AUSTRALIA’S first independent Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care has officially opened for business, with a mission to oversee and improve the national aged care system.
The office has the authority to investigate, review and report on issues within the system, including how government agencies, providers and other aged care bodies funded or regulated by the Australian Government manage complaints about aged care. The Inspector-General will report findings and recommendations to government, parliament and the public, with reports required to be tabled in parliament.
The establishment of the office was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety which began in 2018 and presented its report in 2021 with 148 recommendations.
More recently, an independent report released in July found “critical gaps” in the existing aged care regulator, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Long-time seniors rights advocate and former Council of the Ageing (COTA) chief executive Ian Yates has been charged with leading the new office until a permanent inspector general is recruited.
He said the establishment of the office would allow systemic issues in aged care to be brought to light and ensure transparency and accountability in the system.
It will also ensure the effective management of complaints, and restore trust and confidence in the aged care system, Mr Yates said.
“This … is a critical step forward in shaping an aged care system that provides the care to which older people in Australia are entitled and should expect,” he said.
Mr Yates said the priority for his office now was to rigorously begin work on a plan which will include the full review of the recommendations of the royal commission.
Legislation gives the new office full independence from the Department of Health and Aged Care and all other agencies. Under the legislation the Inspector-General is also required to provide at least two annual reports on the implementation of the royal commission’s recommendations.
