A Bill for an Act to amend the Aged Care Act 1997, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Aged Care Amendment (Resident Welfare and Provider Disclosure) Act 2019.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information |
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table | The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
2. Schedule 1 | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Aged Care Act 1997
1 After section 9‑3B
Insert:
9‑3C Obligation to provide information to Secretary
(1) An approved provider must give to the Secretary, at the end of each quarter, the following information in writing in relation to care recipients to whom the approved provider provided care during that quarter:
(a) the number of falls;
(b) the number of medication errors, and for each error:
(i) the type and dosage that was prescribed; and
(ii) the type and dosage that was administered.
(2) Quarter means a period of 3 months beginning on 1 July, 1 October, 1 January or 1 April.
(3) If the Secretary receives the information mentioned in subsection (1) the Secretary may request, in writing, that the approved provider disclose further information of a kind specified in the request.
(4) An approved provider commits an offence if:
(a) the approved provider is required to give information to the Secretary under subsection (1); and
(b) the approved provider fails to give the information required within 28 days of the end of the quarter; and
(c) the approved provider is a *corporation.
Penalty: 30 penalty units.
(5) An approved provider commits an offence if:
(a) the Secretary requests the approved provider to give information under subsection (3); and
(b) the approved provider fails to comply with the request within 90 days after the request was made; and
(d) the approved provider is a *corporation.
Penalty: 30 penalty units.
2 After section 67‑5
Insert:
67‑6 Publication of notices under this Division on the approved provider’s website
(1) This section applies to an approved provider if the provider receives:
(a) a notice of non‑compliance under section 67‑2; or
(b) a notice of intention to impose sanctions under section 67‑3; or
(c) a notice to remedy non‑compliance under section 67‑4; or
(d) a notice of decision on whether to impose sanctions under section 67‑5.
(2) Within a day after receiving a notice, the approved provider must publish the notice on the provider’s website in a way that is readily accessible by the public.
Penalty: 10 penalty units.
Note: If a provider does not publish the notice in accordance with this section, the obligation to do so continues and daily offences are committed until it is done (see section 4K of the Crimes Act 1914).
(3) Subsection 4K(2) of the Crimes Act 1914 ceases to apply in relation to an offence against subsection (1) at the end of the tenth day after the notice is received.
Note: Because of this subsection, 100 penalty units is the maximum penalty that can be imposed for offences against subsection (2).
(4) If the approved provider receives a notice under section 67‑2, the approved provider must, as soon as reasonably practicable, publish on the provider’s website any submissions the provider has made in response to the notice within the period for submissions specified in the notice.
Penalty: 100 penalty units.
3 After section 96‑3
Insert:
96‑3A Secretary must publish information
(1) The Secretary must, in such manner as the Secretary thinks appropriate, cause to be published or made available the information received by the Secretary under section 9‑3C within 30 days after receiving the information.
(2) If the information includes protected information, the Secretary may cause to be published or made available that protected information unless the protected information is personal information relating to care recipients.
4 Application provisions
(1) Section 9‑3C of the Aged Care Act 1997, as inserted by this Schedule, applies in relation to the quarter that begins after the commencement of this item.
(2) Section 67‑6 of the Aged Care Act 1997, as inserted by this Schedule, applies in relation to notices received by an approved provider after the commencement of this item.