A New Approach to Regulating Aged Care

The Law Council of Australia provided a submission to Department of Health and Aged Care in response to its ‘A new model for regulating Aged Care—Consultation Paper No. 1’ (Consultation Paper).¹

The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Final Report) called for a ‘philosophical shift’ in the Commonwealth regulation of aged care to place ‘the people receiving care at the centre of quality and safety regulation’, underpinned by a system which empowers care recipients and respects their rights.²

The Law Council has long expressed support for fundamental reforms to the aged care framework which are consistent with this call,³ and has specifically supported⁴ the recommendations of the Final Report that a new rights-based Aged Care Act come into force by 1 July 2023.⁵

In this context, the Law Council is pleased to see that the Consultation Paper commits to introducing a ‘modern and fit-for-purpose regulatory model’ to underpin a new Aged Care Act,⁶ which is founded on, in part:

• a rights-based approach, which ensures that ‘protections are in place to uphold the rights of older persons’;⁷ and
• a person-centred approach, which places the ‘needs, goal, values and preferences of older Australians … at the heart of the regulatory model’.⁸

These are worthy aspirations. However, more detail is required on each to form a view as to whether, based on these foundations, the new Aged Care Act will give effect to the ‘philosophical shift’ envisaged in the Final Report.

Read the full submission below.

^{1 Department, Consultation Paper, https://consultations.health.gov.au/best-practice-regulation/aged-careregulatory-framework/user_uploads/final-new-model-for-regulating-aged-care-sep-2022.pdf (webpage, accessed on 25 October 2022).
2 Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Final Report, 26 February 2021) vol 1 (Final Report vol 1) 21.
3 Law Council of Australia, Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Aged Care Quality and Safety, 29 July 2020 (Submission to the Royal Commission) https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/publicassets/5b9b103f-3bdc-ea11-9434-005056be13b5/3854%20%20Aged%20Care%20Royal%20Commission.pdf; Law Council of Australia, ‘Government must act on Royal Commission recommendations’ (media release, 1 March 2021) https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/media/mediareleases/government-must-act-on-royal-commission-recommendations.
4 Law Council of Australia, Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs, Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response No. 1) Bill 2021, [33]-[34] https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/publicassets/d0e4ed75-47c7-eb11-943c-005056be13b5/4015%20%20Aged%20Care%20Royal%20Commission%20Response%20No%201%20Bill%202021.pdf; Law Council of Australia, ‘Call to Parties’ (April 2022) Law Council of Australia, 20 https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/publicassets/919cc01e-23b9-ec11-944c005056be13b5/Call%20To%20Parties%20Final-Web.pdf; ‘Australia must address elder abuse’ (media release, 15 June 2022) https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/media/media-releases/australia-must-address-elderabuse.
5 Final Report vol 1, recommendations 1-3, 205-207.
6 Consultation Paper 5.
7 Ibid 11.
8 Ibid 11.}

Last Updated on 11/10/2024

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