Strengthening the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

The federal government has accepted all 32 recommendations of the final report of the Independent Capability Review of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

Since the government received and published the final report in 2023, a senior-level Implementation Steering Committee has been established in line with Recommendation 2.1.

“Delivering safe, high-quality care to older Australians is non-negotiable. We need a well-equipped, high-performing regulator if we’re going to meet the challenges facing aged care,” said Anika Wells, Minister for Aged Care.

“The independent review led by Mr David Tune AO PSM charts a course for service improvement by lifting the capability of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and we’ve accepted all 32 of his recommendations.”

The government has funded delivery of priority areas including:

• $25.3 million to assist the commission to undertake its core regulatory functions and respond to two early recommendations from the review’s preliminary report (Recs 4.11 and 4.13).
• $69.4 million for critical ICT and cyber security uplift (Recs 4.9 and 4.10).
• $4.1 million to implement a new organisational structure (Recs 4.3 and 4.8).
• $7.1 million to continue funding for the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner and associated complaints resolution staff (Rec 5.7).
• $10.2 million for additional corporate capability to implement the government response.
   

Significant investment in ICT is delivering more timely services for providers through improved risk-based decision-making and use of data to support the commission’s regulatory activity.

Continued support for the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner will improve complaints handling for the sector. The role is increasing the commission’s capacity to receive and resolve complaints and uses information from complaints to deliver better services.

The expertise and knowledge base of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council has also been expanded with four new appointments and one reappointment (Rec 6.2).

Equipped with a wide range of experience, from aged care nursing and gerontology to human resources management and financial regulation, the refreshed council will guide the commission to be the contemporary and capable regulator the sector demands.

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