Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian population is ageing and senior Australians and their families deserve to have confidence that they and their loved ones are being properly cared for. The Australian government has established a royal commission to look more broadly at the challenges facing the aged-care sector, particularly as Australia's population ages, including the quality of care provided in residential and in-home aged care. The royal commission is in addition to, not instead of, the action the government is already undertaking.

The government remains committed to continuing its reforms to improve safety and quality in aged-care services. This includes the establishment of a new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, announced in the 2018-19 budget. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Bill 2018 and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018 are part of the Australian government's fundamental reforms of the aged-care system. The reforms contribute to the promotion of high-quality aged-care services that meet consumer needs and preferences and create a competitive market based system where consumers drive quality.

The new, independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will be a single point of contact for aged-care consumers and providers of aged care in relation to quality of care and regulation. The commission replaces the existing Australian Aged Care Quality Agency and Aged Care Complaints Commissioner and, from 1 January 2019, will be responsible for the accreditation, assessment, monitoring and complaints handling of aged-care providers in Commonwealth funded aged-care services. The commission will also undertake consumer engagement in education of providers, consumers and the general public as part of its functions. The provision of these bills has been reviewed by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee. The committee conducted a thorough review of the bills in the time available, and the government thanks the committee for its support of these bills in recommending that they be passed by the Senate.

The government has considered the comments made in the committee's report, and I'm pleased to announce the government's response to the committee's report. The government has developed amendments to address various issues and recommendations raised in the report. These amendments form part of the government's response and will refine and clarify the government's policy intention for the commission from its commencement on 1 January 2019. The government also notes the additional recommendations and comments contained in the committee's report and is committed to considering these issues during the upcoming opportunity to make enhancements to the commission's bills as part of the second stage of reform, as signalled in the objects of the commission bill.

The important work of the commission will also be strengthened through a number of initiatives announced in the 2018-19 budget, which will be delivered progressively over two years. This includes the development of options for a serious incident response scheme and measures to strengthen risk profiling of providers, with the aim of preventing or responding quickly to failures of care. I thank all senators for their contributions to the debate on these bills.