EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2012 (No. 1)
The Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) is a national program funded under the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act). The CVS helps to establish links between people living in an aged care service and their local community. The CVS aims to improve the quality of life of residents of aged care services who have limited family and social contact, and may be at risk of isolation from the general community for social or cultural reasons, or through disability. Community visitors grants are made to a variety of community based organisations to carry out the task of:
- recruiting, training and supporting volunteer community visitors;
- matching volunteers to residents of aged care services; and
- supporting visitor-resident relationships.
Section 96-1 of the Act allows the Minister to make Principles providing for various matters required or permitted by a Part or section of the Act. Among the Principles made under section 96-1 are the Community Visitors Grant Principles 1997 (the Community Visitors Grant Principles).
The purpose of the Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2012 (No. 1) (the Amending Principles) is to amend an inconsistency in reference to conditions of community visitors grants and to matters to which conditions of a community visitors grant must relate. Paragraph 82-4 (1) (a) of the Act refers to conditions of community visitors grants as set out in the Community Visitors Grant Principles. However, the Principles do not refer to the conditions, but rather refer to mandatory matters to which the conditions of a community visitors grant must relate, as set out in paragraph 82-4 (1) (b) of the Act. There are currently 39 mandatory matters to which conditions of a community visitors grant must relate. The Amending Principles significantly reduce the number of conditions to which a community visitors grant must be subject, with the aim of establishing appropriate conditions for community visitors grants. On this basis, the only mandatory condition for community visitors grants is in relation to police certificates for community visitors.
Details of the amendments are set out in the Attachment.
Consultation
As the amendments in the Amending Principles reduce regulatory burden by removing mandatory matters to which the conditions of a community visitors grant must relate, no consultation was undertaken.
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.
The Amending Principles are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2012 (No. 1)
Clause 1 – Name of Principles
Clause 1 states that the name of the Amending Principles is the Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2012 (No. 1).
Clause 2 – Commencement
Clause 2 states that the Principles are to commence on the day after they are registered.
Clause 3 – Amendment of Community Visitors Grant Principles 1997
Clause 3 states that Schedule 1 amends the Community Visitors Grant Principles.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Item 1 Section 13.3, after definition of community visitors grant agreement
Item 1 inserts the definition of police certificate for the purposes of section 13.9 of the Amending Principles. This definition is consistent with the definition of a police certificate set out in section 1.18 of the Accountability Principles 1998.
Item 2 Section 13.8
Item 2 removes an inconsistency between reference to matters to which the conditions of a community visitors grant must relate and reference to conditions of a community visitors grant, to make clear that Part 3 has regard to conditions of a community visitors grant under paragraph 82-4(1)(a) of the Aged Care Act 1997.
Item 3 Section 13.9
Item 3 repeals the heading ‘Mandatory conditions of community visitors grants’ and substitutes with a condition that an approved body must require a police certificate that is dated not more than 3 years before the day on which the individual first becomes a community visitor. It sets out in paragraph 13.9(b) offences that preclude a person from being a community visitor.
Item 4 After section 13.9
Item 4 inserts section 13.10, ‘Additional condition of community visitors grant’, which includes a requirement for an individual who was a citizen or permanent resident of a country other than Australia at any time after the individual turned 16. Such individuals, in addition to meeting the conditions set out in item section 13.9, are also required to make a statutory declaration stating that they have never been convicted of murder or sexual assault, and have not been convicted of and sentenced to imprisonment for any other form of assault.
Item 5 Schedule 1
Item 5 repeals Schedule 1 to the Community Visitors Grant Principles.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2012 (No. 1)
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
There are currently 39 mandatory matters to which conditions of a community visitors grant must relate. The purpose of the Community Visitors Grant Amendment Principles 2012
(No. 1) (the Amending Principles) is to significantly reduce those matters. The Amending Principles decrease the number of conditions to which a community visitors grant must be subject, with the aim of establishing appropriate conditions for community visitors grants. On this basis, the only mandatory condition for community visitors grants is in relation to police certificates for community visitors.
Human Rights Implications
This Legislative Instrument engages the following human rights:
Rights to equality and non-discrimination
The effect of the provision that precludes a person convicted of murder or sexual assault, or convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for, any other form of assault from becoming a community visitor is that a body receiving a community visitors grant will not be able to recruit a person with such a conviction to visit isolated recipients of aged care.
The precluding offences outlined in the Amending Principles are relevant to the inherent requirements of the role of a community visitor. Community visitors aim to improve the quality of life of residents of aged care services who have limited family and social contact, and may be at risk of isolation from the general community. Access to residents in a one-on-one, unsupervised capacity is therefore not only necessary, but essential to the aim of the program. Given the nature of the access community visitors have to vulnerable aged people it is reasonable that criminal convictions of the kind expressed in the Amending Principles are precluding.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights because to the extent that it might limit human rights, those limitations are reasonable and proportionate.
Mark Butler
Minister for Mental Health and Ageing