The long-awaited introduction of the Age Care Act means the focus can now turn to ensuring Australians get the opportunity to scrutinise the detail to ensure it delivers the rights and protections older Australians deserve, COTA Australia says.
Chief Executive Officer of COTA Australia - the leading advocacy organisation for older people - Patricia Sparrow said that while it took too long to get to this point, the fact that the Aged Care Act has now been introduced is good.
Ms Sparrow also said the government's significant focus on and investment in Support at Home will be welcomed by older Australians who want greater choice around ageing at home and to see wait times for care at home significantly decreased.
"Now that we've finally got past all the roadblocks stopping the introduction of the Aged Care Act, Parliament now needs to ensure that Australians have adequate time to scrutinise the legislation and provide feedback," Ms Sparrow said.
"There's no question that when it comes to aged care in Australia business as usual is unacceptable. Ambitious reform is required to fix the current aged care system to meet the needs of our ageing population and increasingly complex aged care needs and the Aged Care Act is central to making this happen.
"Australians of all ages, including older people, now need the opportunity to look into all the detail contained within the 550 pages to ensure that all of its elements are fair, transparent, easy to understand and equitable for all older Australians.
Ms Sparrow said the Aged Care Act is crucial in delivering long awaited rights for older people that put their voices front and centre of the aged care system.
"We need an Aged Care Act that enshrines the rights of older people. While there is still much detail to go through, it appears the Act includes vital measures required to do that including mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the rights of older people; the introduction of a person-centred, robust and effective complaints system; detail on how rights will be embedded into daily aged care operations; and a shift to supported decision-making becoming the foundation in aged care so there is an assumption that older people can make decisions for themselves.
"The focus on Support at Home is very welcomed. A $4.3billion investment in Support at Home is vital to ensuring Australians can age at home if they want to and should reduce the unacceptable time people currently have to wait for care at home.
'We need a sustainable aged care system that allows older Australians can access quality care when and where they need it. We need to review the detail of the Aged Care Act in its entirety to make sure that is the case across the board, but the fact that we've got to the point where we can investigate that detail is fantastic.
"For too long older Australians, whether due to systemic ageism or other factors, have not been given ownership of their lives when the time comes for them to access aged care. It's time that changed and this Aged Care Act will go a long way to ensuring that.
"COTA Australia will now focus on analysing the detail, speaking to older people about the detail, and making sure the voice of older people is heard throughout the next phase of the process."
