One Ring to Rule Them All.

 I had a rare and wonderful thought. 

What if the three areas that are currently under review for legislative change were being harmonised, to the detriment of one or maybe more policy areas?

Turns out that's the case. I've pulled out the changes in common for the NDIS, Aged Care and Veterans. 

These are the similarities in the structural and legislative adjustments across the NDIS Amendment Bill, Aged Care Bill, and Veterans’ Entitlements Bill, focusing on compliance, monitoring, delegation of powers, civil penalties, needs assessments, flexible funding, regulatory powers, adverse action, information management, recoverable amounts, and registers of banning orders.

Secrets are bad. If they are keeping them, you know something is amiss. 

Can anyone say Robodebt? Or what about 'non-disclosure agreement?'

The terrifying thing is - it's pretty apparent that not everyone in the Labor government understands what the fuck they are doing. Because these are not benign changes - they are changes that will negatively impact upon the lives of disabled people, older Australians and veterans. Dangerous changes, which will hurt us. And no, they cannot be fixed. 

They will undoubtedly save money. That is what the authors of these changes, Stuart Robert and Scott Morrison, intended. But at what cost?

That's the thing. They are changes that are as punitive and soul destroying as Robodebt and there is not a spark bright enough to illuminate what the fuck is going on, at least in the Labor camp. 

That is what I dearly hope. Because the alternative is unconscionable. It is that our current government looked at these changes, understood that they would cause harm and untold deaths, and pushed ahead anyway. 

One ring to rule them all. Right? 

And to understand the magnitude of what these changes were for and who invented them, you'd really need to go back to the question of why we had a Minister for Everything. If Labor know the full detail of that, they are certainly keeping their mouths shut. https://www.themandarin.com.au/197554-one-ring-to-rule-them-all/

Have a read below. Here's my comparison. 

Let us fight together against these proposed changes, which will harm the most vulnerable in Australia right now. These are dark times. 

Compliance and Enforcement

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Section 73ZL: Powers for issuing compliance notices and infringement notices.
    • Section 202B: Delegation of compliance and enforcement powers to APS employees.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 236-245: Powers for issuing infringement notices and delegation of these powers.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 3, Part 1: Amendments to standardise the review pathway and confer jurisdiction on the VRB for review of DRCA original determinations.

Monitoring and Investigation

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Section 32F: Powers for monitoring and investigation, including conditions under which these activities can be carried out.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 215-221: Powers for monitoring and investigating under authorisation by the Commissioner.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 8: Amendments for the integration of information sharing processes between the Commission, the Department of Defence, and the ADF.

Delegations of Powers

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Sections 202B, 73ZM: Delegation of powers to lower-level officials for compliance and enforcement.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 242-245: Delegation of infringement and compliance powers to officials.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 4: Merging of commissions and transfer of powers to the Repatriation Commission.

Civil Penalties

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Section 45: Limits on payments, with civil penalties for violations.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 228-233: Application of civil penalties under Part 4 of the Regulatory Powers Act.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 1, Part 1: Closing eligibility to DRCA and VEA, consolidating under MRCA with transitional provisions.

Needs Assessments and Reassessments

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Section 32L: CEO's consideration of replacement needs assessment reports.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Provisions for reassessing care needs based on classification changes.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 1, Part 2: Amendments integrating provisions from old Acts, providing greater flexibility for needs assessments.

Flexible Funding and Budget Management

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Section 32E: Establishes a 'reasonable and necessary budget' for participants, including flexible funding components.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Provisions for varied funding periods and flexible budget management.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 1, Part 1: Establishes a single ongoing Act model with flexible funding arrangements for compensation and rehabilitation.

Regulatory Powers

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Provisions for regulatory powers to ensure compliance, involving monitoring, investigation, and enforcement.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Similar provisions for regulatory powers to ensure compliance and enforcement.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 8: Consequential amendments to reflect the MRCA as the primary statute for veteran matters and the merging of the Commissions.

Adverse Action and Compliance Notices

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Provisions for issuing adverse action and compliance notices.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Similar provisions for issuing adverse action and compliance notices.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 3: Amendments standardising the review pathway and issuance of compliance notices.

Civil Penalty Provisions

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Civil penalties for false or misleading information or documents.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 317-318: Civil penalties for false or misleading information or documents.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 8: Similar civil penalty provisions.

Information Management

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Provisions to ensure confidentiality and appropriate use and disclosure of information.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 321-335: Provisions to ensure confidentiality and appropriate use and disclosure of information.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 8: Amendments to streamline information sharing processes.

Recoverable Amounts

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Provisions for recovering amounts from financial institutions and deductions from amounts payable to debtor.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Sections 302-312: Provisions for recovering amounts and deductions from amounts payable to debtor.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 8: Debt recovery powers applicable across all Acts.

Register of Banning Orders

  1. NDIS Amendment Bill:

    • Provisions for maintaining a register of banning orders against providers.

  2. Aged Care Bill:

    • Section 296: Similar provisions for maintaining a register of banning orders.

  3. Veterans’ Entitlements Bill:

    • Schedule 8: Consolidation of powers to maintain registers of banning orders.


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