The Department of Health and Aged Care has released an 89-page Consultation Feedback Report on the Exposure Draft of the new Aged Care Act, revealing "largely positive" responses from stakeholders but some concerns, such as gaps in the Exposure Draft around fees, payments and subsidies and the potential for proposed statutory duties to deter people from working in aged care.
A total of 2,646 people participated in consultation activities, which included 36 in-person workshops, five virtual roundtables and four virtual workshops that were facilitated by KPMG. Written submissions and online and phone surveys were also accepted.
Key objections voiced in the consultation report into the Exposure Draft of the new Aged Care Act were:
- Stakeholders were concerned that Chapter 4 of the new Act, which is intended to cover means testing, subsidies, payments, and fee arrangements, was not included in the Exposure Draft. From the chart above you can see nearly 50% had no view on the new subsidy framework.
- The definition of "high quality care" elicited a "strong response" from stakeholders, with many concerned about the ability to meet the requirement and how it will be measured.
- There was also a "very strong response" to the proposed statutory duties on registered providers and responsible persons, with stakeholders concerned that harsh penalties could deter suitably qualified and experienced people from being employed, governing or engaged in aged care.
- Achieving equitable access and freedom of choice may be challenging in regional, rural, and remote areas and/or in thin or no markets.
- Aged care providers were concerned the rights of aged care workers to work in a safe environment was not been included in the Exposure Draft
- Concerns were raised about the intersection between state and territory-based Retirement Village Acts and the new Act
- Stakeholders were concerned about computer-generated decision making.
Anika Wells
A new Aged Care Act was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The new Act will replace current existing legislation including the Aged Care Act 1997, the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018.
The 347-page Exposure Draft on the new Aged Care Act was released on 14 December 2023. Following complaints about the tight timeframe to submit feedback, the Government extended the deadline by three weeks to 8 March 2024.
The Exposure Draft contained large gaps, particularly in Chapter 4, that were expected to be filled following the release of the Aged Care Taskforce's Final Report recommendations. However, to date, the Government has not responded to the Taskforce recommendations and the legislation draft remains incomplete.
The Government will now consider the feedback obtained through the consultation process and make necessary revisions to the Exposure Draft before it is introduced to Parliament.
Read the report here.
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