The Act provides protection by establishing minimum standards and living conditions for residents of privately operated residential services.
Currently there are 278 registered residential services in Queensland.
A residential service exists where a person provides accommodation in return for rent to four or more residents and the residents have a right to occupy their own room and share facilities. This includes typical boarding houses and supported accommodation hostels.
The Office of Fair Trading has an active compliance and enforcement regime and a comprehensive accreditation process to ensure residential services meet their obligations under the Act.
For example, between 1 July 2009 and 31 May 2010, a total of 109 investigations were completed. These investigations were a result of information received from the public, market intelligence and issues identified by the Office of Fair Trading.
These investigations resulted in a total of 19 formal warnings and 3 compliance notices being issued.
The Office of Fair Trading also carried out urgent amendments to the accreditation of two services to protect the health and safety of residents between 1 July 2009 and 31 May 2010. This included a service in the Member’s own electorate where information was received about a significant bed bug infestation impacting on the health of residents.
During 2010-11, the Office of Fair Trading will be progressing the implementation of infringement notices as a further tool to ensure services are complying with their legislative responsibilities.
In addition to ensuring services comply with the Act, the Office of Fair Trading undertakes a comprehensive accreditation audit of every residential service in Queensland at least once every three years.
The Office of Fair Trading has put in place a proactive Accreditation Standards Implementation Review Program. Between 1 July 2009 and 30 May 2010, 131 services were contacted as part of this program.
Between 1 July 2009 and 31 May 2010, the Office of Fair Trading conducted accreditation site visits at 65 services around Queensland. This included visits to regional centres including Townsville, Mt Isa, Cairns, Mackay, Bundaberg and Toowoomba as well as services in the Member’s own electorate.
All services are required to demonstrate they meet 22 core standards including privacy and confidentiality, grievance mechanisms, prevention of abuse and neglect, managing residents with complex or difficult behaviour, providing access to external services, keeping the premises clean and in good repair and following appropriate business practices.
Services providing a meal service need to meet an additional six standards and demonstrate they maintain a registered kitchen and comply with safe food storage and handling practices.
Services providing personal care support, including providing assistance to residents in managing finances or medication, must demonstrate they meet a further 10 standards showing that assistance in managing finances is transparent and accountable, that medication management is carried out in accordance with medical direction, that residents have access to external support services and that residents are free to participate in decisions about their care.
Unregistered operators need to understand that ignorance is no excuse and, if caught, they face prosecution. For instance, on 12 February 2010, the Office of Fair Trading secured the conviction of John Gordon Lane for the operation of an unregistered service in Logan and providing false or misleading information to investigating officers. Mr Lane was fined a total of $15,000.
I can assure the Member for Central Brisbane that the Office of Fair Trading is working hard to ensure all residential services, including those in her electorate, meet their obligations under the Act.
