SenateDivision 2 · 2 Jul 2026

Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill 2026 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea

Passed32 aye · 20 no

What this vote was about

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time. In other words, they voted to agree with the main idea of the bill. They can now discuss it in more detail.

What is the main idea of the bill?

According to the explanatory memorandum, which is a document prepared by the party that introduced the bill (in this case, the Independent Senators Ruston, Allman-Payne and Pocock):

This Bill amends the Aged Care Act 2024 (the Act) to protect and clarify the discretion of approved needs assessors in conducting aged care needs assessments. The Bill makes clear that the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) and any other classification tools and requirements prescribed by the Aged Care Rules 2025 (the Rules) must operate to support, not replace, professional judgement of approved needs assessors. This Bill also provides transitional protections, including a right to reassessment, for older Australians assessed since the Act’s commencement on 1 November 2025 when assessor discretion became unprotected.

The Act's failure to protect assessor discretion has allowed the Government to establish a framework in which an algorithmic tool, rather than a qualified professional, determines classification outcomes. Under the current framework, an approved needs assessor cannot, at the point of assessment, adjust or annotate the classification outcome generated by the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) even where the assessor's professional judgment indicates the tool has not captured the individual's needs.

The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM) has characterised this as a clinical safety issue, concluding that the tool fails to adequately capture the complexities of ageing, with identified gaps in its ability to assess frailty, sensory impairment, malnutrition, continence and elder abuse.

Context written by They Vote For You volunteers (ODbL), reproduced unchanged.

Second reading: The second reading vote decides whether the chamber agrees with the bill in principle. A second reading amendment attaches commentary or conditions to that agreement without changing the bill's text.

Related bills

Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill 2026

By party

Party	Aye	No
Australian Labor Party	0	19
Liberal–National Coalition	17	0
Australian Greens	10	1
Pauline Hanson's One Nation	4	0
Independent	1	0

Every vote

Other divisions this sitting day

What the Senate divided on around this vote, in order.

2 Jul 2026Bills — Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill 2026; Second ReadingSenate 31–20
2 Jul 2026Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill 2026 - Third Reading - Pass the billSenate 32–20
2 Jul 2026Bills — Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026; in CommitteeSenate 21–31
2 Jul 2026Bills — Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026; in CommitteeSenate 11–30
2 Jul 2026Bills — Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026; in CommitteeSenate 11–25
2 Jul 2026Bills — Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026; in CommitteeSenate 24–31
2 Jul 2026Bills — Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026; in CommitteeSenate 11–22
2 Jul 2026Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 31–24
2 Jul 2026Committees — Selection of Bills Committee; ReportSenate 34–21
2 Jul 2026Committees — Economics References Committee; ReferenceSenate 24–31
2 Jul 2026Documents — National Anti-Corruption Commission; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 15–25
2 Jul 2026Documents — Personal Information and Privacy; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 33–21
2 Jul 2026Documents — International Relations: Australia and Nauru; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 33–21
2 Jul 2026Documents — International Relations: Australia and Papua New Guinea; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 15–24
2 Jul 2026Documents — Nuclear Waste Management; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 15–24
2 Jul 2026Documents — Australian Defence Force; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 15–24
2 Jul 2026Documents — Australian Defence Force; Order for the Production of DocumentsSenate 33–21