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2019
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Amendment (Worker Screening
Database) Bill 2019
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
and
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Circulated by authority of
Member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie MP
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Amendment (Worker Screening
Database) Bill 2019
OUTLINE
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Amendment (Worker Screening Database)
Bill 2019 (Bill) amends the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 (Act) to
establish a database for nationally consistent worker screening, for the purpose of
minimising the risk of harm to older Australians from those who work closely with them.
The Bill will require all workers and volunteers in the aged care sector to undergo a
screening process with their details then registered on a national database operated by the
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
The database will enable employers, and potential employers, to search the database to
screen potential employees for any history of misconduct.
Information entered into the database will include an individual's criminal history,
involvement in any reportable incidents under the existing compulsory reporting scheme
and any disciplinary proceedings and complaints.
The entries on the database will be real time information and should serve as a 'red flag'
for potential employers.
The introduction of a nationally consistent worker screening program was recommended
by the 2017 Australian Law Reform Commission report into Elder Abuse.
The successful implementation of the scheme will require the States and Territories to also
enact laws regarding screening and the sharing of necessary information, similar to the
Intergovernmental Agreement on Nationally Consistent Worker Screening under the
proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme national worker screening database.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The bill will have no financial impact.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short Title
Clause 1 provides for the Bill, once enacted, to be cited as the Aged Care Quality and
Safety Commission Amendment (Worker Screening Database) Act 2019.
Clause 2: Commencement
Clause 2 provides for the Bill to commence the day after the Act receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3: Schedules
Clause 3 provides that legislation specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set
out in that Schedule.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1
Item 1 inserts new definitions into the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act
2018.
Item 2
Item 2 provides that the Minister may determine that a State or Territory law is an 'aged
care worker screening law'. It is intended that the States and Territories will also enact
laws regarding screening of aged care workers and the sharing of necessary information
between State and Commonwealth agencies.
Item 3
Inserts a new Part 6A to establish an aged care worker screening database.
Section 54A provides a simplified outline of the new Part 6A.
Subsection 54B(1) requires the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner to establish,
operate and maintain an aged care worker screening database.
Subsection 54B(2) provides that the database must be in electronic form.
Subsection 54B(3) provides that the purpose of the database is to maintain an up to date
record of persons who have been found, in working or seeking to work with aged care
consumers, to pose or not pose a risk to such people. It also enables the sharing of
information in the database with persons or bodies (including employers and potential
employers) that deal with people who work, or seek to work, with aged care consumers.
Subsection 54B(4) provides that the objects of the worker screening database are not
limited by those listed in subsection 54B(3).
Subsection 54B(5) and subsection 54B(6) set out the information intended to be
included in the aged care worker screening database including:
information relating to persons who have made an application to be screened, who
have withdrawn an application and persons who have successfully been cleared
under an aged care worker screening law.
information relating to any decisions made under an aged care worker screening
law, in relation to each screening applicant, while the screening applicant's
application is pending or decided; and
information relating to employers or potential employers of persons who have made
screening applications.
Subsection 54B(7) states that the information to be included on the worker screening
database may include personal information (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988).
Subsection 54B(8) provides that the Minister may determine by legislative instrument
additional information to be included in the aged care worker screening database or
additional purpose for the aged care worker screening database.
Subsection 54B(9) provides that the aged care worker screening database is not a
legislative instrument.
Item 4
Item 4 provides that personal information contained in the Worker Screening database
may only be disclosed to such persons and for such purposes as the Commissioner
determines necessary for the operation or maintenance of the aged care worker screening
database.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Amendment (Worker Screening
Database) Bill 2019
This bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
Overview of the bill
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Amendment (Worker Screening Database)
Bill 2019 (Bill) amends the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 (Act) to
establish a database for nationally consistent worker screening, for the purpose of
minimising the risk of harm to older Australians from those who work closely with them.
The Bill will require all workers and volunteers in the aged care sector to undergo a
screening process with their details then registered on a national database operated by the
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
The database will enable employers, and potential employers, to search the database to
screen potential employees for any history of misconduct.
Information entered into the database will include an individual's criminal history,
involvement in any reportable incidents under the existing compulsory reporting scheme
and any disciplinary proceedings and complaints.
The entries on the database will be real time information and should serve as a 'red flag'
for potential employers.
The introduction of a nationally consistent worker screening program was recommended
by the 2017 Australian Law Reform Commission report into Elder Abuse.
The successful implementation of the scheme will require the States and Territories to also
enact laws regarding screening and the sharing of necessary information, similar to the
Intergovernmental Agreement on Nationally Consistent Worker Screening under the
proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme national worker screening database.
Human rights implications
While the primary purpose of the Bill is to protect vulnerable older Australians from abuse
in all its forms the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the Worker
Screening Database may result in the exclusion of a person from employment, which
engages the right to work and the right to privacy.
However, these are permissible limitations designed to protect the human rights of older
Australians.
Furthermore, the range of information, and its use, is limited to that which is necessary for
the performance of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner's functions and for
the purposes of the database as set out in the Bill.
Conclusion
This bill is compatible with human rights.
Member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie MP