‘We want action’: Royal Commission two years on

Two years after the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was handed down, sector advocates are calling for "genuine reform" and for the government to immediately enact a new aged care act.

On March 1 2021, following two-and-a-half years of extensive inquiry, commissioners Tony Pagone QC and Lynelle Briggs AO laid out a scathing review of Australia's aged care system.

The report, named Care, Dignity and Respect, described the sector as a "cruel and harmful system" which failed to meet the needs of older people.

Among its core recommendations was to replace the 1997 Aged Care Act no later than the middle of 2023.

"We need a new Aged Care Act and have it implemented as soon as possible because that's going to be the foundation to any genuine reform," Dr Sarah Russell, a public health researcher and aged advocate told Aged Care Insite.

"Without the act, we're just tinkering with the system."

Since winning the election in May, federal Labor has introduced a new star ratings system, mandated 24/7 registered nurses in residential care and committed to fund a pay rise for aged care workers.

In a statement released in February the government said work had begun on developing a new aged care act and that it was "seeking input" from the public.

According to Dr Russell, details from the more than 10,500 submissions and 600 witnesses heard during the royal commission gave enough feedback to move forward.

"The time for reviewing and discussions is over; now it's time to get things done," she said.

"We don't need more consulting – we need action."

In an opinion piece published yesterday, aged care minister Anika Wells said federal Labor had addressed 37 of the 148 commissioners recommendations since being elected.

She said the government was working to deliver "critical reforms" over the next 12 months.

According to Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) president Craig Gear said he hoped government would now prioritise rewriting the aged care act to enshrine the rights of older people.

"The current Aged Care Act is focused on the operation and funding of aged care services and is largely divorced from the human experience of older people," he said.

"We need a rights-based aged care act that has mechanisms to monitor, respond and ensure the safety and rights of older people are upheld."

Professor of Health Economics at the University of Technology Sydney Michael Woods said that the Royal Commission helped emphasise the importance of quality of care and safety in the sector. 

However, Woods emphasised that not all progress in aged care should be attributed to the Royal Commission.

In 2011, he presided over a Productivity Commission inquiry which spearheaded a reform era for Australia's aged care system.

The report, titled 'Caring for older Australians', was among the first to identify workforce shortages and financial sustainability as key weaknesses.

"If we say that the changes over the last two years are all due to the Royal Commission – that would be a mistake," Woods told Aged Care Insite.

"The Royal Commission served to reinvigorate some aged care matters, but changes were already in the pipeline for quite some time.

"Plus, the government has done significant work in improving aged care that wasn't even mentioned by Pagone and Briggs."

For one, the Albanese government plans to remove bed licences for residential aged care by July 1st 2024.

"It should see that the provision of residential care goes directly to the resident, not the provider," Woods said.

"It'll also incentivise providers to improve their care quality to attract more people." 

Woods said the Royal Commission should also have addressed the sector's financial struggles caused by a flawed framework.

Recent federal data estimated that only 33 per cent of aged care providers made a profit last year.

Woods suggested a framework which balances costs between those who can afford it and taxpayers.

"The Royal Commission didn't fully seem to understand the scope of providers' sustainability problem," Woods said.

"Similar to the aged care act, the government should look at how to reform the foundations of the aged care system to resolve its structural issues."

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