Police checks for aged care workers to begin by march
The Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, has announced details of new police background checks for new aged care workers including
volunteers to apply from 1 March 2007.
The police check requirement will be implemented progressively, and
existing staff have to have had a police check or have submitted an
application to the police by 1 June.
Existing volunteers will be required to have a police check or have
submitted an application to the police by 1 September.
Amendments to the Aged Care Principles legislation also require police checks for contractors who have unsupervised access to care recipients, including aged care staff employed though an agency.
People will be precluded from employment in aged care if their police
check shows a conviction for murder or sexual assault, or a conviction for any other form of assault which resulted in a prison sentence.
Refusal to obtain a police certificate will also preclude a person from employment in aged care.
In the case of less-serious convictions, aged care providers must have procedures in place for assessing a person’s suitability for employment in aged care. Such policies must consider the position held by the employee and the level of risk to care recipients, including the extent of direct and unsupervised contact.
The introduction of compulsory police background checks for aged care
workers and volunteers was one element of the Howard Government’s $100 million response to the small number of serious instances of abuse of the elderly which came to light early in 2006.
