EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Accreditation Grant Amendment Principles 2006 (No. 1)
The Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) provides for the funding of aged care services.
Subsection 96-1(1) of the Act allows the Minister to make Principles providing for various matters required or permitted by a Part or section of the Act.
The Accreditation Grant Principles 1999 (the Accreditation Grant Principles) are one of the sets of Principles made under the Act.
The purpose of the Accreditation Grant Amendment Principles 2006 (No. 1) (the Amending Principles) is to achieve the objectives detailed below. The Amending Principles are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Accreditation Grant Amendment Principles 2006 (No. 1)
Background
As part of the 2006-07 Budget, the Government announced that operators of aged care services which are subsidised by the Australian Government under the Act will require that staff employed by them, or engaged through an employment agency, and certain volunteers have obtained a police certificate (commonly known as a police check).
These requirements will be set out in the Accountability Principles 1998 (for staff and certain volunteers) and the Community Visitors Grant Principles 1997 (for volunteers operating as part of the Australian Government-funded Community Visitors Scheme).
Consistent with these requirements, the Government also agreed that all quality assessors who undertake audits of residential aged care services on behalf of the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency will also be required to obtain police certificates.
The purpose of these amendments to the Accreditation Grant Principles is to set out the new requirements for quality assessors.
Consultation
The proposed new arrangements have been the subject of consultation with the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency and the residential aged care sector, including peak industry and consumer bodies.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that no Regulation Impact Statement is required (RIS ID 8816).
Details of the amendments to the Principles are listed at Attachment A.
ATTACHMENT A
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 states that the name of the Principles is the Accreditation Grant Amendment Principles 2006 (No. 1).
Clause 2 states that the Principles commence on 1 March 2007.
Clause 3 states that Schedule 1 amends the Principles.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Items 1 and 2
These items insert two new definitions in section 1.3:
- permanent resident, of a country, means a person who is usually resident in the country and whose continued lawful presence in the country is not subject to a limitation as to time imposed by law; and
- police certificate, for a person, means a report prepared by the Australian Federal Police or by the police force or police service of a State or Territory about the person’s criminal conviction record. Reports obtained in any of these jurisdictions will include information from all jurisdictions nationally.
These terms are relied on in new provisions which are being inserted into the Accreditation Grant Principles though these Amending Principles.
Item 3
This item makes a consequential amendment to subsection 8.2(1) which describes when the registrar must register a person as a quality assessor.
The amendment is required because of the inclusion of new sections 8.2A and 8.2B which describe the new requirements for quality assessors to obtain police certificates and in some cases make statutory declarations.
The effect of the amendment to subsection 8.2(1) is to clarify that the registrar must only register a person as a quality assessor if the person also complies with new sections 8.2A and 8.2B (as described at item 5).
Item 4
Like item 3, this item makes a consequential amendment to paragraphs 8.2(3)(b) and (4)(b) to clarify that the paragraphs are subject to new section 8.3A.
Item 5
This item inserts two new sections in the Accreditation Grant Principles (sections 8.2A and 8.2B)
Section 8.2A (Criteria for initial registration)
This section provides that the registrar must not allow a person to be registered as a quality assessor unless the registrar is satisfied that:
- there is, for the person, a police certificate that is dated not more than 3 years before the day on which the person is registered as a quality assessor; and
- the police certificate does not record that the person has been convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, any other form of assault.
Section 8.2B (Additional criterion for initial registration of certain persons)
This section sets out additional requirements for people who, at any time after the person turned 16, were a citizen or permanent resident of a country other than Australia.
In addition to meeting the requirements of section 8.2A, citizens or residents of other countries must also make a statutory declaration stating that the person has never been convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of (and sentenced to imprisonment for) any other form of assault.
The registrar must not allow a person who has been a citizen or permanent resident of a country other than Australia (after they have turned 16) to be registered as a quality assessor unless the registrar is satisfied that the person has made such a statutory declaration.
Item 6
This item amends the heading of section 8.3. While section 8.3 is not being amended, the new heading reflects the fact that section 8.3 sets out general criteria for continued inclusion on the register whereas the new section 8.3A details the specific criteria for continued inclusion on the register that relate specifically to criminal convictions.
Item 7
This item inserts a new section in the Accreditation Grant Principles (section 8.3A).
Section 8.3A (Criteria for continued inclusion on register - certain criminal convictions)
This section provides that the registrar may only re-register a person as a quality assessor (a process that occurs annually) if the registrar is satisfied that there is, for the person, a police certificate that is dated not more than 3 years before the day on which the person is registered as a quality assessor.
The registrar must not re-register a person as a quality assessor if a police certificate or statutory declaration records that the person has been convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of (and sentenced to imprisonment for) any other form of assault.
Item 8
This item amends the heading of section 8.4. While no other changes have been made to section 8.4, the change to the heading is needed to distinguish between section 8.4 and the new section 8.4D (as described at item 9).
Item 9
This item inserts four new sections after section 8.4 (sections 8.4A, B, C and D).
Section 8.4A (Removal of person’s name from register - certain criminal convictions)
The registrar must remove the name of a person from the register if the registrar is satisfied that there is, for the person, a police certificate or statutory declaration that records that the person has been convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, any other form of assault.
Section 8.4B (Removal of existing assessor’s name from register - police certificate requirement)
The effect of this section is that anyone who is a quality assessor when the new requirements take effect (1 March 2007) has until 1 September 2007 to obtain a police certificate. The police certificate must be dated not earlier than 1 September 2004 (that is, it must not be more than three years old).
If a quality assessor does not provide such a police certificate then the registrar must remove the person’s name from the register of quality assessors. The registrar must also remove the person’s name from the register of quality assessors if they provide a police certificate but the police certificate shows that the person has been convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, any other form of assault.
Removal of the quality assessor’s name from the register means that they will not be able to work for the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency as a quality assessor of aged care homes.
Section 8.4C (Removal of existing assessor’s name from register - statutory declaration requirement)
This section sets out an additional requirement for anyone who was a quality assessor on 1 March 2007 and continues to be a quality assessor on 1 September 2007 and has, at any time (after they turned 16) been a citizen or permanent resident of a country other than Australia.
In addition to the provision of a police certificate, all such people must provide to the registrar by 1 September 2007, a statutory declaration stating that the person has never been convicted of murder or sexual assault or convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, any other form of assault.
If the quality assessor fails to do this, the registrar must remove the person’s name from the register of quality assessors. This means that they will not be able to work for the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency as a quality assessor of aged care homes.
Section 8.4D (Application for review of decisions under section 8.4A, 8.4B or 8.4C)
Subsection 8.4D(1) provides that if the registrar removes the name of a person from the register in any of the following circumstances, then the registrar must tell the person and the accreditation body, in writing, about the removal of the person’s name and the reasons for the removal:
- removal of a person from the register on the basis that a police certificate or statutory declaration records that the person has been convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, any other form of assault; or
- removal of an existing assessor’s name from the register because the person has not provided a police certificate, and in the case of people who have been a citizen or resident of another country since they were 16, a statutory declaration.
Subsections 8.4D(2) and (3) provide that a person whose name has been removed from the register of quality assessors may apply to the accreditation body for a review of the registrar’s decision to remove the person’s name from the register.
Such an application for review must be in writing and must be made within 14 days after the person is told about the removal of their name from the register.
Item 10
This item makes a minor consequential amendment to subsection 8.5(1) to reflect the addition of the new section 8.4D. The effect of this change is to note that if the accreditation body receives an application for review either under the existing subsection 8.4(1) or the new subsection 8.4D (2), the accreditation body must review the registrar’s decision.