As Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind emphasised, ‘2025 is going to be a big year for privacy and enforcement action’. Most of the new provisions commenced on 10 or 11 December 2024, but two significant changes will roll out later: The tort for serious...
By David McMullen and Ryan Hewitt Background The Retirement Villages Act 1992 (WA) (“RV Act”) gives the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) jurisdiction to terminate a residence contract on application from a retirement village operator in limited circumstances, due...
This new rights-based Act aims to address key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The promise is that: ‘It will empower older people to exercise their rights when accessing, or seeking to access, Commonwealth-funded aged care...
Quicker Access to Services Additional funding will be allocated in the first two years of the new program to improve service delivery. By 1 July 2027, the program aims to reduce the average wait time for services to three months. New Classification System Under the...
The Bill implements 23 of 25 legislative changes arising from the Commonwealth Government’s 2023 response to the Attorney-General’s Department Privacy Act Review Report. The Bill lays the foundation for significant changes aimed at strengthening privacy protections...
Background – This has been a long time coming The Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2024 (WA) passed through WA Parliament on on 5 November 2024. A significant reform to the retirement villages legislation in this state, the Bill (now Act) builds on past reforms such...
An overview of the key takeaway points for service providers can be found here. Commonwealth Response On Wednesday, 31 July 2024, the Commonwealth released its response to the Royal Commission Final Report. Of the 222 recommendations, 172 recommendations were...
New Quality Standards The existing Quality Standards were introduced only a few years ago – in 2019 – to much fanfare. However, since then, the Royal Commission recommended (in 2021) a review of the Standards – ushering in another period of change and adjustment for...
The case is a good illustration of the application of the key legislative provisions outlined in the Panetta McGrath factsheet available here It serves as an important warning not only for pathology providers, but also landlords (a common example being owners of...
Following on from David McMullen's article Health Practices in WA: At Risk of unexpected payroll tax? This recent article published in the ADAWA Western Articulator will be of interest to all health practices who have practitioners working under an independent...