Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) 2022

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) 2022

## What it does

This law makes three key changes to aged care: it requires residential aged care facilities to have a registered nurse on site 24/7, it caps what people pay for home care services, and it requires aged care providers to be more transparent about their operations and charges.

## Why it matters

These changes aim to improve the quality and safety of aged care for older Australians while making it more affordable and easier to understand what you're paying for. Better staffing and price limits should mean better care and fewer surprise bills.

## Key details

- **Registered nurses on duty**: From 1 July 2023, residential care homes must have at least one registered nurse present and working at all times. Facilities can apply for exemptions in certain circumstances.

- **Home care price cap**: From 1 January 2023, there are limits on how much providers can charge people receiving home care services.

- **Information transparency**: From 1 December 2022, aged care providers must be clearer about their fees, services, and how they operate — making it easier for people to compare and understand costs before signing up.

Official Description

Amends the Aged Care Act 1997 to: require approved providers of residential care and certain kinds of flexible care to ensure a registered nurse is onsite and on duty at all times at each residential facility operated by them; enable the capping of prices that approved providers of home care can charge care recipients and remove the home care providers' ability to charge exit amounts; and require the secretary to publish information in relation to aged care services.

Committee Referrals

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

27 July 2022

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

9 Nov 2022

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

Constituent votes

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