AUSTRALIA | An influx of Australian senior and retirement organisations have pressed the federal government to introduce a new aged care act.
Older people have urged a bipartisan approach from the Federal Government and Opposition to urgently introduce a new rights based Aged Care Act.
Organisations representing older Australians and their carers have said the Aged Care Act needed to be introduced into the Federal Parliament as soon as possible if laws were to be passed this year that address the neglect in aged care and stop putting the rights of older people at risk.
A number of organisations working with older Australians and their carers have previously written to both the Federal Government and the Opposition to urge them to take action now to protect the rights of older Australians in aged care and introduce the Act so that proper parliamentary and public scrutiny.
COTA Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow said the promises both parties made Australians about bi-partisan action are welcome and important, but time is running out for the promises to be delivered.
“It’s been more than three years since the Royal Commission into Aged Care heard countless harrowing stories of abuse and neglect in aged care, yet older people are still waiting for a new rights-based Aged Care Act to be introduced. Every story heard during the Royal Commission, and the stories from the decade before, differed slightly, but the fundamental thread was a lack of dignity, respect, and basic rights,” said Sparrow.
“Both parties know that the reform we need requires the underpinning of a new Aged Care Act, yet for some reason we are still waiting for the Act to be introduced and debated. It is now time for the Government and the Opposition to legislate rights as the bedrock of an aged care system that values and respects older people.”
Chris Grice, CEO of National Seniors Australia said enshrining the basic rights of older people in a new Aged Care Act was a primary recommendation of the Aged Care Royal Commission.
“It is a fundamental step needed to address the many issues in aged care. A new Aged Care Act is essential to provide the foundation for future reforms, such as the new Support at Home program slated to begin on 1 July 2025,” said Grice.
CEO of Older Persons Advocacy Network Craig Gear said older people want to see a multipartisan approach towards fairer aged care funding included in the Aged Care Act. However, as a very minimum, there was a need for a new rights-based Act introduced and passed this year, which includes a commitment to Support at Home.
“Older people have waited far too long for their rights to be enshrined in legislation. Without the Act passed we don’t have enhanced quality standards, we don’t have the promised increase in protections for older people, and honestly, we don’t have viable and sustainable aged care providers. There’s no doubt that when it comes to aged care in this country, business as usual is unacceptable,” said Greer.
“This needs to be above politics. Older Australians, and their voting families will hold both parties responsible if we don’t see action to introduce the Act and improve the system quickly,” Gear said.
“We need a system that is fair, transparent, affordable and has the needs and rights of older Australians at the centre of it,” said Professor Tanya Buchanan, CEO of Dementia Australia.
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