Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012

Administered by Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Legislation au F2012L02062 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing

 

Aged Care Act 1997

 

Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012

 

 

Under section 96-1 of the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Aged Care Act), the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing (the Minister) may make Certification Principles, Quality of Care Principles and Sanctions Principles (the Principles) (see Items 8, 18 and 22 of the table in subsection 96-1 (1) of the Aged Care Act).  The Principles are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the Legislative Instruments Act).

 

The purpose of this instrument is to remove obsolete references to the Residential Care Standards in the Certification Principles 1997, Quality of Care Principles 1997 and Sanctions Principles 1997.  From 1 January 2001, providers of residential aged care have been required to comply with the Accreditation Standards set out under Part 3 of the Quality of Care Principles 1997, rather than the Residential Care Standards set out in Part 4 of those Principles.

 

References to compliance with the Residential Care Standards were removed from paragraph 54-1(e) of the Aged Care Act with effect from 27 July 2011 by the Aged Care Amendment Act 2011.

 

Details on the Amending Principles are set out in the Attachment.

 

Consultation

 

No consultation was undertaken in relation to this instrument.  This is because the amendments merely remove references to the Residential Care Standards, and are thus of a minor nature and do not substantially alter the existing arrangements (see section 18 of the Legislative Instruments Act).

 

Regulation Impact Statement

 

The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that no Regulation Impact Statement is required (OBPR ID 14239).

 

Commencement

 

This instrument commences on the day after registration.

 

This amendment is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

 

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012

 

Clause 1 – Name of Principles

Clause 1 states that the name of the Amending Principles is the Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012.

 

Clause 2 – Commencement

Clause 2 states that the Principles are to commence on the day after they are registered.

 

Clause 3 – Amendment of Certification Principles 1997

Clause 3 states that Schedule 1 amends the Certification Principles 1997.

 

Clause 4 – Amendment of Quality of Care Principles 1997

Clause 4 states that Schedule 2 amends the Quality of Care Principles 1997.

 

Clause 5 – Amendment of Sanctions Principles 1997

Clause 5 states that Schedule 3 amends the Sanctions Principles 1997.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendment of Certification Principles 1997

 

Item 1 Subsection 8.15(1), Examples of other findings, example 2:

 

Item 1 replaces the second example in subsection 8.15(1), which refers to the Residential Care Standards, with a new example that omits this reference.

 

Schedule 2 – Amendment of Quality of Care Principles 1997

 

Item 1 Note before Part 1

Item 1 amends the note before Part 1 by removing the reference to compliance with the Residential Care Standards. 

 

Item 2 Subsection 18.6(1A)

 

Item 2 amends subsection 18.6(1A) to remove a reference to the Residential Care Standards.

 

Item 3 Part 4

 

Item 3 omits Part 4 of the Quality of Care Principles, which set out the Residential Care Standards.

 

Item 4 Schedule 3

 

Item 4 omits Schedule 3 to the Quality of Care Principles, which set out in greater detail the Residential Care Standards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schedule 3 – Amendment of Sanctions Principles 1997

 

Item 1 Subparagraph 22.20(1)(b)(ii)

 

Item 1 omits subparagraph 22.20(1)(b)(ii), which referred to the Residential Care Standards.  The effect is to remove the requirement for an approved provider, when making an application to have a sanction lifted, to provide details of any assessment against the Residential Care Standards of the services it provides.

 

Item 2 Subsubsection 22.20(2)

 

Item 2 omits subsection 22.20(2), which defines ‘Residential Care Standards’ under the Sanctions Principles. 

 

 

 

 

 


Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared under Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, in accordance with the definition of ‘explanatory statement’ in subsection 4(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003

 

Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The purpose of the Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012 is to make the Certification Principles 1997, Quality of Care Principles 1997 and Sanctions Principles 1997 (collectively ‘the Principles’) consistent with  recent amendments to the Aged Care Act 1997, by removing references to the Residential Care Standards in the Principles, made under section 96-1 of the Aged Care Act 1997. 

 

 

Human Rights Implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

 

Mark Butler

Minister for Mental Health and Ageing

Overview

The Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012 were enacted to align the Certification Principles 1997, Quality of Care Principles 1997 and Sanctions Principles 1997 with the recent amendments to the Aged Care Act 1997. This was achieved by removing obsolete references to the Residential Care Standards from these Principles. The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing made these amendments under section 96-1 of the Aged Care Act, which allows for the creation of Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Principles. The purpose of these amendments was to streamline compliance requirements for residential aged care providers by ensuring that references to the Residential Care Standards, which were replaced by the Accreditation Standards in 2001, are no longer applicable. This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights, as it does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Scope and Application

The Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012 apply to the principles governing the certification, quality of care, and sanctions in the aged care sector, as stipulated under the Aged Care Act 1997. These principles are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. They are intended to refine and update the existing Certification Principles 1997, Quality of Care Principles 1997, and Sanctions Principles 1997 by removing obsolete references to the Residential Care Standards, which have been replaced by the Accreditation Standards set out under Part 3 of the Quality of Care Principles 1997. The removal of these references aims to ensure the principles align with legislative changes, specifically the amendments made by the Aged Care Amendment Act 2011. The scope of these principles extends to entities and individuals involved in providing residential aged care services across Australia, ensuring a standardised approach to compliance and quality assurance within the sector. The instrument does not extend or restrict application through subordinate instruments and operates within the national jurisdiction of Australia.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Certification, Quality of Care and Sanctions Amendment Principles 2012 (the Principles) involve amendments to three existing sets of principles under the Aged Care Act 1997. The Certification Principles 1997, Quality of Care Principles 1997, and Sanctions Principles 1997 are amended to remove references to the Residential Care Standards, which have been superseded by the Accreditation Standards since 1 January 2001. Specifically, Clause 3 amends the Certification Principles 1997 by replacing an example that references the Residential Care Standards (subsection 8.15(1)) with one that does not. Clause 4, through Schedule 2, removes references to the Residential Care Standards from the Quality of Care Principles 1997, including the note before Part 1 (Item 1) and subsection 18.6(1A) (Item 2), and omits Part 4 and Schedule 3 which detail the Residential Care Standards (Items 3 and 4). Clause 5, through Schedule 3, amends the Sanctions Principles 1997 by removing references to the Residential Care Standards in subparagraph 22.20(1)(b)(ii) (Item 1) and the definition of ‘Residential Care Standards’ in subsection 22.20(2) (Item 2). The obligations and requirements imposed by the Principles on the parties governed by them primarily involve ensuring compliance with the Accreditation Standards in lieu of the Residential Care Standards. Service providers under the Aged Care Act must now adhere to the Accreditation Standards for residential aged care services, which reflect updated quality and safety benchmarks. This includes making any necessary adjustments to their operations, documentation, and procedures to align with the new standards. The Principles mandate that all relevant documentation, applications, and references previously pertaining to the Residential Care Standards be updated or removed to reflect the current Accreditation Standards. The Act does not explicitly detail specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaches resulting from the Principles. However, non-compliance with the Accreditation Standards, which the Principles enforce, could lead to various regulatory actions under the Aged Care Act 1997. Such actions may include warnings, fines, or more severe sanctions such as the suspension or cancellation of a provider's approval to operate. While the Principles themselves do not specify maximum penalties, the Aged Care Act provides a framework under which these penalties could be determined, depending on the nature and severity of the non-compliance.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.