Council members no longer responsible persons under the Aged Care Act

Last year, the Parliament of Australia passed the Aged Care Act 2024 (the Act), resulting in widespread reform to the aged care sector and impacting upon providers across the country, including our clients in the local government sector.

As part of those changes, local government elected members of registered providers under the Act were considered to be ‘responsible persons’. The Act imposes extensive duties and responsibilities upon responsible persons, and responsible persons can be held personally liable for compliance issues.

Following extensive feedback from the local government sector in South Australia and across the country about the apparent conflict between the Act and the local government legislative framework, the Parliament has taken steps to amend the Act. 

Specifically, the Parliament has passed the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Act 2026 on 15 October 2026.

As a result, the definition of responsible persons in the Act has been updated. Where local government councils are registered providers for the purposes of the Act, elected members of those councils will no longer be considered responsible persons.

This amendment took effect from 31 October 2026 but does not have retrospective effect, meaning that elected members of any councils which are registered providers under the Act will be expected to have complied with the duties and responsibilities of a responsible person until that date.

It is important to be aware that despite this amendment, Council employees who are involved in the management, oversight or delivery of aged care services continue to be ‘responsible persons’ for the purposes of the Act. This includes not only those who directly oversee the day to day delivery of the services but also those who have responsibility over those services which would likely include the Chief Executive Officer and other executive staff members.

If you have any questions about how the amendments to the Act affect you or your Council, please contact Felice D’Agostino on 08 8210 1202 or fdagostino@normans.com.au or Annabelle Narayan on 08 8210 1292 or anarayan@normans.com.au.