Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Bill 2026

Mr RAE (Hawke—Minister for Aged Care and Seniors) (10:19): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Every older Australian deserves care that sees them, knows them, and treats them with respect. That looks different for everyone.

For older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, that means care that understands their culture, their history, and—in many cases—the adversity they have faced. This bill delivers something that will give older First Nations Australians a clear voice to government: Australia's first permanent, independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner.

It was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and today this Labor government delivers it. The case for this role is clear. Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to need aged care, and more likely to need it earlier in life.

Yet they use it at lower rates than other Australians. We can't continue to shy away from why that is. For so many older First Nations people, aged care has felt like a system built by others, for others, a system that asked them to leave their country or island home, to move far from family, to explain themselves in a language that wasn't their first.

For some, reaching out for care means trusting institutions that have given their families little reason to. That history shapes the choices that people make today. When a care system doesn't understand a person, they don't work around the system—they simply disengage from it.

They wait longer. They get sicker. And too often people miss out on the dignity that they deserve in that care.

While there's much work to do to build back the trust of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians that care institutions have eroded over decades and centuries, this commissioner is a profound step forward. This is about building the structures that give every older Australian the same opportunities and the same access to dignified, joyful later years.

The commissioner will be a strong and independent advocate. They'll work to make sure that, in every corner of our nation—in the cities, in the bush and on the islands—aged care is culturally safe, is sensitive to trauma, and is responsive to the people that it serves. The commissioner will advise on how government should move to improve and expand access to care, and support genuine co-design of policies and programs for First Nations people.

They'll promote cultural capability across the sector, so that the people delivering care understand the people receiving it. They'll help more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations become registered providers—because care delivered by community, in community, is often the care that works best. And they'll help us lift the number of First Nations people working in aged care, so older people can see themselves in the people who look after them.

The commissioner will sit within the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, with an independent statutory role. This is a similar model to how the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner has been established. That placement is deliberate, and it is a strength.

It connects an independent First Nations voice directly to the levers that regulate aged care, and builds capability across the sector. It means their advocacy doesn't stop at advice; it will have teeth. This includes powers to collect information and report publicly on what they hear from the community.

It reaches into how providers are registered, how quality is measured and held accountable, and, importantly, how care is delivered on the ground—an independent voice, with a direct line to the parts of the system that can act on what it says, including the minister of the day and the system governor. This role has been shaped by the people it's for. The outgoing Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner, Ms Andrea Kelly, travelled the country and listened deeply.

She held 135 forums and met with more than 1,000 older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their families, communities, and providers. She heard what was working, what wasn't, and what people wanted this role to be. As I have visited Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and services around the country, I have heard of the power of that commissioner role—to bring a First Nations voice to where change can be made.

We'll run a robust, competitive process to make sure that the very best commissioner is appointed—someone who has a track record as a respected and trusted leader from the community. But we know that appointing a commissioner doesn't get us all the way. There is so much more work for government to do to make Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care as culturally safe in practice, in every instance, as it is intended in the Aged Care Act.

That work has commenced—with the enshrining of those rights, with the exemption of redress payments, with the work of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program. But we will continue that work until every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Australia knows that aged care is a system they can trust and rely on—and the commissioner will play a central role in support of our work to achieve that end.

This bill does more than establish the commissioner. It features technical, but important, components to strengthen the system that older Australians rely on every day. It makes permanent a set of measures, enacted through rules, that have kept the new Aged Care Act running smoothly since it commenced on 1 November 2025, giving older people and providers the continuity and certainty that they have needed through this transition.

It strengthens protections for older people—making clear the obligation on providers to refund contributions and fees that have been overcharged or overpaid. It makes a practical fix so elected local councillors are no longer captured as responsible persons under the act. This brings local government in line with state and territory governments, and it keeps councils delivering aged care in the communities that depend upon them.

And it makes a range of further technical amendments to keep the act operating as intended as the sector continues its transition. Examples include a small but important change to ensure individuals have flexibility to choose how they pay for residential aged care while they await the outcome of the means testing. These are sensible improvements.

They keep faith with the reforms this parliament has already passed, and they keep the system working for the people that it serves. But at the heart of this bill is a simple idea. Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people deserve a louder voice in their own care, and now they'll have one.

I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned.