EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
AGED CARE ACT 1997
SECTION 52-1
AGED CARE (AMOUNT OF FLEXIBLE CARE SUBSIDY – EXTENDED AGED CARE AT HOME AND MULTI-PURPOSE SERVICES)
REVOCATION DETERMINATION 2005
This Determination seeks to revoke a previous Determination made under section 52-1 of the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) made by the Minister for Ageing on 23 June 2004. That Determination (known as ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004) set the rate of flexible care subsidy for Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) and for Multi-purpose Services (MPS) with effect from 1 July 2004.
Sections 2, 3 and 4 and Schedules 1, 2 and 3 of the Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 dealt with the rate of flexible care subsidy for MPS. These sections and schedules were revoked with effect from 1 January 2005 by the Aged Care (Amount of flexible care subsidy – multi-purpose services) Determination 2005 (No. 1) (known as ACA Ch. 3 No. 18/2005).
Section 1 of the Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 dealt with the rate of flexible care subsidy for EACH. This section was revoked with effect from 1 July 2005 by the Determination under section 52-1 for flexible care subsidy in respect of Extended Aged Care at Home (known as ACA Ch. 3 No. 14/2005).
Although the content of the Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 had been revoked by these two determinations, the Office of Legislative Drafting advised that the Determination itself had yet to be revoked.
This Determination (known as ACA Ch. 3 No. 21/2005) revokes the Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 in its entirety and will remove it from the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
There has been no need for consultation on this Determination as it is a technical amendment only and has no effect on the rights and obligations of any person or body.
The Office of Regulation Review has advised that Regulation Impact Statements were not required for the Determinations revoking section 1 of ACA Ch. 3 17/2004 (ORR ID Number 7348) and revoking sections 2, 3 and 4 and Schedules 1, 2 and 3 (ORR ID Number 7362).
This Determination is a “legislative instrument” for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Overview
The Aged Care Act 1997, enacted by the Australian Parliament, was designed to address the need for a comprehensive framework to ensure that aged care services are provided in a manner that promotes the well-being and dignity of older Australians. The Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home and Multi-Purpose Services) Revocation Determination 2005, made under section 52-1 of the Aged Care Act 1997, was introduced to address a technical issue concerning the revocation of an earlier determination. This Determination aimed to formally revoke the aged care subsidy rates set by the ACA Chapter 3 No. 17/2004, ensuring that the legal framework remains current and aligned with subsequent amendments. As advised by the Office of Legislative Drafting, although the content of the earlier determination had been effectively revoked by other measures, the determination itself had not been formally revoked, necessitating this legislative instrument to remove it from the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Scope and Application
The Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home and Multi-Purpose Services) Revocation Determination 2005 (F2005L01900) applies to the revocation of a previous Determination made under section 52-1 of the Aged Care Act 1997. This previous Determination, ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004, had set the rates for the flexible care subsidy for Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) and for Multi-Purpose Services (MPS). The revocation aims to remove ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 from the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, following its partial revocation by ACA Ch. 3 No. 18/2005 and ACA Ch. 3 No. 14/2005, which dealt with the subsidy rates for MPS and EACH respectively. This Determination does not alter the rights or obligations of any person or body, as confirmed by the Office of Legislative Drafting, and was deemed a technical amendment that did not require consultation. The jurisdictional reach of this Act is federal, as it pertains to the Aged Care Act 1997, and it is classified as a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Key Provisions
The Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home and Multi-Purpose Services) Revocation Determination 2005 (ACA Ch. 3 No. 21/2005) is a legislative instrument under the Aged Care Act 1997 that serves to revoke an earlier determination made by the Minister for Ageing on 23 June 2004 (section 1(1)). This earlier determination, known as ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004, had established the rates for flexible care subsidies for Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) and Multi-purpose Services (MPS) effective from 1 July 2004. However, subsequent determinations have already revised and revoked specific sections of this earlier determination: sections 2, 3, and 4 and Schedules 1, 2, and 3 were revoked by the Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Multi-purpose Services) Determination 2005 (No. 1) (ACA Ch. 3 No. 18/2005) effective from 1 January 2005, and section 1 was revoked by the Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy in Respect of Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2005 (ACA Ch. 3 No. 14/2005) effective from 1 July 2005. Despite these revisions, the entire Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 had not yet been formally revoked, and this Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 21/2005 rectifies that omission.
This legislative instrument imposes no new obligations or requirements on any party as it is purely a technical amendment. It serves to formally remove the previously established but now superseded rates for flexible care subsidies from the legal framework, thereby ensuring that the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments reflects the current legislative state accurately. The revocation of the entire Determination ACA Ch. 3 No. 17/2004 means that there are no existing obligations or requirements pertaining to the now-revoked rates that need to be fulfilled by any party.
In terms of potential breaches and associated penalties, this Determination does not introduce any new offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. As it is a formal revocation of an outdated determination and not an active regulatory provision, there are no civil or criminal consequences tied to its provisions. Any implications arising from the revocation would pertain to the administrative and legislative maintenance of the legal framework rather than to the enforcement of specific obligations on individuals or entities.