This report outlines the Inspector-General’s assessment of the progress the Australian Government has made in implementing reforms in response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
This is the first progress report prepared under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Aged Care, Natalie Siegel-Brown.
The Inspector-General of Aged Care Act 2023 (IGAC Act) requires the Inspector-General to assess the government’s progress against each of the 148 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission).
This is important but the fundamental issue for the InspectorGeneral, and indeed the broader public, is whether the high volume of government reforms to date have actually transformed the aged care system as envisaged by the Royal Commission, or whether they have, or may, only deliver a ‘small shift’.
It is very clear to the Inspector-General that the government is pursuing a wide-reaching and substantial body of work to drive change across the aged care system, and that much of this work is occurring at a very fast pace.
But the issue for the Inspector-General was whether those recommendations most catalytic to change were either commenced or on track to begin.