A mother of eight has become the first aged care worker to be banned from working in aged care in Australia, after she was allegedly caught stealing from residents.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission imposed the Banning Order, effective 1 January.
In December 2022, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission received information from the Queensland Police Service and an aged care provider raising allegations that consumers could be at risk.
On 31 December 2022, the Commission made a Banning Order against the woman, who we choose not to name in this article. The Banning Order prohibits her from engaging in, providing or being involved in the provision of aged care.
A Banning Order is the Commission’s most serious enforcement action against an individual.
Banning Order powers came into effect on 1 December 2022, as part of the new Aged Care Code of Conduct introduced by the Australian Government under the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Act 2022. The Code of Conduct sets out how aged care providers, their governing persons and staff must behave when providing aged care. The Act provides the Commission with a range of tools and powers to deal with behaviour that is inconsistent with the Code, including issuing a Banning Order.
“Aged care workers whose behaviour is not consistent with the Code of Conduct for Aged Care should not be working in the sector,” said a statement from the Commission.
The Commission publishes an Aged Care Banning Order Register with information about individuals who have been banned.
It is the aged care provider’s has a responsibility to check the Commission’s Register to ensure that individuals who have been banned are not engaged for employment. Aged care providers that fail to take reasonable steps to ensure that their staff have not been banned or the Commission may take enforcement action for breaches of civil penalty provisions.
The woman was employed at The Good Shepherd Home in Annandale, Queensland at the time, but was fired when management learnt of the charges, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
The regulator can make a banning order:
- where the Commission reasonably believes the individual did not comply, is not complying or is unlikely to comply with the Code of Conduct
- where the Commission reasonably believes the individual is not suitable to be:
- involved in the provision of any type of aged care or specified types of aged care, or
- engaged in specified activities as an aged care worker or governing person of an approved provider
- if the Commission reasonably believes there is an immediate or severe risk to the safety, health, or well-being of one or more consumers
- the individual has at any time been convicted of an indictable offence involving fraud or dishonesty
- the individual is an insolvent under administration.
The charges will be heard at Townsville Magistrates Court on 31 January.
