Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Bill 2026; Consideration in Detail

Watson-Brown argued that the integrated assessment tool is broken and consistently undervalues older Australians with cognitive issues, mental health conditions, and frailty. The member stated that an escalation pathway does not fix the underlying flaws of the algorithm and that older people require human override by clinicians rather than departmental reviews. Watson-Brown noted that the Greens would continue to work across the parliament to fix the system during the upcoming Senate inquiry.

Chaney supported the amendments as a welcome restoration of human override for automated decisions. The member warned that the substance of the reform depends on the rules made under the legislation, which must be scrutinised closely. Chaney criticised the government for ignoring warnings from assessors before the tool's rollout and introduced the Automated Decision-Making (Safeguards and Transparency) Bill to prevent similar issues in other government departments. The member urged the government to adopt a broader framework for automated decision-making rather than patching failures individually.

Sharkie argued that the amendments fail to address the systemic and structural flaws of the integrated assessment tool. The member cited evidence from Professor Kathy Eagar and former inspector-general Ian Yates, who described the tool as fatally flawed and contrary to person-centred care. Sharkie stated that the lack of clinical discretion poses significant risks to vulnerable older people, leading to malnutrition, falls, and emergency department admissions. The member urged the government to admit the tool is flawed rather than applying a band-aid solution.

Ryan welcomed the amendment for restoring human oversight to aged care decision-making after raising concerns about the tool repeatedly. The member noted that the seven-day window for requesting a review is very small and called for details on how assessors will be equipped to guide applicants. Ryan emphasised that delegates undertaking reviews must have clinical experience and commended the minister for acting on crossbench pressure. The member supported the referral of the bill to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs for further scrutiny.