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) (12:18): I thank every member who has contributed to this debate. I thank all of the members for their thoughtful and respectful contributions. I'm very grateful for the support that this bill has drawn from across the chamber and the acknowledgement of the importance of the substantive role that it seeks to create.

Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians should never have to wonder whether their place in the aged-care system depends on who happens to be in government. I'm also grateful to the many Aboriginal community controlled organisations, the providers and the peak bodies who have shared their thoughts on what this role should look like going forward, as well as those who contributed to the Senate committee's inquiry.

We will continue that genuine consultation as we move towards appointment. I want to thank Andrea Kelly. Andrea was the inaugural interim First Nations aged-care commissioner, and she worked very hard to build trust with communities across Australia and helped the government to lay out a road map for the important reforms in this space.

I also want to thank our new interim First Nations aged-care commissioner, Jodi Cassar, who in her first months in the role has travelled widely and spoken to many communities and providers on how we will make this role work in the interests of elders. While the commissioner will be an invaluable resource for government to gain the insights we need to better support older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the role is not for us.

It's for the woman in a remote community who has been assessed as needing care but won't accept it because taking it means leaving country. It's for the man in the suburbs who has never told a care worker what happened to his family, because nobody has ever asked in a way that made him feel culturally safe. And it's for the families who have carried the load of caring by themselves for years, because the system offered them nothing better.

When this bill becomes law, those people will have someone whose job it is to speak for them and to advocate for them from inside the system. The heart of this bill is simple. Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people deserve a louder voice in their own care, and this parliament is about to give them one.

This bill also features technical but very important components to strengthen the system that older Australians rely on every day: strengthening protections for older people on pricing, simplifying local government's role in delivering aged care across all of our communities, and other small technical amendments to keep the act operating as intended as the sector continues this fundamentally important transition.

After the commencement of significant pieces of legislation like the Aged Care Act 2024, it's entirely conventional for the parliament to proceed to make minor and technical amendments to ensure that any reforms operate as they are intended. As an example, the Aged Care Act 1997, introduced by the Howard government, was amended 10 times in the first four years of its operation.

This is about listening to people's experiences of the reform and experiences of the system and ensuring that they continue to deliver a better experience for every older Australian. I commend the bill to the House. Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.