This Bills Digest replaces a preliminary Digest published on 29 July 2025 to assist in early consideration of the Bill.
Introductory Info
Date of introduction: 24 July 2025
House introduced in: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Health, Disability and Ageing
Commencement:
Sections 1 to 3 commence on Royal Assent.
Schedule 1, Part 1 commences immediately after the commencement of the Aged Care Act 2024 (which is scheduled to commence on 1 November 2025).
Schedule 1, Part 2 commences on 1 July 2026.
Schedule 2, Part 1 commences immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2 to the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024 (which is scheduled to commence on 1 November 2025).
Schedule 2, Parts 2 to 5 commence the day after Royal Assent.
Schedule 3 commences at the same time as the Aged Care Act 2024.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (the Bill) is to make consequential and transitional amendments to 26 Acts to bring Commonwealth legislation in line with aged care reforms due to commence on 1 November 2025.
Structure of the Bill
The Bill comprises three Schedules.
Schedule 1 – Amendment of the Aged Care Act 2024
Schedule 1 provides for technical amendments and editorial corrections to the Aged Care Act 2024 (the new Act) to ensure that the new Act supports intended policy outcomes.
Schedule 2 – Amendment of the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024
Schedule 2 provides for technical amendments and editorial corrections to the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024 to support transition from the existing system established under the Aged Care Act 1997 (the old Act) to that established under the new Act.
It also deals with the collection, use and disclosure of information acquired under the old law and allows the Minister, during the first 2 years of operation of the new Act, to make transitional rules modifying the operation of primary legislation to ‘ensure that continuity of care is maintained for older persons in the event of unforeseen or unintended circumstances arising during transition and implementation of the new rights based aged care system established by the new Act’ (Explanatory Memorandum (EM), p. 2). This type of provision is commonly known as a ‘Henry VIII clause’, which often invites comment from the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee as a potentially inappropriate delegation of legislative power.
Schedule 3 – Amendments of other Acts
Schedule 3 makes consequential amendments to a range of Commonwealth legislation to reflect the upcoming repeal of the old Act and related legislation. These amendments ensure that legislation affected by the repeal of the old law reflect the concepts and terminology used within the new Act, and that references to the old laws are read as references to the new Act and associated legislative instruments.
Background
The Bill is intended to support major aged care reforms due to commence on 1 November 2025 by making amendments to the Aged Care Act 2024, the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024 and other primary legislation relevant to the implementation of the reforms.
The aged care reforms are being made in the context of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the Aged Care Act 2024.
Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (2018–2021)
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (the Royal Commission) was established in October 2018 in response to public concern about issues with quality and safety in Australia’s aged care system.
The Royal Commission’s final report was published on 1 March 2021 with 148 recommendations, and found that the system failed to deliver consistently safe and dignified care, lacked transparency and accountability, and was difficult for older people to navigate. The final report recommendations detailed large scale reform options.
The Royal Commission was notable in that the two leading Commissioners did not reach consensus on all recommendations, particularly those relating to funding models and the configuration of the aged care regulator (Final report, Vol. 1, p. 2). However, they were in agreement in recommending a new Aged Care Act that adopts a rights-based approach, placing people at the centre of the system (Final report, Vol. 1, pp. 14, 35). Together the Commissioners recommended an overhaul of the legislative framework, including strengthened quality and safeguarding, and clearer responsibilities for providers and government.
For further details on the Royal Commission recommendations as related to the Aged Care Act 2024, please see the relevant Bills Digest.
Aged Care Act 2024
On 25 November 2024 the Aged Care Bill 2024 passed both Houses of Parliament, and received Royal Assent on 2 December 2024.
The Aged Care Act 2024 was originally scheduled to commence on 1 July 2025, however it was delayed to 1 November 2025 due to provider and community critique of readiness.
The passing of this amendment Bill is one of the preparatory steps for the government to complete before the Aged Care Act 2024 comes into force.
The Aged Care Act 2024 introduces a number of key changes to the aged care system, including:
Aged care reforms
Some of the reforms to aged care recommended by the Royal Commission and accepted by government were able to come into effect without legislative change, and have already commenced.
Select aged care reforms that commenced prior to the Aged Care Act 2024 include:
For the full list and further details please see the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing descriptions of the reforms achieved to date.
Associated Rules for the Aged Care Act 2024
The final draft of the Aged Care Rules 2025 (the Rules) was released on the 31 July 2025. The Rules will be a legislative instrument under the Aged Care Act 2024 and subject to disallowance by Parliament. The Rules will commence at the same time as the Aged Care Act 2024 commences (section 2-5) and the final draft of the Rules states that ‘Amounts in this draft are approximate and subject to change before 1 November 2025’ (p. 2).
The Rules had staged draft release from September 2024 to May 2025 to provide opportunity for public consultation. The Department provided a summary of key changes made to the Rules as a result of the feedback, as at 10 July 2025.
It has been observed that it was challenging to provide feedback on the extensive rules draft documents in the consultation times allocated. In May 2025 aged care commentator Kathy Eager stated that:
… the Act is quite high level with the operational detail left to a set of subservient “Aged Care Rules”. Consultation drafts of the Rules have been progressively released as they are being written with comments closing on 13 May 2025. This is a bureaucratic process with no public accountability or oversight by the parliament.
