Aged Care Act 2024

The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters:

required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the rules; or

necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

To avoid doubt, the rules may not do the following:

create an offence or civil penalty;

provide powers of:

arrest or detention; or

entry, search or seizure;

impose a tax;

set an amount to be appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund under an appropriation in this Act;

directly amend the text of this Act.

Without limiting subsection (1), the rules may:

make different provision in relation to different classes of registered providers, including by providing for certain matters to apply only to registered providers of a certain class; and

provide for the making of applications, requests and decisions in relation to matters dealt with by the rules and require the payment of fees prescribed by the rules for making such requests and applications.

Subsection (3) of this section does not limit subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Despite subsection 14(2) of the Legislation Act 2003, the rules may make provision in relation to a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification, any matter contained in any other instrument or other writing as in force or existing from time to time.

Before the Minister makes rules prescribing a law of a State or Territory for the purposes of the definition of aged care worker screening law in section 7, the Minister must be satisfied that:

the law establishes a scheme for the screening of workers for purposes including the purposes of this Act; and

the State or Territory agrees to the law being prescribed.

The rules may prescribe an amount by:

specifying the amount; or

specifying a method for working out the amount; or

specifying that the amount or period may be set by a determination made by the System Governor in accordance with the rules; or

specifying a nil amount.

Without limiting subsections (1) and (7), the rules may make different provision for an amount (including in any of the ways provided for in subsection (7)) for different classes of individuals, including classes of individuals (transitional cohorts) identified by reference to the individual being approved as a recipient of a kind of care under any of the following as in force or existing immediately before the commencement of this section:

the Aged Care Act 1997;

the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997;

the program manual for the Commonwealth Home Support Program or the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program.

Without limiting subsection (1), the rules may prescribe the following:

arrangements for individuals in a transitional cohort to elect to cease to be included in the cohort;

circumstances in which an individual will cease to be included in a transitional cohort.

Without limiting subsection (1), the rules may provide that a provision of this Act continues to apply in relation to an entity that has ceased to be a registered provider in circumstances prescribed by the rules.

Rules made for the purposes of a provision of Division 1, 2 or 3 of Part 2 of Chapter 4 that affect the amount of subsidy payable under that Division must:

be with respect to implementing Australia’s international obligations under Articles 4, 19, 20, 25 and 26 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; or

be with respect to implementing Australia’s international obligations under Articles 2 and 12(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; or

be with respect to the provision of be a right or benefit conferred upon Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons.

Rules made for the purposes of a provision of Division 4 or Division 4A of Part 2 of Chapter 4 that affect the amount of subsidy payable under that Division must:

be with respect to the provision of sickness and hospital benefits within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxiiiA) of the Constitution; or

be with respect to implementing Australia’s international obligations under Articles 2 and 12(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; or

be with respect to the provision of a right or benefit conferred upon Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons.

Rules made for the purposes of a provision of Division 5 of Part 2 of Chapter 4 that affect the amount of subsidy payable under that Division must:

be with respect to implementing Australia’s international obligations under Articles 4, 19, 20, 25 and 26 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; or

be with respect to implementing Australia’s international obligations under Articles 2 and 12(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; or

be with respect to the provision of a right or benefit conferred upon Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons.

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, or such other committee constituted under a resolution of the Senate, must:

begin a review of any rules made for the purposes of a provision specified in subsection (13) within 3 months after the day the rules are tabled in the Senate; and

report the Committee’s findings to the Senate as soon as practicable after completing each review.

The following provisions are specified:

section 14 (Aged Care Code of Conduct);

section 15 (Aged Care Quality Standards);

section 16 (meaning of reportable incident);

section 17 (restrictive practice in relation to an individual);

section 141 (Provider Register);

section 154 (personal information and record keeping);

section 162 (restrictive practices);

section 163 (immunity from civil or criminal liability in relation to the use of a restrictive practice in certain circumstances);

Chapter 4 (funding of aged care services);

section 379 (aged care worker screening database);

section 507 (register of banning orders).