Paul Milward was aged 53 at the time of his death on 31 August 2015 and resided at an aged care residential facility. Mr Milward suffered from Huntington's disease, depression, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and asthma. He was on numerous medications. It was...
ageing and aged care
Nanny-cams and Home Care Services
Laws relating to surveillance cameras and devices operate at the state and federal level. In WA the applicable Acts are the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA), as well as statutory obligations arising under occupational health &...
Federal Court dismisses bid to charge Asset Replacement Fee
Regis had commenced the proceedings seeking a declaration from the Court that the Asset Replacement Charge (ARC) may be lawfully imposed without contravening the Aged Care Act or its associated regulatory instruments. All individuals entering Regis’ facilities from 1...
Coroner refers Nursing Home to OACQC
In August 2012 Mr R was admitted to a high care nursing home facility, where he required assistance with all daily living tasks and was unable to mobilise independently. 31 days after his admission he was noted to have pressure sores on his heels. In November 2012,...
Move to mandate staffing ratios
The Aged Care Amendment (Ratio of Skilled Staff to Care Recipients) Bill 2017 is seeking “to enhance the level of care provided by aged care facilities nation-wide” according to Senator Derryn Hinch’s Second Reading Speech. The Bill proposes that a minimum adequate...
Employer Successfully Rebuts Aged Care Worker’s Bullying Claim
The employee made multiple bullying allegations covering a period of approximately 3 years. Amongst those allegations she claimed that: the first day she met the manager that the manager yelled and screamed at her in the office; she was detained against her will when...
Consumer Protection announces review of retirement village contracts
Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard advised that the investigation will examine various contracts offered by retirement village operators to see if they breach the "unfair contract terms" provisions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). One...
Elder Abuse under Review
The Report, released on 14 June 2017, follows an inquiry held to identify and model best-practice legal frameworks to promote and support older people and protect against misuse or advantage taken of formal or informal supporter roles. Elder abuse is defined as a...
Premature Deaths of Nursing Home Residents
The study published in the recent Medical Journal of Australia examined nursing home residents whose deaths had been reported to state coroners from 2001-2013. The study found that the incidence of premature (death which occurred sooner than necessary) and preventable...
New Privacy Act Data Breach Obligations Update
Eligible Data Breaches The Act sets up a scheme for notification of ‘eligible data breaches’. An eligible data breach happens if: there is unauthorised access to, unauthorised disclosure of, or loss of, personal information held by an entity; and the access,...