Aged care Register of banning orders

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner (Commissioner) may make a banning order against an individual where:

• the Commissioner reasonably believes that the individual did not comply, is not complying or is not likely to comply with a requirement of the Code of Conduct that applies or applied to the individual; or
• the Commissioner reasonably believes that the individual is not suitable to be involved, or to continue to be involved, in the provision of any type of aged care or the specified types of aged care or to engage, or to continue to engage, in the specified activities as an aged care worker, or as a governing person, of the approved provider; or
• the Commissioner reasonably believes that there is an immediate or severe risk to the safety, health or well-being of one or more care recipients if the individual is involved or continues to be involved in the provision of any type of aged care or specified types of aged care; or engages or continues to engage in specified activities as an aged care worker or as a governing person of the approved provider; or
• the individual has at any time been convicted of an indictable offence involving fraud or dishonesty; or
• the individual is an insolvent under administration.

A banning order may be made against an individual who is or was an aged care worker or a governing person of an approved provider or against an individual who has never been an aged care worker or a governing person.  The effect of a banning order is that the individual against whom it is made is either permanently or for a specified period of time prohibited or restricted from providing any type of aged care or specified types of aged care or from engaging in specified activities as an aged care worker or a governing person of an approved provider.

Section 74GI provides that the Commissioner must establish and maintain a Register of Banning Orders and sets out information that must be included in the Register.  Banning orders that are no longer in force are included in the Register except where the banning order has been revoked or set aside.

An individual against whom a banning order is made may make an application to the Commissioner to have the decision to make the banning order reconsidered or to have the banning order revoked or varied.  Where an individual is not satisfied with the outcome of that reconsideration application the individual may seek a review of the reconsideration decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).  Where an individual has made an application for reconsideration of a reviewable decision to the Commissioner or a review of a reconsideration decision to the AAT and that application has not yet been finally determined the Register of Banning Orders will be amended to indicate that such an application has been made but has not yet been determined.  Where a banning order is varied the Register of Banning Orders will be amended to reflect the variation.  Where a banning order is revoked or set aside the entry in the Register of Banning Orders will be removed.

In addition to whatever arrangements an approved provider has in place to ensure that existing staff advise the provider if a banning order is made against them, an approved provider should, in conjunction with its other pre-employment processes, make a check of the Register of Banning Orders to identify whether an individual that the approved provider proposes to employ or otherwise engage has had a banning order made against them.

For more information about banning orders, refer to Regulatory Bulletin RB 2022-16 Banning orders.