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DISSENTING REPORT BY THE AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRATS
The Australian Democrats agree with many of the recommendations contained in the Majority Report. However, the Australian Democrats disagree in part or in full with a number of the recommendations and make the following amendments, or variations to the recommendations contained in the Majority Report.
Chapter 1
Recommendation 1
The Australian Democrats recommend that the commencement date for the aged care structural reforms be delayed until information concerning all the issues is available, outstanding problems and concerns have been resolved and the impact of the proposed reforms have been fully explored and debated, but no later than 1 January 1998.
Recommendation 2
The Australian Democrats recommend that:
(i) the Aged Care Bill 1997 be amended to require the setting up of an Independent Review Committee to review the first two years operation of the Act. The Committee should include representatives of consumers and providers and elect its own Chairperson. Funding for the Committee should be provided as part of the Provisions attached to the Bill.
The brief of the Committee should be:
taking evidence from and receiving submissions from all parties involved in the reform process;
making six monthly reports to the Parliament on the implementation of, and problems with, the new legislation;
making recommendations to the Parliament on amendments to the legislation, including changes to the funding levels set out under the Principles.
(ii) Should the amendment to establish an Independent Review Committee fail to pass, the Australian Democrats recommend that the Community Affairs References Committee monitor the operation of the Aged Care Bill 1997 following its enactment and review the implementation of the aged care structural reforms 12 months after the commencement of the Bill.
Chapter 2
Recommendation 3
The Australian Democrats recommend that:
the payment of accommodation bonds for entry to nursing homes should be introduced only if the Majority Report's other recommendations as amended by the Australian Democrats are implemented.
Recommendation 5
The Australian Democrats recommend that in determining whether a person is a concessional resident:
the Government should review the evidence presented in Chapter 2 of this report about the difficulties experienced by persons who will be forced to sell their homes and move amendments to the Bill to take account of these concerns.
Should the Government fail to amend the Bill adequately the Australian Democrats will agree to the following in determining whether a person is a concessional resident:
the requirement that a person has not owned a home during the preceding 2 years should be omitted; and
the value of the person's principal place of residence should be disregarded for the purpose of the assets test.
Recommendation 11
The Australian Democrats recommend that the Government continue appropriate funding for the Home and Community Care program and other community services and housing programs to address the needs of financially disadvantaged Hostel Care level residents that may be affected by the withdrawal of Hostel Care level subsidies.
Chapter 3
Recommendation 17
The Australian Democrats recommend the development of standard form agreements that outline the implied terms and a model agreement that incorporates fundamental rights. Such agreements should take into account the wide diversity of comprehension amongst residents and the difficulty of imposing too rigid agreements on proprietors.
Chapter 4
Recommendation 18
The Australian Democrats do not agree with this recommendation that nursing homes continue to be required to acquit that proportion of their funding expended on nursing and personal care.
Senator John Woodley
(AD, Queensland)
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