Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Ruston, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) on Monday, 23 March 2026, the Senate agreed to order for the production of documents no. 438, relating to the Integrated Assessment Tool and the Support at Home classification system, requiring the Minister representing the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors (the Senate minister) to comply by no later than Thursday, 26 March 2026,

(ii) on Thursday, 2 April 2026, the Senate minister tabled a portion of the documents within the scope of the order but withheld further documents on the ground that it would be an unreasonable diversion of public resources to compile and assess the documents,

(iii) the minister has not produced the following documents expressly included within the scope of the original order:

(A) any briefings, correspondence or advice between the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors (Aged Care Minister), their office and the department relating to the decision to implement the Integrated Assessment Tool in its current form, including consideration of the absence of human override mechanisms for the Support at Home program, and

(B) any correspondence received by the department or the Aged Care Minister from stakeholders, assessors, aged care providers, advocacy organisations or members of the public raising concerns regarding the outcomes or operation of the Integrated Assessment Tool;

(iv) the order has not been fully complied with,

(v) as outlined in Odgers' Australian Senate Practice, ministers are obliged to comply with orders for the production of documents, subject only to a properly made public interest immunity claim and it is for the Senate to determine such claims, and

(vi) the response provided by the Aged Care Minister does not constitute such a claim because the potential administrative burden involved in complying with an order is not an acceptable ground for a public interest immunity claim;

(b) requires the Senate minister to fully comply with the order, including to produce the documents described at subparagraph (a)(iii), by no later than midday on Friday, 19 June 2026; and

(c) any public interest immunity claim raised by the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors in response to this order must specify the particular harm to the public interest that would result from the order being fully complied with.

Question agreed to.