EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Community Visitors 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.
Subsection 96-1(2) provides that any Principles made under subsection 96-1(1) of the Act are disallowable instruments.
The Community Visitors Grant Principles 1997 (the Community Visitors Grant Principles) is one of the sets of Principles made under the Act.
The purpose of the Community Visitors 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.
Community Visitors 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).
One of the groups of volunteers that will be required to have police certificates is community visitors. The Australian Government funds such visitors through the Community Visitors Scheme (a grant program).
The purpose of the Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2006 is to ensure that one of the conditions for inclusion in all community visitors grant agreements is a condition relating to the requirement for police certificates.
Consultation
The proposed new arrangements have been the subject of consultation with the aged care sector and with a Community Visitors Scheme working group comprising representatives from each State and Territory. National workshops about the proposed arrangements have also been conducted and all 156 organisations that receive grants under the scheme have also been notified about the proposed arrangements.
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 amending Principles is the Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2006 (No. 1).
Clause 2 states that the Principles commence on the day after they are registered.
Clause 3 states that Schedule 1 amends the Principles.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Items 1 and 2
The amendments made by items 1 and 2 are editorial only and conform with current drafting convention.
Item 3
Schedule 1 of the Community Visitors Grant Principles sets out the mandatory matters for inclusion in community visitors grant agreements. This item adds another matter to the list of matters that must be included in such agreements. Specifically, all agreements must include a condition in relation to the need for a police certificate, and in certain circumstances a statutory declaration, about each community visitor’s criminal conviction record.
It is intended that all agreements will be amened to reflect this requirement and that all volunteers will meet the new requirements by 30 June 2007. It is proposed that the amendments to the agreements will require that community visitors meet the same general requirements as other volunteers and staff working in aged care.
Specifically, they will be required to obtain a police certificate prepared by the Australian Federal Police or by the police force or police service of a State or Territory. The police certificate must demonstrate that the person has not been convicted of murder or sexual assault or been convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for any other form of assault.
In addition, if, at any time after the person turned 16, the community visitor has been, or is, a permanent resident or citizen of another country, they must also provide a statutory declaration stating that they have not been convicted of murder or sexual assault or been convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for any other form of assault.