The independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is operational from today giving Sunshine Coast seniors and their families increased peace of mind around standards of care.
The Commission comes with a one-stop quality and safety website and the single new contact number for local aged care concerns and queries: 1800 951 822.
Member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien said the new Commission was a landmark Liberal National Government aged care reform and would better target sub-standard care and ensure the safety and security of local seniors.
“For the first time, local seniors and their loved ones have one place to go when they need help, want to raise a concern, or access information about an aged care service,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The new Commission is particularly relevant to the Sunshine Coast which has one of the highest concentrations of older Australians. At the last census, 20.9 per cent of the Sunshine Coast population was aged over 65 compared to just 15.2 per cent for Queensland and 15.8 per cent for the entire country.
“While the vast majority of aged care homes and their dedicated staff provide outstanding care, the new Commission is about giving confidence to residents and their families and ensuring quality care is delivered at all times.
“The Commission will also be empowered by the new aged care Charter of Rights and will implement the new, stronger set of Aged Care Quality Standards, the first upgrade of standards in 20 years.”
The Commission has a budget of almost $300 million over four years, with more than $48 million to continue ramping up compliance checks and risk management, including the employment of dozens of new compliance officers and developing options for a Serious Incident Response Scheme.
The new website includes details on:
- Aged care consumer rights
- Access to free advocacy services to support senior Australians
- Consumer Experience Reports about individual aged care services
- Access to audit reports on aged care homes
- How to register complaints, including tips on documenting concerns
- New resources to help providers meet the Standards
- Translation services to support non-English speaking clients
“The new Commission is another example of our Government’s aged care reform agenda continuing at full pace,” Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care said.
“We are dedicated to providing senior Australians and their families with confidence and certainty in quality aged care delivery.
“The establishment of the new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is part of our Government’s record aged care funding boost, increasing aged care spending by $5 billion over four years.”
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can be contacted on 1800 951 822 or by visiting agedcarequality.gov.au.