A New Aged Care Act for Australia? Examining the Royal Commission’s Proposal for Human Rights Inclusive Legislation

Bibliographic Data

ID6174132
AuthorsAnita Mackay (0000-0003-4297-9336), Laura Grenfell (0000-0001-6172-6719), Julie Debeljak (0000-0002-1331-7600)
Year2023
Volume46
Issue3
Publication date2023-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueUniversity of New South Wales Law Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0313-0096 • E-ISSN: 1839-2881
PublisherUniversity of New South Wales Law Journal (PUBLISHER • AU)
DOI10.53637/zmed8094
OpenAlexW4399926356
LanguageEN
Citations received2

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (‘RCAC’) revealed that abuse and neglect are widespread in residential aged care facilities (‘RACF’). In 2021, the RCAC’s Final Report recommended that a new Aged Care Act be enacted to replace the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth), and the new Act explicitly protect the rights of RACF residents. The recommendation included five uniquely formulated rights to be protected, drawing on international human rights law. This article aims to ensure that the new Act adequately respects, protects and fulfils the rights of RACF residents. This article explores the deficiencies in the current regulatory scheme, documenting the significant opportunity for improvement that rights-based legislation represents. It critiques the five RCAC-formulated rights, analysing the source of the rights within international treaties, and the scope of those rights. The article concludes by evaluating the proposed enforcement mechanisms for the RCAC-formulated rights against international enforcement obligations

Aged care · Commission · Human rights · Legislation · Political science · Project commissioning · Publishing · Royal Commission · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Law · Medicine · Nursing

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