What does the Royal Commission Final Report mean for you?

In October 2018 the Federal Government established a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, in response to media reports at the time exposing examples of abuse and substandard care in residential aged care facilities.

After more than 30 months of inquiry, the Royal Commission has handed its final report to the Government, which was released to the public on Monday, March 1, 2021.

Montefiore welcomes the release of the Commission’s final report, as it represents a significant step towards addressing the failings of the current system to support the provision of the high standard of care that all older Australian’s deserve.

Pictured below: Governor General David Hurley receives the final report of the Aged Care Royal Commission from Commissioner Lynelle Briggs.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The report contains a total of 148 recommendations to enact a transformational change to the current aged care system. Key headline recommendations include:

• A new Aged Care Act based on the universal right to access high quality, safe and timely support and care.
• An independent Pricing Authority to ensure that Government subsidies and user contributions reflect service costs
• Minimum staffing qualifications and coverage across residential aged care A revision of the existing Aged Care Quality Standards

The Commissioners were particularly critical of the role the Federal Government has played in purposefully reducing funding to aged care services to achieve better budget outcomes for the Government, a matter that Montefiore has been highlighting ever since the Commission was established.

In the report, Commissioner Pagone specifically notes that: “The indexation applied to aged care payments over the past 20 years has systematically reduced the real value of the funding that is available. These limitations on funding have been a major contributor to the substandard care so many older Australians experience.”

OUR COMMITMENT TO CARE

As a not-for-profit organisation, Montefiore continues to channel all proceeds back into the services we offer. I’d like to take this opportunity to reassure you that as an industry leader, Montefiore is committed to delivering quality, person-directed care for all our residents and home-care clients.

I’d also like to encourage our Montefiore community to sign the petition for immediate government action to ensure all older Australians receive better care at careaboutagedcare.org.au.