2019‑2021

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

THE SENATE

Presented and read a first time

Aged Care Amendment (Registered Nurses Ensuring Quality Care) Bill 2021

No.      , 2021

(Senator Patrick)

A Bill for an Act to amend the Aged Care Act 1997, and for related purposes

Contents

1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1

2............ Commencement................................................................................... 1

3............ Schedules............................................................................................ 2

Schedule 1—Amendments                                                                                                3

Aged Care Act 1997                                                                                                    3

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 (Registered Nurses Ensuring Quality Care) Act 2021.

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.

Note:          This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted.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                   Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.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 paragraph 54‑1(1)(b)

Insert:

                   (ba)  if the type of aged care is residential care or flexible care provided in a residential setting—to ensure at least one registered nurse is on duty at all times in a residential facility to:

                              (i)  provide care to *residential care recipients; and

                             (ii)  supervise the provision of care to residential care recipients;

2  At the end of section 54‑1

Add:

             (3)  In this section:

registered nurse means a person who is registered in the nursing profession as a registered nurse under:

                     (a)  for a State or Territory (other than Western Australia)—the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (Qld), as it applies (with or without modification) as a law of the State or Territory; or

                     (b)  for Western Australia—the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2010 (WA), so far as that Act corresponds to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (Qld).