Queensland Numbered Acts Queensland Numbered ActsPart 6 —
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138G Definitions for division In this division—
"enrolled nurse" means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law —(a) to practise in the nursing profession, other than as a student; and(b) in the enrolled nurses division of that profession.
"nurse" means a registered nurse or an enrolled nurse.
"registered nurse" means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law —(a) to practise in the nursing profession, other than as a student; and(b) in the registered nurses division of that profession.
"resident" , at a State aged care facility, means a person who is provided residential care at the facility.
"residential care" has the meaning given by the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cwlth), section 41- 3.
"State aged care facility" see the Public Health Act 2005 , section 61A.
"State aged care facility regulation" means a regulation under section 138H or 138I.
"State aged care facility workload management information" includes information about compliance with a State aged care facility regulation.
"support worker" means a person, other than a nurse, who provides residential care, under the supervision of a registered nurse, at a State aged care facility.Examples—• a person employed in the role known as an assistant in nursing• a person employed in the role known as a personal care assistant• a person employed in the role known as an undergraduate student in nursing
138H Prescription of minimum nurse and registered nurse percentages(1) A regulation may prescribe a requirement about the minimum percentage of nurses or registered nurses providing residential care at a State aged care facility prescribed by regulation during each 24-hour period to the total number of nurses and support workers providing residential care at the facility during the period.(2) The regulation—(a) may apply in relation to the delivery of residential care—(i) by stated Services; and(ii) at stated facilities or parts of facilities; and(iii) at stated times; and(iv) in stated circumstances; and(b) may include a requirement about the skills or qualifications of the nurses or support workers.(3) For this section, a nurse or support worker is taken to be providing residential care at a State aged care facility only if the nurse or support worker is directly involved in providing residential care at the facility.(4) In this section—
"24-hour period" means the period starting at midnight on a day and ending immediately before midnight on the following day.
138I Prescription of minimum average daily resident care hours(1) A regulation may prescribe a requirement about the minimum average daily resident care hours at a State aged care facility prescribed by regulation.(2) The regulation may apply in relation to the delivery of residential care—(a) by stated Services; and(b) at stated facilities or parts of facilities; and(c) at stated times; and(d) in stated circumstances.(3) The average daily resident care hours at a State aged care facility is worked out by dividing the total number of hours of residential care that nurses and support workers provide at the facility on a day by the number of residents at the facility on the day.(4) For this section, a nurse or support worker is taken to provide residential care at a State aged care facility only if the nurse or support worker is directly involved in providing residential care at the facility.
138J Temporary exemptions(1) The Minister may, by written notice given to a Service and published on the department’s website, grant a temporary exemption from compliance with a State aged care facility regulation.(2) A temporary exemption may—(a) exempt a Service from compliance with all or part of a State aged care facility regulation; or(b) vary the application of a State aged care facility regulation to a Service so it imposes a lesser requirement.(3) A temporary exemption may be granted on conditions.(4) A temporary exemption has effect for the period, of not more than 3 months, stated in the Minister’s notice.(5) The Minister may, under subsection (1), extend a temporary exemption for a further period of not more than 3 months.(6) However, the Minister may not extend a temporary exemption, or grant a further temporary exemption to a Service, if as a result the Service would be the subject of a temporary exemption for a continuous period of more than 6 months.
138K Matters for Minister to consider(1) This section applies if the Minister proposes to—(a) recommend to the Governor in Council the making of a State aged care facility regulation applying to a Service; or(b) grant or extend a temporary exemption for a Service under section 138J.(2) The Minister must consider the Service’s capability to comply with the regulation and the likely effects of compliance.(3) The matters that the Minister may consider include—(a) the likely financial costs of compliance; and(b) any matter (including the nature, size and location of the Service) that may affect the Service’s ability to recruit and retain staff; and(c) the infrastructure that the Service has, or can acquire, to support staff; and(d) the potential effects, on residential care delivered by the Service, of actions the Service may reasonably need to take to comply with the regulation.
138L Standards about State aged care facility workload management(1) The chief executive may make a standard about State aged care facility workload management by Services, including how a Service—(a) calculates its requirements for nurses and support workers; or(b) develops and implements strategies to manage supply and demand for nurses and support workers; or(c) evaluates the performance of its nurses and support workers at its State aged care facility.(2) The standard applies only in relation to the delivery of residential care by a Service to the extent the residential care is the subject of a State aged care facility regulation.(3) The standard may include requirements about reporting State aged care facility workload management information to the chief executive.(4) Subsection (3) does not limit the ways a Service may be required to report State aged care facility workload management information to the chief executive.Example—A Service may be required to report particular information under its service agreement with the chief executive.(5) The Minister must notify the making of the standard.(6) The Minister’s notice is subordinate legislation.(7) The standard takes effect on the day the Minister’s notice commences or, if a later day of commencement is stated in the Minister’s notice, on the later day.(8) The chief executive must publish the standard on the department’s website.(9) The standard is binding on a Service to the extent it applies under subsection (2).(10) However, if it is not possible to comply with both the standard and a regulation in relation to a particular matter because of an inconsistency between them, the regulation prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
138M Publication of information about State aged care facility workload management(1) The chief executive may require a Service to give the chief executive, by a stated reasonable time, stated State aged care facility workload management information relating to the Service.(2) The Service must comply with the requirement.(3) The chief executive may publish the information in a way that allows it to be accessed by members of the public, including, for example, on the department’s website.