Australia’s first look at the new Aged Care Act

Key points:

• The Consultation Summary Report indicated that the Aged Care Act, following so many successive changes since it was first enacted in 1997, has become difficult to navigate and is internally inconsistent

• The Consultation Summary Report found that people wanted improved accessibility of the legislation for older people to reflect the new, rights-based approach

• Once fully implemented, the new aged care legislative framework will respond to over 50 recommendations of the Royal Commission; from July 1, 2025, the new approach to home care will address 20 additional recommendations

The Aged Care Act Exposure Draft was released on December 14, 2023, marking a historic step in the introduction of a rights-based framework for aged care in Australia.

Advocacy groups have had their first look at the new Aged Care Act, pending a consultation to provide feedback, a follow-up report to summarise the feedback and an additional round of consultation to tie up any additional rules.

The Aged Care Act Exposure Draft was designed to address many of the recommendations provided by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. In total, the 347-page Aged Care Act 2023 draft addressed 50 recommendations and was intended to provide a robust and risk-based regulatory framework for the delivery of funded aged care services, including accessible complaint mechanisms for individuals accessing those services.

The government has introduced several welcome reform measures, including 24/7 nursing, mandatory minutes of care and increased pay for staff.

Peak aged care advocacy bodies, Council on the Ageing Australia and Older Persons Advocacy Network, have praised the release as a ‘milestone step towards a human rights-based aged care system.’

In welcoming the release of the exposure draft, Patricia Sparrow, chief executive officer 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.

“We welcome the Government’s consultation summary report which shows the concerns raised have been heard and are reflected in the exposure draft,” Mr Gear said.

“We now have time to consult on the exposure draft which signals that [the] government genuinely wants to hear the collective concerns of older people, the community as well as the industry,” Ms Sparrow said.

COTA and OPAN aim to review the legislation in the coming weeks with a particular interest in the things older people have flagged, with advocacy organisations, as being important, such as:

• 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

“Meaningful reform can only be achieved by listening intently and acting on lived experiences of the aged care system,” Ms Sparrow said.

“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 [the] 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 it’s critical that it becomes law on July 1, 2024, as promised by the Albanese Government.”

On January 9, 2024, OPAN and COTA will host a webinar, ‘What’s at Stake?’ — unpacking the contents of the Aged Care Act Exposure Draft.

“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,” Mr Gear said.

“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.”

To register for the January 9 webinar, please visit the Eventbrite link for more information.

Let the team at Talking Aged Care know your thoughts on the new Aged Care Act Exposure Draft and subscribe to the FREE weekly newsletter for more news, information and updates.

Related content:

What older Australians want out of the new Aged Care Act

How to help older Australians cope with disasters

Why caregivers live longer lives