Care worker charged with manslaughter of Ann Marie Smith granted home detention bail
Disability support worker Rosa Maria Maione, who was last week charged with the manslaughter of Ann Marie Smith, has been released on home detention bail.
Key points:
- Rosa Maione has been ordered to surrender her Australian passport
- Her lawyer Stephen Ey on Thursday said she would be "relieved" to get back to her family
- The Federal Government on Thursday responded to the NDIS decision to ban her former employer
Ms Maione, 68, was arrested last Thursday and had been remanded in custody while the court assessed the suitability of her living with her daughter and son-in-law.
The court was previously told Ms Maione is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of a large sum of Ann Smith's money and her gold jewellery.
"The investigation is ongoing into the amount of about $35,000 worth of jewellery that's missing and some $220,000 in cash from [Ms Smith's] account," prosecutor Domenic Petraccaro told the court last week.
Under the home detention conditions, Ms Maione — who is also known as Rosemary — will be banned from working as a carer, will have to surrender her Italian passport and will be prohibited from applying for an Australian passport.
The matter will return to court in February.
Ms Maione's lawyer, Stephen Ey, previously told the court his client was not a flight risk, and was happy to surrender her Italian passport.
He accused the police of grandstanding and said his client deserved bail without such conditions.
Outside the court on Thursday, Mr Ey was asked whether his client would contest the charge, and said it was "early days yet".
"She's struggling, but she'll be relieved to get back with her family, we can then move on with the case," he said.
Ms Smith, 54, died on April 6 from severe septic shock, organ failure, severe pressure sores, malnutrition and issues connected with her cerebral palsy.
Federal Government responds to agency ban
The court appearance comes a day after the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Commission revealed it had banned Ms Maione's former employer Integrity Care from operating.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission said it had revoked the disability care agency's registration and issued a banning order because of what it described as a number of breaches of the NDIS Act.
In a statement on Thursday, Federal Minister for the NDIS, Stuart Robert, said he welcomed and supported the actions of the commission.
"What happened to Ann Marie Smith is absolutely shocking and the circumstances that led to her death must never be allowed to happen again," he said.
"The Morrison Government has already moved to expand the powers of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner to ban unsuitable providers and workers from working with NDIS participants, regardless of whether they are active in the sector or not.
"[The] Strengthening Banning Orders Bill currently before the Federal Parliament … will further reinforce protections in the NDIS legislation for participants."
Labor NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten said the NDIS Commission had not been tough enough on bad providers.
"The NDIS commission, I think, is a toothless tiger," he said.
"Figures emerged that they get about 10,000 cases a month, but they've only issued 23 banning orders since the commission was created in 2018."
The commission said its first priority was ensuring the safety of other NDIS participants "supported by Integrity Care", and that it had issued a compliance notice requiring the agency to carry out independent welfare checks.
Integrity Care's office in Edwardstown has been stripped bare of its signage within the past week.