The Justice Party crossbencher put forward the private members’ bill last week to mandate the number of skilled staff to residents, saying many facilities are cutting costs from areas such as food to increase their profits.

“I ate 100 times better in jail at Langi Kal Prison several years ago than most pensioners do whether they are at home, or they’re in a nursing home or in a retirement village,” the independent senator told Parliament.

The Senator said it was “bleeding obvious” that higher staff ratios would lead to a better quality of care.

There has not been huge support for the bill however, with the Australian Greens and the government telling Australian Ageing Agenda they would not back the bill while the Opposition and the Nick Xenophon Team have not declared their position.