Australia’s Aged Care Sector Set For Major Reform

Australia’s aged care sector is about to get a major overhaul, including a star rating, bringing it into line with recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Federal Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman said the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022 would enable major improvements to aged care to begin.

“This is an issue very close to my heart, and my community’s,” Ms Templeman said.

“One of the changes that we’ve made will lead to a more equitable funding approach.

“That means it’ll better match the providers’ costs in delivering care to residents.”

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety highlighted the need for accessible information about the quality of the service for both those seeking and those receiving aged care.

It was recommended that a star rating system, based on measurable information, be introduced.

Star ratings would help seniors and their families compare the quality and safety performance of service providers.

Ms Templeman said the rating system should be in place by the end of 2022.

“It will put a spotlight on the sector, and it will allow people to actually compare the quality and the safety performance,” she said.

“It will no longer just be gossip and word-of-mouth, people will be able to actually go and see the data.

“The legislation also includes measures to extend the serious incident response scheme to in-home care providers.

“I see this as a really significant start to the many issues that we face in fixing home care, which is such an important part of our aged-care services.

“All of this means greater transparency and is a really significant step forward for aged care.

“There’s more to do, we’re not finished with aged-care reforms.

“We’ve really only got started.”

• Topics:

• Health & Wellness
• Seniors
• Aged Care