This was published 3 years ago
‘Weak and ineffective’ regulation: Government cost-cutting slammed in damning aged care report
By Rachel Clun
Many of the aged care system’s failings and weak regulation are a result of successive governments’ desire to rein in spending across the sector, the aged care royal commission’s landmark final report has found.
The 2800-page report, released on Monday, said the extent of substandard care in the system was “unacceptable” and “deeply concerning”. A philosophical shift that put people in care at the centre of quality and safety regulation was needed, it said.
Acknowledging the report’s “shocking” findings, Prime Minister Scott Morrison committed an extra $452.2 million to address immediate issues and said the government would provide a comprehensive response in the May budget.
The report estimated the collective decisions of successive governments had cut more than $9.8 billion from the budget for aged care in 2018-19.
“The current aged care system and its weak and ineffective regulatory arrangements did not arise by accident. The move to ritualistic regulation was a natural consequence of the government’s desire to restrain expenditure in aged care,” it found.
“In essence, having not provided enough funding for good quality care, the regulatory arrangements could only pay lip service to the requirement that the care that was provided be of high quality.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison released the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety final report on Monday.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“We have proposed a new regulatory system that will be more rigorous and more vigilant.”
The report contains 148 recommendations, including enshrining the rights of elder Australians in legislation, creating an independent inspector-general to investigate and monitor governance of the aged care system, and mandatory minimum qualifications for workers as well as a national registration scheme for those staff.
Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt said the Aged Care Act of 1997 would be torn up.
“That will be a significant process but it’s based on a simple concept of respect for the individual, instead of being about providers, instead of it being about money,” Mr Hunt said.
Mr Morrison said the royal commission was “the inquiry we needed to have”.
“This is a challenge to all of us. So, yes, the findings of this commission’s work is as shocking as I thought it would be and frankly expected it to be.
“Australians must be able to trust that their loved ones will be cared for appropriately and the community should have confidence in the system. This remains our clear goal.”
As well as reaching joint recommendations, the commissioners made their own, individual recommendations.
‘Australians must be able to trust that their loved ones will be cared for appropriately and the community should have confidence in the system.’
PM Scott Morrison
Commissioner Tony Pagone, QC, recommended the establishment of a separate aged care commission as a corporate Commonwealth entity to maintain the aged care system and monitor quality and safety. He also recommended the creation of an aged care pricing authority and an aged care advisory council.
Commissioner Lynelle Briggs recommended that there always be a senior cabinet member responsible for aged care and said the Department of Health should be renamed the department of health and aged care.
Mr Morrison said some of the recommendations were “completely conflicting with each other”.
“Some of the recommendations are completely different to each other and they set out the reasons for that, and so the government will have to obviously work through that and consider it,” he said.
Providers said the report was a “watershed moment”. However, they were concerned the commissioners could not agree on fundamental issues.
Speaking for the Australian Aged Care Collaboration, which represents more than 1000 aged care service providers, Pat Sparrow said the sector would need time to go through the recommendations in detail.
“It is concerning the royal commissioners did not provide a unanimous and clear position of how aged care should be funded in future,” she said.
Mr Hunt said the government was committed to reforming aged care.
“The royal commission’s report is a significant document, the culmination of a two-year inquiry, and demands a carefully considered response,” he said.
In its two years, the royal commission heard from 641 witnesses, including residents, staff, families and experts, held almost 100 days of hearings, accepted more than 10,500 public submissions and produced 38 reports and research papers, including a special report on COVID-19.