Infringement notices are one of the powers under the Regulatory Powers Act that are part of the Aged Care Act. They must be given by an infringement officer. The infringement officer is either the Commissioner or the System Governor. This depends on who is responsible for the specific rule or requirement in the Aged Care Act.
What is an infringement notice
An infringement notice is a regulatory power that can be used for specific provisions in the Aged Care Act. Someone who gets an infringement notice can choose to pay an amount in line with the notice instead of having court proceedings brought against them. If the person chooses not to pay the amount, proceedings can be brought against the person.
The infringement notice will outline the alleged contravention – which rule or requirement the person hasn’t followed. It will also explain how much the provider must pay, the due date for payment, and the consequences of not paying. A single infringement notice can cover multiple breaches.
When an infringement notice can be given
The infringement officer can only give infringement notices that relate to the following rules and requirements under the Aged Care Act:
- Reporting: When a provider doesn’t submit a report that’s required to meet their obligations under the Aged Care Act (clause 166).
- Change in circumstances: When a provider or responsible person doesn’t give notice about a change in their circumstances (clauses 167 and 169).
- Cooperation: When a provider doesn’t cooperate with someone who is carrying out their role or using powers under the Aged Care Act (clause 177).
- Complying with notices: When a person doesn’t follow the requirements of notices that are given using regulatory powers (clauses 480, 487, 490 and 495).
- Assurance activities: When a provider doesn’t provide reasonable facilities – such as a workspace, lighting, equipment – or help to the System Governor for its assurance activities (clause 512).
Under the Aged Care Act, other clauses subject to infringement notices can be added to this list in the future. This would be done through the Rules that support the Aged Care Act. This lets the law be more flexible in how it uses notices.