Two months out from the Act taking effect, there are more than 700 pages of draft Rules, making it almost impossible for anyone to absorb them or provide a considered response.
Referral to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
The Bill has been referred to Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee with the report due 21 August 2025.
A public hearing was held on the 8 August 2025 and the Inquiry received 20 submissions.
At the hearing, prominent aged care advocacy groups COTA and OPAN (Older People’s Advocacy Network) stated that the maximum wait time from assessment to package implementation should be 30 days (p. 7–8). The Government’s current goal of three months was recognised as an improvement, but advocates noted an intention to continue advocating for 30 days:
We do want to see the bill passed, and that is really so that the Aged Care Act 2024 can commence on 1 November. It's really important that happens because it will ensure that older people have the information they need on fees and charges before signing their Support at Home contract, which was one of the primary reasons we supported a delay to the start date—so that people are able to give informed consent. (p. 2)
The government's aspiration of three months is an improvement on what we've got currently, so we're of course supporting them moving to shorten that time period. But, as advocates, we will keep pressure on to try and make sure that, over time, it comes down to 30 days. (Spokesperson for OPAN, Ms Sparow, p. 7)
Policy position of non-government parties
The Bill passed the House of Representatives without amendment on 30 July 2025. The second reading speeches allowed non-government parties and independents to state their positions on the Bill and the aged care reforms more generally.
Melissa Macintosh, Liberal Party, emphasised the importance of Senate Committee scrutiny of the proposed amendments:
… we'll be sending this bill to committee to ensure appropriate scrutiny is placed upon the proposed amendments to the Aged Care Act 2024. We remain increasingly concerned and disappointed by the lack of transparency this government has shown to the Australian public throughout their entire process of reform… These changes must be scrutinised to ensure that the process of reform can be implemented in the best possible way.
Dr. Helen Haines, Independent, made statements broadly supporting the Bill and spoke about the two year rule-making powers contained in Schedule 2, Part 4:
First, this bill includes a new rule-making power that allows the minister to make rules modifying the operation of the Aged Care Act we passed last year without passing legislation. This is a broad power of delegation. According to the scrutiny of bills committee, provisions such as these may limit parliamentary oversight and subvert the appropriate relationship between the parliament and the executive...While I would usually prefer powers such as these to remain within the parliament, in this case I support the inclusion of these delegated legislation powers because I support the intent behind them
…
I'm also comforted by the safeguards in the delegated legislation powers. The scrutiny of bills committee will continue to provide oversight, the powers will only operate for the first two years of the act and any rules made by the minister which change the act will be disallowable by the parliament, allowing for some scrutiny. I urge the government to ensure that any changes the minister makes to the act under this power be communicated to the parliament and to the community more broadly.
National party members Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack commented on the importance of aged care reforms, especially in rural and regions areas. On the Bill’s provisions Mr McCormack stated:
I just listened to the member for Indi [Dr. Helen Haines] very closely. She is concerned about some changes whereby the minister would have all of the say over changes that would previously have been legislative
...
I think we do need to allow ministers to be ministers. They have oversight of departments and of secretaries of departments, and I would like to actually see, in one sense, ministers not just be a tick and flick for departments and for secretaries.
Rebeccah Sharkie, Independent, made statements broadly supporting the Bill and made various comments regarding the aged care reforms.
Financial implications
The EM details financial implications for the amendments proposed to the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 by Schedule 3 to the Bill, and advises that the Bill has no other financial implications (pp. 2–3).
Key issues and provisions
The Bill contains primarily technical, editorial, and consequential amendments intended to provide consistency and operational clarity across legislation impacted by the transition to the Aged Care Act 2024. While most provisions are technical and consequential, provisions concerning transitional rule-making powers may invite additional consideration.
Transitional provisions
Schedule 2, Part 4 of the Bill would allow the Minister to make transitional rules that modify the operation of primary legislation during the initial two-year implementation period of the Aged Care Act 2024 (due to commence 1 November 2025). This includes the ability to alter the application of the Aged Care Act 2024, the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024, or any other Act, where necessary to address issues arising during the transition.
The EM explains that this approach is designed to:
… be utilised to ensure continuity and operability in relation to care provided under the old and new law, despite transition. The foremost reason for this provision is to serve as a failsafe which ensures that the Minister is empowered to act swiftly to address the impact that unintended or unforeseen circumstances may have on the operation of the new Commonwealth aged care system, as interruption to these critical services may result in significant detriment to the older persons who rely upon them. (p. 111)
While transitional powers are not unusual in the context of large-scale legislative reform, the scope of these provisions permits delegated legislation to modify the operation of primary legislation. The Bill does not prescribe detailed parameters for how the Minister may exercise these powers. However, rules made under these provisions would be legislative instruments, subject to parliamentary disallowance under the Legislation Act 2003. The EM notes:
Ultimately, any legislative instrument made by the Minister is disallowable by Parliament, which ensures that there is appropriate Parliamentary scrutiny and oversight of any exercise of legislative power under this provision by the Minister. (p. 112)
These types of provisions are commonly known as a ‘Henry VIII clause’, which often invite comment from the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee as a potentially inappropriate delegation of legislative power.