Peak aged care advocacy bodies, Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia and Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) have welcomed the release of the Aged Care Act Exposure Draft, marking it as a milestone step towards a human rights-based aged care system.
In welcoming the release of the Exposure draft, Patricia Sparrow, CEO of COTA Australia, and Craig Gear, CEO of OPAN, stated they look forward to working closely with government and advocacy groups to ensure the act drives substantial reform to improve the lives of older Australians.
Ms Sparrow and Mr Gear thanked the Government for responding to a range of concerns raised by older people and those with lived experience during the recent COTA/OPAN-led consultations on the foundations of the act.
“We welcome the Government’s consultation summary report which shows the concerns raised have been heard and are reflected in the Exposure Draft,” said Mr Gear.
“We now have time to consult on the Exposure Draft which signals that Government genuinely wants to hear the collective concerns of older people, the community as well as the industry,” said Ms Sparrow
The Exposure Draft needs to be examined in detail, but on first review, this Act is a positive move by the Government to deliver on aged care reforms as promised when they were elected. The Government has introduced a number of welcome reform measures, including 24/7 nursing, mandatory minutes of care, pay rises for staff and star ratings to name a few.
But the Act is a fundamental gamechanger for the entire system and its passage to law is absolutely critical.
COTA and OPAN will actively review the legislation in the coming weeks with a particular interest in the things older people have already told us are important including :
• Working through how the rights are enforceable for older people;
• Creating a change culture implementation plan so rights are enacted in daily aged care operations.
• Making sure services are accessible on an equitable basis, following a determination of a person’s service needs, across the country.
• An independent statutory Complaints Commissioner.
• Implementing a robust supported decision-making system, with an assumption that older people can make decisions for themselves.
Our main role is to ensure the voices of lived experience are heard in this new round of consultation. Our first step will be to hold a webinar briefing for older people on 9 January 2023. In the webinar “What’s at Stake?” we will unpack the Exposure Draft of the new Aged Care Act.
Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Sparrow:
“Meaningful reform can only be achieved by listening intently and acting on lived experiences of the aged care system. This means we need to go beyond rhetoric and make sure this reform translates into concrete action, and that rights are brought to life.
“One of the key recommendations we made to Government was the introduction of an independent statutory Complaints Commissioner. This is something we want to see introduced as part of the Act.
“This Act is the opportunity to set the standard for current and future generations and its critical that it becomes law on 1 July 2024 as promised by the Albanese Government.”
Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) Chief Executive Officer, Craig Gear OAM:
“Everyone agrees that the rights of older people must be at the centre of this potentially ground-breaking piece of legislation. We congratulate the government on placing the statement of rights at the forefront of this Bill.
“We will review the mechanisms for enforcing those rights, and consult with the government and other sector stakeholders to ensure those mechanisms are accessible and responsive to the needs of older people and their families.
“To this end, we are seeking feedback from people with lived experience of aged care.
“It’s vital that older people, their families and other representatives have an independent voice.”
Older people, their families and the community can register for the 9 January 2024
webinar (1:00 and 2:30pm AEDT)
