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As the second major aged care reform bill passed the lower house on Thursday last week, law experts continue to advocate removing amendment nine from the first piece of legislation.
Of the 14 implementations included in the Royal Commission Response Bill 2022, schedule nine grants providers immunity from civil liability if their restrictive practices were within the law set by the Aged Care Act 1997.
Senior solicitor of law services provider Elderlaw, Rodney Lewis, says although the bill was called Royal Commission Recommendations, it was never a recommendation at all.
"I can't think of another instance where this has happened; where the immunity from claims and criminal charges has been offered to commercial and profit-making organisations," he says.
"We're substituting subordinate legislation in place of centuries of common law. The law actually exceeds the parliament's power to grant immunity.
"There have been almost daily breaches of the Aged Care Act, yet this particular amendment says, 'as long as you comply with the Quality of Care Principles, everything will be fine'."
Aged Care Insite spoke with Rodney about the possible implications of the amendment.
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