Aged Care and Elder Law Conference

Opening remarks from the chair

Speaker: Katrina Ong, Partner – Quality Management & Clinical Governance, Pride Living

Challenges faced during the pandemic by the aged care sector and the lessons learned.

• Sharing an employment law perspective
• Implications for the aged care sector
• Current and future challenges

Piers Mitchem, Special Counsel, Hall & Wilcox

Financial impacts for providers of ongoing aged care governance reforms

• Balancing quality care with governance requirements
• Assessing staffing arrangements for the delivery of services
• Outlook for aged care providers, workers and those receiving residential or home care

Julie McStay, Partner, Thomson Geer

Aged care legislation and key obligations of an approved provider of aged care services

This session will provide an update on the evolving legislative frameworks for the aged care sector and the key issues that operators should consider when dealing with the requirements under the Single Aged Care Quality Framework and Standards and the Act.

Arthur Koumoukelis, Partner, Thomson Geer

Panel discussion: Being aged care litigation ready: will we see more litigation in aged care and how do we manage?

In the complex legal and regulatory framework that aged care providers operate within it is inevitable that disputes are going to occur. Are you ready for an allegation of breach of contract, negligent care delivery, medication incident or use of restraints and personal trespass or false imprisonment? Or have you assessed the dispute resolution options for court and tribunal hearings. The session provides practical insights on being litigation ready for the aged care disputes.

Who can consent restrictive practices and Substitute Decision Makers, who can and should staff check with and talk to

• How to navigate when you should act and how to avoid the pitfalls
• identifying the key matters to consider in deciding whether to make an application
• Latest in Behaviour support plans (BSP) requirements for restrictive practices
• Understanding the role and expectations of the Tribunal
• Effectively managing applications, families, and other stakeholders to avoid pitfalls

Sabine Phillips AM, Chief Legal Counsel, TLC Healthcare

Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) and what the effects of a Neglect report can have on a service

• Analysing the current compliance landscape
• Tips on how to ensure correct reporting and critical focus areas
• Takeaways from provider case studies
• Lessons learned in war-gaming your incident management system to respond to a SIRS report

Katrina Ong, Partner – Quality Management & Clinical Governance, Pride Living

Coronial investigations - preparation, policies, and procedures 

• Good incident investigation and management processes are critical for any care organisation. Aged care is no different. Management of incidents in aged care presents challenges not only where coronial investigations are concerned but also where other agencies may commence an investigation.
• This session will look at the management of coronial and major incident investigations and what to expect when appearing at a coronial inquest. The session will also consider the types of policies and procedures and risk management strategies organisations can employ to manage (and potentially avoid) incidents.

Christopher Sykes, Senior Legal Counsel, Mercy Health

Capacity and undue Influence – legal obligations for aged care providers and professionals

• Latest legal developments
• Issues in capacity to make decisions for financial management, accommodation, lifestyle, and medical care
• Opportunities for answering capacity and undue influence issues through technology

Michael Bennett, Barrister, 13 Wentworth