aged-care system makes specific and adequate provision for the diverse and changing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people', and so we are doing just that.

Labor has a plan to put security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care. Only an Albanese Labor government will treat older Australians with the respect that they deserve. I commend this bill to the chamber, and I look forward to advancing these reforms and many others we will progress, particularly to ensure we provide better aged-care services for First Nations elders and elders from multicultural communities.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to join with a range of other speakers from the government side of the chamber in commending the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022 and commending both Minister Wells and the government as a whole for bringing this legislation on so early in this term. I think it is a sign of how important the government considers fixing the aged-care system that this is one of the first bills that this parliament will deal with. I think I'm right in saying this is the first bill that the Senate is dealing with in this term of government.

It's been too long since we've had a government in Australia that actually cares about the aged-care system and cares about aged-care residents, their families, and, importantly, the workers who do so much for those we love with so little recognition and so little value for the work they perform. That is something that is going to change under the Albanese Labor government, evidenced by the fact that we are moving so early in this term on this legislation. Australians have been waiting for so long to have a government that takes aged care seriously, that is prepared to fund it properly and is prepared to treat residents, families and workers in the system with respect. This legislation from the Albanese government is the beginning of that.

We've introduced a key piece of aged-care legislation, delivering on the government's promise to ensure that older Australians receive the higher-quality care they deserve. These are our loved ones. These Australians have worked, raised families, paid their taxes and, unfortunately, under the former government, had to experience shocking neglect in the aged-care system. Despite the number of warnings given to the former government, they had to endure those conditions—maggots in wounds; appalling food that you wouldn't feed your dog, let alone your loved ones. This was happening far too often in the aged-care system under the former government. That is what we are about fixing, including via this legislation.

As other speakers have noted, the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022 will deliver critically needed changes for the aged-care system. This legislation will bring in a few key points. It will bring in a new Australian National Aged Care Classification funding model, which will replace the outdated Aged Care Funding Instrument in October 2022, offering more equitable funding that is better matched to providers costs in delivering the care residents need.

Before I go on to mention the other points that this bill deals with, I want to say more about the importance of addressing the funding model. Let's not forget—we should never forget—that the funding model that is being replaced, the Aged Care Funding Instrument, was exactly the funding model that former Prime Minister Morrison, as Treasurer, made adjustments to that starved the aged-care system of the funding it so desperately needed. If you want to look, for one moment in time, what set up the failure of the system, the neglect of the system and the people within it, it was that decision by former Treasurer and former Prime Minister, Mr Morrison, backed by every other member of the former government, that starved the aged-care system of the funding that it so desperately needed.

Senator Polley, if I may, I know that this is something that you often brought up in estimates. We sat through many estimates hearings together talking about this, the decision by the former government that put the brakes on the funding that the aged-care system so desperately needed. So I very much welcome the fact that this new Albanese government will be replacing that Aged Care Funding Instrument to put in place a more modern, more equitable funding system, which will be known as the Australian National Aged Care Classification funding model.

This bill also delivers other changes. The star ratings system will see the Department of Health and Aged Care publish a comparison rating for all residential aged-care services by the end of this year. This will be really helpful for members of the public in assessing the standard of different residential aged-care services. The bill will extend the Serious Incident Response Scheme to all in-home care providers from 1 December this year, increasing protection for older Australians from preventable incidents, abuse and neglect. I think we've all been horrified by those incidents of shocking neglect and, in some cases, downright abuse of residents in our aged-care facilities. Extending the Serious Incident Response Scheme will go a long way to stopping those kinds of things from happening. The bill will also introduce a new code of conduct for approved providers, their workforce and governing persons, setting minimum standards of behaviour to ensure older Australians receive care in a safe, competent and respectful manner. Again, this code will come into force on 1 September 2022.

These are things that the former government found it impossible to do. I mean, the former government went to the trouble of setting up a royal commission into aged care, under sufferance, after all of those examples of abuse and neglect were revealed. They finally moved to set up a royal commission, which delivered some very good recommendations. And what did they do? They sat on their hands, as they had done for the entire time they'd been in office, and didn't act on those recommendations. That's what this bill does. It took a change of government to implement recommendations of a royal commission that was initiated by the former government. I think there's a lot of older Australians and their families out there, and aged-care workers, who are pleased to see the change of government that occurred in May this year because we can finally get these recommendations of the royal commission implemented.

