Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (45 of 2025)
Schedule 2 Amendment of the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024
Part 1 Amendments commencing immediately after transition time
Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024
20 After Part 3 of Schedule 2
Insert:
Part 3A - Transitional provisions for Chapter 4 of the new Act
Division 1 - Home care subsidy under the old law
20B Claims for home care subsidy - pre-transition time payment periods
(1) Despite the repeal of the old law, a claim for home care subsidy, or a variation of a claim for home care subsidy, may be made on or after the transition time in respect of a payment period ending before the transition time, and the old Act and the Subsidy Principles continue to apply to the claim and any subsidy payable as a result of the claim, as if the repeal had not happened.
(2) If an overpayment to a person of an amount by way of home care subsidy is made before or after the transition time, and the amount has not been recovered by the Commonwealth before the transition time:
(a) the amount is taken, after the transition time, to be a recoverable amount for the purposes of the new Act; and
(b) the entity is a debtor in relation to the recoverable amount for the purposes of the new Act.
20C Pending application for hardship supplement
Despite the repeal of the old law, sections 48-10, 48-11 and 48-12 of the old Act, and Subdivision A of Division 4 of Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Subsidy Principles, continue to apply to an application under subsection 48-11(4) of the old Act that was made, but notdecided, before the transition time, as if the repeal had not happened.
Division 2 - Subsidy for home support
20D Notification of service delivery branches
(1) This item applies if, at the transition time:
(a) an entity is, because of subitem 5(1) of this Schedule, taken to be a registered provider under paragraph 105(1)(a) of the new Act; and
(b) a home care service is, because of subitem 5(8) of this Schedule, taken to be a service delivery branch of the registered provider.
(2) The registered provider is taken, at the transition time, to have given the System Governor a notification for the service delivery branch in accordance with subsection 203(1) of the new Act.
Division 3 - Unspent home care amounts
20DA Unspent home care amounts - Commonwealth portions and home care accounts
Responsibility to pay Commonwealth portion after the transition time
(1) Subitem (2) applies if, before the transition time:
(a) section 21F or section 21JB of the User Rights Principles 2014 applied to the Commonwealth portion of a care recipient's unspent home care amount; and
(b) the time at which the Commonwealth portion becomes due and payable to the Commonwealth had not occurred; and
(c) the Commonwealth portion had not been paid to the Commonwealth.
(2) Despite the repeal of the old law, that section continues to apply after the transition time, in relation to the Commonwealth portion, as if the repeal had not happened.
Recovery of Commonwealth portion - registered providers
(3) If a person who is, at the transition time, taken to be a registered provider because of subitem 5(1) of this Schedule fails, after the transition time, to comply with section 21F or 21JB of the User Rights Principles 2014 (as that section continues to apply because of subitem (2) of this item) in relation to the Commonwealth portion of a care recipient's unspent home care amount:
(a) the Commonwealth portion is taken to be a recoverable amount under section 514 of the new Act; and
(b) the registered provider is taken to be a debtor under section 514 of the new Act in relation to the recoverable amount.
Note: Division 2 of Part 13 of Chapter 6 of the new Act deals with the recovery of recoverable amounts.
Recovery of Commonwealth portion - persons who are not registered providers
(4) Despite the repeal of the old law, Division 95 of the old Act continues to apply after the transition time in relation to the Commonwealth portion of a care recipient's unspent home care amount as if the repeal had not happened, if:
(a) subitem (2) of this item applies in relation to the Commonwealth portion; and
(b) the person who was, immediately before the transition time, the approved provider in relation to the Commonwealth portion is not, at the transition time, taken to be a registered provider because of subitem 5(1) of this Schedule.
Note: Division 95 of the old Act deals with the recovery of overpayments.
Credit to new Act home care account for return of Commonwealth portion after the transition time
(5) Subitem (6) applies in relation to an individual if:
(a) immediately before the transition time, the individual was a care recipient with an unspent home care amount; and
(b) at a time (the post-transition time ) after the transition time:
(i) a person (whether or not a registered provider) pays the Commonwealth portion of the care recipient's unspent home care amount to the Commonwealth in accordance with section 21F or 21JB of the User Rights Principles 2014 (as that section continues to apply because of subitem (2) of this item); or
(ii) the Commonwealth recovers the Commonwealth portion of the care recipient's unspent home care amount (whether under Part 13 of Chapter 6 of the new Act or under Division 95 of the old Act as that Division continues to apply because of subitem (4) of this item); and
(c) at the post-transition time, the individual has a home care account in accordance with section 226E of the new Act.
