With new laws in response to recommendations by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety now passed by the Commonwealth Parliament, new governance arrangements for aged care providers have been introduced.

The new arrangements set out in the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Act 2022 include significant changes to the key personnel requirements. The changes commence 1 December 2022. We examine what the changes mean for aged care operators.

Key Changes

Under the changes, the current disqualified individual arrangements will be repealed and replaced with a suitability test and new obligations are introduced for providers in assessing suitability and notifying changes.

There are also new obligations imposed on individuals who are key personnel to notify changes to approved providers.

Under the changes, an approved provider must notify the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission within 14 days if:

• an individual becomes key personnel;
• an individual ceases to be key personnel;
• the provider becomes aware of a change of circumstance that relates to a suitability matter in relation to an individual who is key personnel.

Additionally, key personnel must notify the approved provider within 14 days where there is a change in circumstance related to a suitability matter.

The ‘suitability matters’ are now defined in Section 8C of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 (Cwth).

The new timeframes are tight.  The notification periods have reduced from 28 days to 14 days and it is critical that providers implement a process that ensures action is taken quickly to enable the timeframes to be met.

The approved provider must ensure that its processes are effective to ensure that any changes in key personnel (whether it be that a person becomes key personnel or ceases to be key personnel or there is a change in circumstance that the provider becomes aware of that relates to a suitability matter in respect of an individual who is key personnel) are notified to the Commission within 14 days of the event occurring.

New assessment obligations for approved providers

The amendments also introduce new obligations on providers that they must at least once every 12 months consider both the ‘suitability matters’ for each KP and be reasonably satisfied the person is suitable to be involved with the provision of aged care.

Approved providers must keep records that demonstrate they have undertaken this process.  The details required are to be specified in Accountability Principles.

Civil penalties may be imposed for a failure to comply

Taking into account the commencement date is 1 December 2022, the practical effect is that approved providers must have considered the suitability matters in relation to all its key personnel and be reasonably satisfied that its key personnel are suitable to be involved in the provision of aged care by 1 December 2023.

Key Personnel Policy, process and training

Thomson Geer has developed a fixed price Key Personnel Policy which is compliant with the new legislation.

We are also working with our partner Anchor Excellence to offer our clients:

• tailored key personnel processes that will achieve practical compliance with the new requirements that suit your individual operation systems; and
• online training webinars for your staff.

If you are interested in purchasing the Key Personnel Policy or receiving further information about the tailored processes and training webinars please contact our Health, Aged Care and Retirement Villages team.

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