Why was the review conducted?
On 1 May 2017, the Australian Government announced the review in response to findings from the South Australian Chief Psychiatrist’s review of the Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service.
The Chief Psychiatrist’s report described failures in the quality of care at Oakden.
When did the review occur?
The review ran between 11 May and 30 September 2017.
What did the review cover?
The review looked at:
- why processes did not address the failures of care described in the Oakden report
- how to improve processes to quickly detect and fix failures
View the full terms of reference (PDF, 2.7 MB) on the Consultation Hub website.
What were the findings?
The review found more reform to quality regulatory processes is needed. It made 10 recommendations, including:
- set up an independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to manage accreditation, compliance and complaints
- require residential aged care services to take part in the National Aged Care Quality Indicators Program
- set up a serious incident response scheme (SIRS)
- include unannounced visits when re-accrediting residential care providers
- improve complaints handling
Read the full findings in the review report.
Review of National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Processes Report
What happened next?
The Australian Government:
- introduced unannounced audits from 1 July 2018 for residential aged care services applying for re-accreditation
- set up the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1 January 2019
- is improving risk profiling of aged care providers
- is developing options for a serious incident response scheme
- will introduce performance rating against the new quality standards
- will develop a user-friendly tool to compare providers on the My Aged Care website
Who conducted the review?
The independent reviewers were:
- Ms Kate Carnell AO — an experienced public administrator and regulator
- Professor Ron Paterson ONZM — an international expert on patients' rights, complaints, health care quality and the regulation of healthcare professions
Who was consulted?
The review received input from aged care recipients, their families, health and aged care service providers, regulators and key experts.
Public consultation
The public consultation process ran between 19 June and 24 July 2017.
The review received over 400 submissions. You can view the published responses on the Consultation Hub.
Forums
The reviewers held three forums with consumers and carers.
Meetings
The reviewers met with over 40 individual stakeholders including regulators, advocacy groups, service providers, peak bodies and health and aged care experts.
Key dates
- 1 May 2017
Government announces review - 19 June 2017
Submissions open - 24 July 2017
Submissions close - 25 October 2017
Minister Wyatt releases the review report
Contact
If you have any questions about the review, email qualityagedcare@health.gov.au
Media releases
- 1 May 2017 — Aged Care Minister to commission review
- 11 May 2017 — Appointment of panel
- 20 June 2017 — Call for submissions
- 15 August 2017 — Timing extended
- 25 October 2017 — Quality review released: aged care assessment visits to be unannounced
- 18 April 2018 — New reforms to ensure safe, quality aged care