(6) The individual's home care account is credited, at the start of a day prescribed by the transitional rules, by the amount of the Commonwealth portion.
20DB Unspent home care amounts - care recipient portions
(1) Subitem (2) applies if, before the transition time:
(a) section 21F of the User Rights Principles 2014 applied to the care recipient portion of a care recipient's unspent home care amount; and
(b) the period within which the care recipient portion must be paid in accordance with that section had not ended; and
(c) the care recipient portion had not been paid in accordance with that section.
(2) Despite the repeal of the old law, section 21F and subsection 21G(1) of the User Rights Principles 2014 continue to apply after the transition time, in relation to the care recipient portion, as if the repeal had not happened.
Division 4 - Residential care subsidy under the old law
20E Claims for residential care subsidy - pre-transition time payment periods
(1) Despite the repeal of the old law, a claim for residential care subsidy, or a variation of a claim for residential care subsidy, may be made on or after the transition time in respect of a payment period ending before the transition time, and the old Act and the Subsidy Principles continue to apply to the claim and any subsidy payable as a result of the claim, as if the repeal had not happened.
(2) If an overpayment to a person of an amount by way of residential care subsidy is made before or after the transition time, and the amount has not been recovered by the Commonwealth before the transition time:
(a) the amount is taken, after the transition time, to be a recoverable amount for the purposes of the new Act; and
(b) the entity is a debtor in relation to the recoverable amount for the purposes of the new Act.
20F Pending application for hardship supplement
Despite the repeal of the old law, sections 44-30, 44-31 and 44-32 of the old Act, and Subdivision B of Division 5 of Part 3 of Chapter 2 of the Subsidy Principles, continue to apply to an application under subsection 44-31(4) of the old Act, that was made, but notdecided, before the transition time, as if the repeal had not happened.
Division 5 - Subsidy for residential care
20G Leave from an approved residential care home
(1) This item applies if, at the transition time:
(a) an entity is, because of subitem 5(1) of this Schedule, taken to be a registered provider under paragraph 105(1)(a) of the new Act; and
(b) because of subitem 5(7) of this Schedule, a place through which a residential care service is provided is taken to be an approved residential care home in relation to the entity.
Hospital leave
(2) A day before the transition time on which an individual was on leave from the residential care service under subsection 42-2(2) of the old Act or subsection 42-2(2) of the old Transitional Provisions Act is to be counted, for the purposes of the new Act, as a day on which the individual was on hospital leave from the approved residential care home.
Hospital transition leave
(3) A day before the transition time on which an individual was on leave from the residential care service under subsection 42-2(3A) of the old Act is to be counted, for the purposes of the new Act, as a day on which the individual was on hospital transition leave from the approved residential care home.
Social leave
(4) In determining, for the purposes of paragraph 244(7)(c) of the new Act, the number of days during a financial year on which an individual has previously been on leave from the approved residential care home under subsection 244(7) of that Act, any day during that financial year on which the individual was on leave from the residential care service under subsection 42-2(3) of the old Act is to be counted.
Division 6 - Flexible care subsidy under the old law
20H Flexible care provided as short-term restorative care - claims for flexible care subsidy - pre-transition time payment periods
(1) Despite the repeal of the old law, a claim for flexible care subsidy in respect of a flexible care service through which an approved provider provides flexible care as short-term restorative care, or a variation of such a claim for flexible care subsidy, may be made on or after the transition time in respect of a payment period ending before the transition time, and the old Act and the Subsidy Principles continue to apply to the claim and any subsidy payable as a result of the claim, as if the repeal had not happened.
(2) If an overpayment to a person of an amount by way of flexible care subsidy in respect of a flexible care service through which an approved provider provides flexible care as short-term restorative care is made before or after the transition time, and the amount has not been recovered by the Commonwealth before the transition time:
(a) the amount is taken, after the transition time, to be a recoverable amount for the purposes of the new Act; and
(b) the entity is a debtor in relation to the recoverable amount for the purposes of the new Act.