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In brief - Quality and Safety Commission signals new era
for aged care with increased transparency
Commencing 1 January 2019, the newly established Aged Care
Quality and Safety Commission combines the functions of the
Australian Aged Care Quality Agency and the Aged Care Complaints
Commissioner.
According to the Honourable Ken Wyatt, Minister for Senior
Australians and Aged Care, the Quality and Safety Commission is
designed to "be a responsive, one-stop shop to prevent
failures, highlight quality concerns and have them quickly
rectified". The Commission will also assume responsibility for
the regulatory aged care approval and compliance functions of the
Department of Health from 1 January 2020.
The Quality and Safety Commission will operate independently of
the Royal
Commission into Aged Care, although it is anticipated that the
recently appointed Quality and Safety Commissioner, Janet Anderson,
and other Quality and Safety staff will assist in providing a
response to the Royal Commission's enquiries.
Roles and responsibilities of the Aged Care Quality and Safety
Commission
The Quality and Safety Commission will independently accredit,
assess and monitor aged care services subsidised by the Federal
Government and will also work to resolve complaints into aged care
services and service providers. A new Chief Clinical Advisor (yet
to be appointed) will provide advice to the Commission in relation
to complex clinical matters.
From 1 July 2019, the Quality and Safety Commission will also
assume responsibility for administering the new Aged Care Quality
Standards which replace the existing:
Accreditation Standards
Home Care Standards
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged
Care Program Quality Framework Standards, and
Transition Care Standards
Under the new regime, the Commission will also provide increased
transparency through a publicly available rating against the
Quality Standards.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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The scope of matters for the Commission to inquire into is very wide - almost the entire aged care sector in Australia.
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