Portal to tell aged care horror stories ahead of national inquiry

ALL Australians will be given a say on the royal commission into aged care as an online portal is launched to collect horror stories of abuse and neglect

ALL Australians will be given a say on the royal commission into aged care, with a new online portal to hear horror stories of abuse and neglect.

The release of the website comes as the Morrison Government resists calls for the major inquiry to be expanded to include disability providers.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is urging people to come forward with their experiences, which will help determine the royal commission’s terms of reference.

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The major inquiry will focus on aged-care residential and home aged care, but also look at young people with disabilities in residential aged care.

Mr Morrison expressed mixed messages on whether the inquiry could extend to the broader disability sector, saying he didn’t want “an inquiry into everything” as it would “become too broad”.

But the PM said he wanted to understand the extent of the abuse and would look at whether it reached other areas such as the disability sector.

“We would encourage all Australians to go and participate in that process,” Mr Morrison told an aged-care round-table meeting in Canberra.

“Where you have particular insights or suggestions, they will be taken on board.

“All of that will then be passed on to the royal commission once it gets established and gets about its job.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is urging Australians to come forward with their experiences. Picture: Kym Smith

Young people with disabilities who have complex needs often live in aged-care homes and are vulnerable to the same types of abuse and neglect ­inflicting elderly Australians.

Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, who has mild cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said the government needed to focus on young people in aged care, but also broaden the inquiry to look at all the violence, abuse and neglect of disabled Australians.

Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt and Health Minister Greg Hunt will begin talking with elderly residents, families, advocates and the aged-care industry next week, with final terms of reference to be determined in the coming months.

Mr Hunt said the problems were not restricted to any one part of the aged sector, “whether it is for profit or not for profit, large or small facilities, regional or major metropolitan”.

All community members can now have their say on the terms of reference on the Department of Health’s website.

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