Stakeholders identify key issues in the new Aged Care Act

The top issues of concern in the Exposure Draft of the Aged Care Act have been identified in a freshly released Key Issues Paper from a group of leading organisations and individuals, including Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia and the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN). 

The Paper’s opening statement expresses its pleasure at the release of the Exposure Draft, particularly as it addresses much of the feedback provided in national consultation forums. It says a good start has been made with 29 submission recommendations reflected in the new Aged Care Act but more needs to be done to ensure key issues are addressed before implementation, the Paper continues. 

“Older people have waited too long for their rights to be upheld and the Aged Care Act starts that process. There will be the ability to advocate during the passage of the Bill through Parliament, to review the next iteration and to campaign for future change – but we must get this done, for all older people,” it reads.

A total of 23 key issues are in the Paper and hello leaders has outlined five important ones for aged care providers. 

The new Aged Care Act must commence on July 1 and be reviewed every three years

When the Aged Care Royal Commission released its Final Report Recommendations it called for the Aged Care Act 1997 to be replaced by a new Act no later than July 1, 2023. The Key Issues Paper states that any further delay to the creation of a rights-based aged care system is unacceptable. 

“Delaying the implementation of the Act beyond 1 July 2024 would put this commitment at risk given an Australian federal election can be called any time from August 2024,” the Paper states.

“In addition, the new Act must have the capacity to evolve and respond to legislative changes or international conventions where these impact on the Act. The new Act is a major shift away from how the sector currently operates and any issues or unintended consequences need to be resolved early.”

Providers must have a positive duty to uphold rights, with pathways for older people to complain if they do not

Although the inclusion of a Statement of Rights has been warmly welcomed by all, there are concerns over its enforceability. If the Rights also fall under other elements, such as the Aged Care Quality Standards or Code of Conduct, non-compliant providers can be reprimanded.

Otherwise, certain sections of the Statement of Rights do fall through the gaps and the Paper calls for an obligation in the Code of Conduct to uphold the Statement of Rights.

“We don’t feel the current draft is enough. A better way would be to introduce a new ‘positive duty’ on providers to uphold rights… It also places the onus on providers to deliver rights-based care, rather than the current proposal that places the responsibility on individuals to make complaints that their rights have been breached.”

Equitable and timely access to aged care services must be guaranteed within 30 days of application

The Aged Care Act states that one of its objectives is to ensure aged care consumers have equitable access to aged care services, however, there is no guarantee in the legislation to ensure services are on offer in all locations. 

Instead, the Paper states that a 30-day timeframe should be included, meaning that older people receive access to aged care services within 30 days of their initial application. This guaranteed timeframe could also be paired with a public report on quarterly wait times. 

Providers that state their services are ‘high-quality care’ must comply and opt-in to an audit against the definition

While commending the improved definition of high-quality care in the Exposure Draft (Chapter 1, Definitions and key concepts, 19), stakeholders would like to see a genuine way to determine if providers are truly delivering high-quality care.

Possible solutions could include annual reviews of the definition of high-quality care and providers voluntarily consenting to audits to ensure they do meet the requirements within the definition if they want to publicly promote themselves as offering high-quality care. 

Providers need to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to service improvement

Elsewhere, the Paper says the Act must include regulations on continuous improvement. This is particularly important as the Star Ratings system is currently being criticised for rewarding providers who are not necessarily showing signs of improvement after non-compliance. 

“There is a missed opportunity in Sections 143 to 149 regarding the requirements of providers and the regulatory process, accreditation and compliance. Compliance is important, but this is a baseline measure of whether providers are doing well. There needs to be more of a focus on ongoing (continuous) improvement,” the Paper says.

The full Key Issues Paper can be found here.