The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinarsUrbanity
Industry Excellence
Urban Leader
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
A one-day deep dive on office, retail, healthcare, childcare and alternative sectors
UPCOMING | COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SUMMIT
LEARN MOREDETAILS
On Demand

Fireside Chat | Inside GemLife With Adrian Puljich

Building Australia's Newest Airport: Multiplex

The Makers Of The Mondrian | Design, Vision And Delivery Behind One Of Australia’s Most Anticipated Luxury Hotels

Next Gen Now | How Emerging Developers Are Redefining The Game

View All >
Latest News
Office

Off-Market Newstead Site Deal Breaks Land Rate Record

Taryn Paris
2 Min
The Urban Developer Industrial and Logistics Summit 2025
Exclusive

Keeping the Lights On: Growing Pains Jeopardise Industrial Boom

Vanessa Croll
8 Min
Finance

Coposit Expands to WA with Linic Group Partnership

Partner Content
5 Min
Office

Historic Midland Workshops Site Listed for Sale

Lindsay Saunders
2 Min
View All >
Events
Lunch

Women’s Leadership Lunch

Summit

Commercial Real Estate Summit

Summit

Urban Leader Awards

One-Day Course

Property Development Masterclass Series

View All >
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
SHARE
9
print
Print
OtherDinah Lewis BoucherFri 01 Nov 19

‘Diminishes Australia as a Nation’: Aged Care Royal Commission

df38a7b8-e41b-4cc4-9de4-d7296d1a9f6a

Australia’s aged care system has been described as “a shocking tale of neglect”, a system designed around “transactions and not relationships or care”, reveals the Royal Commission into Aged Care’s interim report.

“It is a sad and shocking system that diminishes Australia as a nation,” Commissioners Richard Tracey and Lynelle Briggs noted.

“The neglect that we have found in this Royal Commission, to date, is far from the best that can be done.”

The interim report, titled Neglect, was tabled in the Australian Parliament on Thursday, and called for a “fundamental overhaul” of the design, objectives, regulation and funding of Australia’s aged care system.

Minister for Aged Care Richard Colbeck said the problems raised in the interim report had “challenged governments”.

“We are shocked by the stories that have arisen,” he said.

Aged care is a $20 billion-plus industry in Australia, and also one of the country's fastest growing sectors.

The extent of the failure, the commissioners note, includes the difficulty in access to aged care services, service shortfalls, a “dispiriting nature” of residential care, serious substandard care, an underpaid, undervalued and insufficiently trained workforce, and isolation of young people with disabilities in aged care service.

Related: What is the Future of Retirement Living and Aged Care?

▲ Commissioners Lynelle Briggs and the late Richard Tracey completed the interim report in September.


The interim report found that the system is unable to cope with growing demand for home care services, calling for “immediate” and “significant additional funding” to increase access to Home Care Packages, with waiting times of up to 12 months or more and people dying while still on the waiting list.

The report also called for flexible and culturally-safe aged care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“This includes assessment pathways, aged care integrated with other services, and facilitating aged care on Country, where possible,” the report noted.


The commissioners identified three areas where immediate action can be taken, which includes:

  • The provision of more Home Care Packages to reduce the 120,000 waiting list for higher level care at home.

  • A response to the significant over-reliance on chemical restraint in aged care.

  • Stopping the flow of younger people with a disability going into aged care, and speeding up the process of getting young people who are already in aged care out.


▲ The report says Australia has an “ageist mindset that undervalues older people and limits their possibilities”.


While the report does not include specific recommendations, the Royal Commission’s final report is scheduled to be handed to the Governor-General on 12 November 2020.

The final report is expected to set the framework for a complete overhaul of the aged care system — from system philosophy and design, to health and disability services, workforce, funding and regulation.

The report was completed at the end of September, by the late Richard Tracey, who passed away earlier this month, and commissioner Lynelle Briggs.

OtherResidentialAustraliaGold CoastBrisbaneMelbournePerthAdelaideCanberrado not useParramattaReal EstateOther
AUTHOR
Dinah Lewis Boucher
More articles by this author
TOP STORIES
The Urban Developer Industrial and Logistics Summit 2025
Exclusive

Keeping the Lights On: Growing Pains Jeopardise Industrial Boom

Vanessa Croll
8 Min
Exclusive

What’s Driving Pro-invest Push into ‘Underserved’ Micro-Apartments

Taryn Paris
6 Min
Sud-slingers are back in action in 2025, with the Sydney market recovering after years of disruption.
Exclusive

Sydney Pub Market Rebounds After Post-Covid Lows

Patrick Lau
5 Min
Gelephu Mindfulness City: Bhutan how a city of the future is planned
Exclusive

Bhutan’s Mindfulness Masterplan Resetting How Cities Work

Renee McKeown
8 Min
Long Bay Correctional hero
Exclusive

Time to Rethink: Fresh Bid to Unlock Prison’s Prime Site for Homes

Clare Burnett
7 Min
View All >
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/diminishes-australia-as-a-nation-aged-care-royal-commission