Julie is acknowledged as a leading provider of legal services to the health, aged care and retirement living industries.
Thomson Geer has been awarded Australian law firm of the year for Retirement Villages and Senior Living Law in 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2025.
Julie was the 2023 Retirement Villages and Senior Living Law “Lawyer of the Year” and for 15 consecutive years named in The Best Lawyers in Australia 2025, in retirement living law and in health and aged care law.
She has appeared on Doyles List every year since 2018 and recognised in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 as one of two preeminent lawyers in the category.
Julie provides regulatory advice and commercial advice to aged care providers and retirement village operators.
Julie has a Masters of Law with a major in health law. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Demystifying legislation through the eyes of one provider and one lawyer – practical solutions to legislative challenges.
Precis
This session is intended as a lively roundtable debate between Mel Argent (one of the most respected CEOs in the aged care industry) and Julie McStay (an acknowledged legal expert) on the most significant operational challenges presented by the Aged Care Act 2024 and the practical solutions available to those challenges.
The session is intended to be an interactive session between Mel and Julie where we will discuss those issues from the provider and legal perspective and how to deal with them on a very practical basis.
We intend to cover the following topics:
• Memory support units – the real threat to the future of these highly specialised units. Recent changes to restrictive practices obligations strengthen existing requirements but what does this mean and what risk do we carry as providers?
• HELF – risk vs reward – The 2024 Act permits providers to offer this essential revenue line so that providers can continue to set the standard of services to meet the demands of consumers but what risk comes with this? How will providers manage the legislative restrictions including the impact of limits to when the services can be offered (post admission) and the opt out component?
• Security of Tenure – what is different under the new act and how can providers navigate these changes? Who can help? What are the conditions the resident has to meet and how do we proceed if they are not meeting their obligations? Is compliance practically impossible?
• Unpaid fees – an increasing problem likely to be exacerbated by increased co-contributions. What can I do and when – eg deducting fees from the RAD? Chargin interest etc?
Breaking the deadlock—Aligning legal, financial, and commercial interests in aged care construction
Precis
While reforms aim to improve care quality, they may also complicate the process of developing new facilities.
This panel will explore the intersection of the legal complexities introduced by recent legislative changes, the banking sector’s perspective on risk and investment in new developments, and the accounting considerations that shape operators’ willingness to invest to offer solutions to how the industry kickstart developments while balancing stringent legal requirements, complex financing arrangements, and the economic realities faced by operators. Experts will debate the reforms’ intended and unintended consequences, and outline ways governments, financiers, and providers can collaborate to meet the needs of an aging nation.
Panel: Julie McStay, Thompson Geer; Wayne Jobson, ANZ Bank; Linda Mellors, Regis; Darrell Price, Grant Thornton