Aged Care Bill 2024 (Cth)

On 25 November 2024, the Australian Federal Parliament passed the new Aged Care Bill 2024 (Cth) (the new Act), marking a significant overhaul of the nation’s aged care system. Set to commence on 1 July 2025, the new Act introduces a rights-based approach, focusing on individual care and addressing key findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

To support the commencement of the new Act, the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 (Cth) (the TP Bill) also passed Parliament on 28 November 2024. The TP Bill facilitates the transition from the existing aged care legislative framework by repealing the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth) and enabling the transfer of current approved providers to the new regulatory framework where they will be referred to as ‘registered providers’.

Further detail about how the new Act will operate will be contained in the new Aged Care Act Rules. We note that the Department of Health and Aged Care is currently consulting on these new Rules.

Here are the key changes under the new Act:

1. New Registration Requirements: A new registration model will require more entities to be registered to provide funded aged care services than under the current ‘approved provider’ model.
   
   
2. New Statement of Rights: The new Act introduces a Statement of Rights to guide aged care services. These recognise the rights that an individual is entitled to when accessing aged care services and include the rights to independence, equitable access to care, dignity, privacy, communication and cultural respect for care recipients. Registered providers will need to ensure their actions are consistent with the Statement of Rights.
   
   
3. New Statement of principles: The Statement of Principles will guide the operation of the new aged care system to ensure that the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of individuals accessing it is paramount. These new principles will underpin an aged care system that is person-centred, values workers and carers, transparent and one of continual improvement.
   
   
4. Stronger Legal Obligations: The new Act introduces a new statutory duty for registered providers to, far as reasonably practicable, ensure that its conduct does not cause adverse effects to the health and safety of the care recipient. Offences will apply where there is a “serious failure” of the registered provider to comply with the duty, and can carry significant corporate penalties, up to a current maximum of $1,584,000 (in the case of death or serious injury or illness).
   
   
5. Compensation for individuals: The new Act allows individuals to seek compensation from a registered provider where the provider breaches the above statutory duty.
   
   
6. Executive Liability: Responsible persons under the Act will include an organisation’s Board members, executive officers and persons who have responsibility for overall management of nursing services. Responsible persons will individually commit an offence where they do not comply with their duty of due diligence to ensure compliance and their conduct amounts to a “serious failure” to comply with that duty. Again, significant penalties may apply for these offences, up to a current maximum of $165,000.00.
   
   
7. Further key registration conditions: A range of further registration conditions must also be met under the new model including compliance with the Aged Care Code of Conduct, the Financial and Prudential Standards, various governance requirements and the maintenance of a complaints and incident management system.