The bill will also deliver new provider governance and reporting arrangements, which are due to begin at the end of this year, which will improve transparency and provide greater accountability on providers to better focus on the needs of older Australians receiving care. I recognise that there are many good aged-care providers out there, but there have been too many examples where providers have done the wrong thing at the expense of residents, their families and workers, and this bill will address that through these new governance and reporting arrangements.

As a result of this bill, first steps will be taken towards harmonising regulation of care and supporting providers across the aged-care, disability support and veterans care sectors by improving information sharing between the bodies that regulate these sectors. The introduction of the next phase of the financial and prudential monitoring compliance and intervention framework will also be delivered by this bill, and that will provide additional protection for older Australians. This will enable greater government oversight of financial risks faced by the sector and help providers meet their obligations to refund deposits to residents.

The bill will also rename the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority to the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority to recognise its role around aged care, and its functions will be expanded to include advice on healthcare and aged-care pricing and costing. And, finally, the bill deals with supporting arrangement that commenced on 1 July last year, and this legislation will also enable providers to meet more robust requirements on the use of restrictive practices in jurisdictions where limitations regarding consent and guardianship laws exist. Again, this is another important reform to improve the rights of aged-care residents.

Put together, these changes will build on the Albanese government's promise to deliver security, dignity, quality, and humanity in care for every older Australian across the aged-care system. I know it's something that I want to see for my parents as they get towards the age when they will require aged care, and it's certainly the kind of thing that I think all Australians want to see provided to our older Australians.

Just before closing, I just want to reflect on the symbolism of this bill and what it means in broader terms beyond the specific elements of the bill itself. I think it's really notable that this is the piece of government business that the Senate is dealing with as its first order of business. It indicates the importance of putting in place a decent, well-funded, well-regulated aged-care system for our older Australians, nothing less than they deserve. It's nothing less than they deserve.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They didn't deserve it six month ago, though, did they, according to you?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll take the interjection from Senator Ruston. I am amazed that, with the record of the former government when it comes to aged care, which led to a royal commission—and the title of that report was Neglectany government senator would want to interject during this debate. If I were a member of the former government, I'd be hanging my head in shame every time aged care was dealt with in this bill rather than interjecting. So, Senator Ruston, I would really urge you to reflect on that.

I am proud of the fact that this is the first bill this new government is dealing with in the Senate, and it sends a very clear message about the fact that we take the rights of residents of aged care, their families and workers in the system very seriously. It's a very big contrast to the former government, who had to be dragged into a royal commission that they didn't implement the recommendations of. It took a change of government to see the implementation of those recommendations.

The approach of the Albanese government could not be more different from the approach we saw from the former coalition government. Under the Albanese government, we will finally see a federal government in this country that focuses and delivers on the needs of residents and their families and that focuses and delivers on the rights of aged-care workers.

I remember, Acting Deputy President Polley, you and I sitting in estimates hearings, year after year, with the former Minister Colbeck, asking whether he and the government supported a pay rise for aged-care workers. He would not even agree with that basic proposition that aged-care workers deserved a pay rise. Not one member of the former government would agree with that proposition, at least publicly. Certain people may have held views privately, but not once did we ever see a member of the former government publicly state that aged-care workers deserved a pay rise and that the former government would intervene or even offer a submission supporting a pay rise in that case that's before the Fair Work Commission. All the former government would do is agree to provide information—what a big step that was!—to a Fair Work Commission. But you wouldn't once get anyone from the former government say that aged-care workers deserved a pay rise. It's something that this government has made clear very early in our tenure.

I truly hope that on a local level, from my home state of Queensland, as a result of the reforms that this government is now putting in place, we will not see a repeat of some of the absolutely disgraceful aged-care situations that we saw in the last term of government. I'll just mention two.

There's the Earl Haven nursing home, at the Gold Coast, which is something that I was very vocal about. That nursing home had seen inspections by the aged-care regulator and recommendations made for action, for sanctions against the provider, which weren't taken. And what do you know? In the middle of the night, that nursing home literally fell apart, in the sense that there was no workforce, there were dozens of elderly, vulnerable people in that nursing home who did not have any care, and it took the Queensland government sending in personnel to ensure that these elderly, vulnerable people were looked after.

Even more recently than that, we saw another example, the Jeta Gardens nursing home in Logan, just south of Brisbane. It was ripped apart by COVID, as so many aged-care facilities were under the former government. Again, once you started having a look at it, it didn't take me much time to ascertain that that nursing home had been the subject of investigations and recommendations for tighter action that never got dealt with. And, again, what do you know? A few months after those inquiries and investigations into that nursing home, we saw COVID rip through, costing people their lives.

