Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

This is the amendment that puts in place the review after two years. As I said in my speech during the second reading debate, I do not think we can wait for two years to have a review of the operations of this legislation. I think the review has to start on day one. We are very unsure of how this legislation will play out in the aged-care sector. There are serious concerns about whether or not there will be over reporting or reporting of events that will mean that police get tired of coming to aged-care facilities—not dissimilar to what happens in child protection. There are concerns about the whole operation of the act if it were to be passed—and I think it probably will be.

I do not think we can wait for two years for that review to occur. The review has to start immediately. We have to be watching extremely closely what is occurring in aged-care services right across Australia. But, as I said in my speech in the second reading debate, the two are not mutually exclusive. We will support the Democrats amendment in the knowledge that the Labor Party will be watching very closely the implementation of this legislation. I hope that the government will as well.