Union calls for worker penalties to be scrapped from new Act

As the dust settles on the highly anticipated introduction of a new Aged Care Act, many who stand to be affected by the changes are now calling for amendments.

Last week data from the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) showed the majority of Australian aged care providers believe the new act will put further strain on the sector, due in particular to the speed at which reforms are being rolled out.

Similarly, Australian accounting peak bodies have issued a submission to Parliament recommending a review of the proposed funding structure, calling the means-tested model "too complex and difficult to understand."

Now, the Health Services Union (HSU) has made its own submission, calling for the revision to the of who can be subjected to new civil penalties introduced by the Act,

In their message to parliament, the HSU has said that while it acknowledges the importance of the Bill and generally supports its passage, it recommended the removal of civil penalties specific to aged care staff including fines from $78,000 for individual workers.

“Workers who do the wrong thing are already subject to strict disciplinary procedures which can result in people losing their jobs and even entire careers, alongside state-based criminal penalties for assault and negligence,” HSU national secretary Lloyd Williams said.

“Given workers are almost never in charge of the conditions and organisational decisions at their workplace, making them liable for civil penalties is grossly unfair.

“Senior decision-makers and providers will rightly face penalties under this bill, but that should not extend to workers."

Further to the issuing of civil penalties, the Union has also made the recommendation that "the definition of responsible person as 'any person who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the registered provider' is removed or better defined."

“The broad definition of who is a responsible person could capture workers who in reality are in no way responsible for a facility," Mr Williams said.

“This either needs to be significantly tightened or removed altogether. We can’t have a scenario where this vague definition makes workers responsible for incidents they shouldn’t be blamed for."

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The introduction of hefty penalties as a means of aged care regulation is a clear reaction to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, yet has been a point of almost continuous contention.

In December 2023 the Department of Health and Aged Care released its revised draft of the Aged Care Quality Standards, which included the threat of up to five years imprisonment for serious breaches.

These criminal penalties, along with establishing a "workers voice" to provide live feedback to governing bodies, were opposed by the Coalition during Act negotiations and as a result were ultimately scrapped for the sake of bipartisanship support.

The HSU's submission to Parliament has also called for:

“Workers should have their own registration system, rather than minimum qualifications being done through providers. This would send a clear signal about professionalising an undervalued workforce,” Mr Williams said.

“Aged Care Minister Anika Wells rightly called out providers who weren't meeting their required care minutes. There's now no excuse for providers and they should face real-time accountability in this legislation to ensure they're doing the right thing.”

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