That's what happened under the former government, and we should never forget it. Under the former government, we had an aged-care system that was starved of funding, due to direct decisions made by the former Prime Minister and the rest of his cabinet at the time. That resulted in COVID ripping through aged-care homes, in people dying, in people being neglected, in workers not getting the pay they deserved, in people leaving the workforce because they could get better money doing work elsewhere. That's the kind of thing that this government is serious about cleaning up.

We want to put in place an aged-care system that Australians can be proud of, a system that people can have confidence in and a system where people can know that when their elderly parents or grandparents go to it they will be looked after. That's what we're going to see under this government.

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

The Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill makes a series of amendments to aged care and other laws to implement several time-critical measures that are aimed at improving Commonwealth funded aged care for older Australians, and I thank other senators for their contributions to this debate today. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety heard evidence regarding substandard care throughout its inquiry. This bill supports reforms that will give back to older Australians the dignity, respect and safety they deserve. The royal commission's final report made 148 recommendations to overhaul the aged-care system. While the new aged-care act and significant change are around the corner, this bill makes some critical reforms that cannot wait any longer.

Importantly, the bill introduces many reforms aimed at directly improving protections for older Australians. The bill will introduce a new subsidy calculation method to fund approved providers and replace the outdated Aged Care Funding Instrument from 1 October 2022. It also introduces new requirements for the secretary to publish information in relation to star ratings, as recommended by the royal commission. Publication of star ratings based on measurable performance indicators will allow older Australians and their families to make meaningful comparisons of the quality and safety of services and providers. The implementation of the code of conduct is the government's first step towards implementing a national registration scheme in accordance with the royal commission's recommendations. The code will set high standards of behaviour across the aged-care sector and ensure that the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is able to take appropriate enforcement and compliance action against approved providers, their workers and governing persons who fail to meet appropriate standards of behaviour. This will ensure that older Australians provided with care can have confidence in the workforce and be safeguarded by regulatory arrangements.

The bill extends the scope of the Serious Incident Response Scheme beyond residential care to home care and flexible care delivered in a home or community setting. This will improve oversight of providers and ensure the highest protections against incidents of abuse and neglect for all Commonwealth-supported aged-care recipients, regardless of the setting in which they receive care. The amendments will also strengthen the governance of approved providers. The transparency and accountability of providers will be improved through more rigorous requirements for providers and governing bodies and through consumers having greater access to information about the operations of providers. The amendments will give older Australians and the community greater assurance that approved providers and their key personnel are suitable to be involved in delivering care.

The bill will facilitate the sharing of information among relevant prescribed Commonwealth bodies about providers and workers across the care and support sector who may not be complying with their obligations. Improved information-sharing between care and support sector regulators will enable proactive monitoring of cross-sector risks and better protection from harm of consumers and participants. The bill also includes amendments that enhance financial oversight and accountability and prudential regulation, which will ultimately protect the rights of older Australians, support continuity of services and enhance the viability of residential providers. Expanded functions of the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority to include the provision of advice on pricing and costing matters for health care, not just hospitals, and the provision of advice on aged-care pricing matters, will support transparency and evidence based assessment of the costs involved in delivering care.

The bill will enable the strengthening of safeguards for consumers in relation to the use of restrictive practices and the requirement for informed consent to be provided before they can be used. Specifically, the bill will enable the Quality of Care Principles to clarify the existing term 'restrictive practices substitute decision-maker', and provide pathways for residential care providers to safely and legally obtain consent for the use of restrictive practices where the care recipients themselves cannot provide consent and where this may be otherwise prevented due to gaps in state and territory legislation.

These amendments have been developed as a result of significant consultation with stakeholders, as well as through the extensive consultation undertaken during the royal commission. I again thank senators for their contributions to the debate on this bill, and I commend the bill to the Senate.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator Ruston be agreed to.

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to move my second reading amendment as on sheet 1598:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety called for the use of restrictive practices in aged care to be based on an independent expert assessment and be subject to ongoing reporting and monitoring; and

(ii) a lack of legislative provisions to ensure aged care residents can access allied health services may reduce the level of care they receive, with clear implications for their health and wellbeing; and

(b) urges the Government to ensure that its response to the Royal Commission includes urgent action to reduce the use of restrictive practices and ensure that allied health care is appropriately funded.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment by Senator Rice be agreed to.