IG pushes for unrationed aged care
Renewed calls to consider a demand-driven approach to aged care is among six short-term priorities the Inspector-General has suggested the government focus on.
The Inspector-General of Aged Care is calling on the government to seriously consider implementing a demand-driven aged care program – as recommended by the royal commission – in a report tabled in parliament on Friday.
The first statutory report on the progress in implementing the 148 recommendations of the aged care royal commission found that many older Australians continue to experience challenges in understanding and accessing aged care three years after those recommendations were made – including due to the current system of rationed care.
Like the interim report last October, it highlights the progress made to date and calls for continued momentum. Its plea to reconsider a demand-driven approach is one of six priorities the Inspector-General has suggested the government focus on in the next six months. The other priorities include:
- finalising the new Act
- providing additional funding for home care to resolve unmet demand
- increasing stakeholder engagement about the reform agenda to build sector confidence
- addressing perverse incentives and outcomes resulting from reforms
- investigating the sufficiency of rural and regional residential care funding.
Commenting on the progress, Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care Ian Yates said the government was substantially on track – provided it gets the Act through.
“Significant positive reform has happened, but we need to sustain the momentum,” Mr Yates told Community Care Review.
“We’re not there yet, particularly until the new Act and the new programs are put in place. We need to evaluate… what’s already been implemented and adjust, and very seriously government needs to consider implementation of an on-demand program,” he said.
A demand-driven system is necessary because it is so critical to the achievement of the overall objective of the royal commission, which drew parallels with an existing on-demand system – the Age Pension, added Mr Yates.
The report, and Mr Yates, argue an on-demand system poses no threat to budget integrity nor is it inconsistent with ensuring the financial sustainability of the aged care system.
“At the moment, you’ve got budget uncertainty because it’s relying on political pressure related to the waiting list, whereas one of the most sustainable social programs we have right now is the Age Pension,” he said.
Report focuses on system access, navigation
The 166-page report – informed by stakeholder consultation and input from relevant Commonwealth agencies – provides a status update on each recommendation as of 1 January 2024 plus records actions and intentions beyond that including measures announced in the May federal budget.
Its main theme is access and navigability in a bid to focus attention on the difficulties that people are experiencing in obtaining aged care. It provides a series of key messages across 11 areas and corresponding chapters including architecture and design, workforce and diversity. Overall, it calls on government to:
- introduce a more seamless, demand-driven aged care system which, together with a rights-based legislative framework, would deliver the transformation the aged care system the royal commissioners recommended
- improve people’s understanding of aged care to ensure they can readily access it when needed
- ensure the system delivers high-quality, enablement-focused care to all
- ensure sustainable provision of care that meets people’s preferences and diverse situations
- improve integration between the healthcare and aged care systems.
The report also notes the delayed timetables for the new Act and the Support at Home program to come into effect and emphasises the critical importance of no further delays.
The Inspector-General called for the rules – which will sit alongside the Act – to also be finalised and made public as soon as possible.
“There is a very great deal hinging on the new Act and that’s not just the government, of course,” said Mr Yates. “We emphasised that last time.”
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