Royal Commission announces public hearing details

The changing demographics of the Australian population as well as experiences of consumers, advocacy bodies and medical representatives will also be covered in the upcoming Royal Commission hearing in Adelaide.

The first public hearing, which will be held from 11-13 February and continue through 18-22 February, will inquire into:

• The concerns of advocacy bodies relating to the current state of the aged care system

• The clinical issues affecting elderly people and general challenges that arise in meeting clinical needs

• The concerns and view of medical and nursing professional bodies relating to the current state of the aged care system

• Demographic information relating to the provision of aged care services

• The perspectives of government and regulators as to the state of the aged care system

• The perspectives of workforce representative bodies as to the state of the aged care system

• Experiences of people receiving services in the aged care system or their family members.

The Royal Commission says it has approached the representative bodies who they seek evidence from for this hearing.

Key subject matters for the public hearing will include:

• The key features of the aged care quality, safety and complaints system at the level of the Federal government, including how that system was operated, monitored and regulated prior to 1 January 2019 and how it is expected that the system will be operated, monitored and regulated following the establishment of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

• The changing demographics of the Australian population and the implications this has for the aged care system.

• The nature and meaning of ‘quality’ and ‘safety’ within the Australian aged care system, as those concepts are understood from a variety of national perspectives.

• Key issues affecting the functioning of the Australian aged care system identified from the perspectives of the representative bodies referred to above, and from the experience of people receiving or seeking aged care services.

Representative bodies and other potential witnesses who have been invited to give evidence are invited to make an application for leave to appear. Applications for leave to appear at the public hearing from anyone else who considers that they have a direct and substantial interest in the public hearing must be received by 5pm on 5 February.

Any application for leave to appear will be determined in accordance with Practice Guideline 3 and must be made using the Royal Commission’s application form.