Government announces new National Aged Care Advisory Council

The government has finally announced the makeup of the new National Aged Care Advisory Council, with 17 "prominent Australians" tasked with providing expert advice and guidance on aged care.

The Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, announced the official establishment of the council, and said that the council will play a "key role in guiding" the implementation of "the most significant reform ever undertaken by an Australian Government to improve the care of senior Australians both in residential care and care at home".

The council will be led by inaugural Chair Andrea Coote, a former Liberal politician from Victoria.

The council will sit alongside the yet to be formalised Council of Elders, which will be chaired by COTA's Ian Yates, who will also sit on the Advisory Council.

The other fifteen spots on the council are filled with a number of familiar names in the sector such as: Rachel Argaman, chief executive of OpalCare; Claerwen Little, national director of UnitingCare; and former NSW Liberal Premier, banker and HammondCare chief executive, Mike Baird.

It also features medical professionals, academics and business professionals.

The Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Senator Richard Colbeck, said establishing the council is an important step towards aged care reform.

"Aged care in Australia is undergoing its most significant reform in a generation," he said.

"Strength through representation is key to ensuring these changes are made in the best interests of senior Australians and those who care for them."

The council will advise on a number of issues while also providing "a voice for home care, community and private providers along with a representative of the peak group Australian Aged Care Collaboration".

The idea of an advisory council was one of the recommendations to come from the fractured final report of the Royal Commission, released nine months ago.

It was Recommendation 7 in Commissioner Pagone's half of the report.

National Aged Care Advisory Council Members:

•  Andrea Coote (National Advisory Council Chair)
•  Ian Yates AM (Council of Elders Chair)
•  Rachel Argaman
•  Michael Baird AO
•  Jennene Buckley
•  Elizabeth Callaghan
•  Andrew Condon
•  Jill Gallagher AO
•  Emma Hossack
•  Dr Sandra Iuliano
•  Claerwen Little
•  Libby Lyons
•  Maree McCabe AM
•  Gail Mulcair
•  Assoc. Prof. Michael Murray
•  Mary Patetsos
•  Graeme Prior

Do you have an idea for a story?
Email [email protected]