Portfolio — 24 May 2026

Sam Rae's ministerial activity on 24 May centred on the transition out of the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner role, with the minister publicly thanking Andrea Kelly for her service and acknowledging her decision to step down at the conclusion of her secondment [TA-260525-health-5aeaf6955b1d]. The central policy signal from these media releases is the status Rae attached to Kelly's report — titled Transforming Aged Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People — describing it as a landmark document that will shape the Government's aged-care reform agenda for years to come [TA-260525-health-5aeaf6955b1d] [TA-260525-health-a94baa022b1a].

The forward-looking element of the ministerial statement is the commitment to embed First Nations community consultation in ongoing aged-care reform and to pursue the creation of a permanent First Nations Aged Care Commissioner — signalling that the interim arrangement is treated as a foundation rather than an endpoint [TA-260525-health-5aeaf6955b1d]. The pairing of a departure statement with a reform-direction announcement is a deliberate framing device: it positions Kelly's report as the authoritative reference point for whatever institutional architecture follows, while leaving open the timeline and mechanism for establishing the permanent role.

No parliamentary record was produced on this date, so the comms stream is the sole window into the minister's activity.