THE Aged Care Association Australia WA has welcomed the Productivity Commission’s report on aged-care reform, saying the changes will provide more choices for ageing Western Australians.
Among the key recommendations is the creation of a new Australian Seniors Gateway Agency to provide: information, assessment and referral to local services; greater flexibility for care recipients to transfer between services; a new independent regulatory commission to oversee standards, accreditation, complaints and to determine pricing; and the abolition of the high- and low-care differentiation.
ACAAWA chief executive Anne-Marie Archer says reform has been a long time coming and suggested a committed government is needed to effect change for the betterment of both the aged-care recipient and the care provider.
Ms Archer says there are many recommendations that have been well received by the aged care industry, however greater review and assessment as to how it will translate in a practical sense needs to be considered.
She says there is a genuine need for reform and it is important that the Commonwealth addresses these recommendations as a whole and does not cherry pick politically palatable items.
The final report is expected to be released in June 2011.