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

Ms ROBERTS (Pearce) (11:16): The incorporated speech read as follows— Every older Australian deserves care that sees them, knows them and treats them with dignity and respect. That is a simple principle, but it is not a simple task, because dignity in care is not 'one size fits all'. It is personal.

It is shaped by culture, by history, by family and by community. And for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, dignity in care must also mean something more. It must mean care that understands culture, care that acknowledges history, and care that recognises and responds to the adversity that so many have faced across generations.

Today, this parliament takes an important step toward delivering that kind of care. This bill, the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Bill 2026, establishes Australia's first permanent, independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged-care commissioner—a reform that was called for by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and one that this Albanese Labor government is proud to deliver.

The case for this role is not abstract. It is grounded in evidence, in experience and in the voices of older First Nations people themselves. We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are more likely to need aged care, and more likely to need it earlier in life.

Yet, despite that greater need, they access aged-care services at lower rates than other Australians. That gap should concern every one of us in this chamber, because it tells us something fundamental is not working. And we cannot shy away from why.

For too many older First Nations Australians, aged care has felt like a system built by others, for others—a system that has not always understood them and has not always welcomed them. It has been a system that, at times, has asked people to leave their country, to move away from their communities, to be separated from family and to navigate services in languages and environments that are unfamiliar and unwelcoming.

For some, engaging with aged care means placing trust in institutions that, historically, have not earned that trust. We cannot ignore that history. It shapes decisions today.

It shapes whether people seek care early or delay until it is too late. It shapes whether people engage or whether they disengage entirely. And when people disengage from care, the consequences are serious.

They wait longer, they become sicker and too often, they miss out on the dignity, the comfort and the quality of life that every Australian deserves in their later years. That is why this reform matters. While we acknowledge that there is still much work to do to rebuild trust—trust that has been eroded over decades and, indeed, centuries—this commissioner represents a profound step forward.

It is about creating the structures that ensure every older Australian, no matter where they live or who they are, has access to safe, respectful and culturally appropriate care. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner will be a strong, independent advocate. They will work to ensure that aged-care services in every part of our nation—in our cities, in regional communities, in remote areas and on islands—are culturally safe, trauma informed and responsive to the people they serve.

They will provide expert advice to government on how to improve access to care and how to design policies and programs in genuine partnership with First Nations communities. They will help to build cultural capability across the aged-care sector so that those delivering care understand the people they are caring for not just clinically but culturally and socially as well.

They will support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to become registered aged-care providers, because we know that care delivered by community in community is often the care that works best. And they will play a role in growing the First Nations aged-care workforce so that older people can see themselves reflected in those who support and care for them.

Importantly, this commissioner will not be a symbolic role. They will sit within the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, with an independent statutory function. This is a deliberate design—one that ensures the commissioner's voice is not only heard but is connected directly to the mechanisms that can drive change.

It means their advocacy will have impact. The commissioner will have the ability to collect information, to listen to communities and to report publicly on what they hear. They will have a direct line into how aged-care providers are registered, how quality is monitored and enforced and how care is delivered on the ground.

And they will be able to engage directly with the minister and with the broader governance of the aged-care system, ensuring that the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not just included but embedded in decision-making. This role has not been developed in isolation. It has been shaped by the voices of the people it is designed to serve.

The outgoing Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner, Ms Andrea Kelly, has done extraordinary work in laying the foundation for this reform. Andrea travelled extensively across the country, holding 135 forums and meeting with more than 1,000 older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, along with their families, communities and service providers. She listened deeply and respectfully to what was working, what was not and what people wanted from this role.

That consultation has been critical, because meaningful reform cannot be imposed from the top down. It must be informed by lived experience, by community insight and by genuine engagement. In my own visits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community groups, I have also heard about the impact of having a dedicated voice—someone who can take local experiences and bring them directly into the national conversation.

That is what this commissioner will do. Of course, appointing a commissioner is not, on its own, the end of the journey. There is still significant work ahead.

We must continue to ensure that aged care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is not only culturally safe in principle but culturally safe in practice every day, in every service, across the country. This Albanese Labor government has already begun that work. We have enshrined stronger rights within the Aged Care Act.

We have ensured that redress payments are appropriately protected. We are continuing to support and expand programs such as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program. But we know there is more to do, and we will continue that work—alongside communities, alongside providers, and with the guidance of the commissioner—until every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person can have confidence that aged care is a system they can trust.

While the establishment of the commissioner is at the heart of this bill, it is not the only measure it contains. The bill also introduces a number of important technical amendments to strengthen the aged-care system as a whole. These include making permanent a set of measures that have supported the smooth operation of the new Aged Care Act since its commencement on 1 November 2025.

Those measures have provided continuity and certainty for both older Australians and providers during a period of significant reform, and it is appropriate that they now be embedded in legislation. The bill also strengthens protections for older people by clarifying the obligation on providers to refund any contributions or fees that have been overcharged or overpaid.

This is a practical but important safeguard, one that reinforces accountability and fairness within the system. It also addresses an unintended consequence in the current legislation by ensuring that elected local councillors are no longer captured as 'responsible persons' under the act. This change brings local government into alignment with state and territory arrangements, and it ensures that councils can continue delivering aged-care services in the communities that rely on them.

Further technical amendments will support the ongoing transition of the sector, including a small but meaningful change that provides individuals with greater flexibility in how they pay for residential aged care while awaiting the outcome of means testing. These are sensible, targeted improvements. They reflect a government that is committed not only to major reform but also to ensuring that the system works in practice for the people who rely on it every day.

But at its core, this bill is about something much simpler, and much more important. It is about voice. It is about ensuring that older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are not just participants in the aged-care system but active.