No time to rest: Aged Care Taskforce remains committed to change

Aged Care Taskforce member Mary Patetsos AM expressed her desire for more progress and evolution in the sector, claiming it’s at a point where it “can’t stop” because providers “should be better than we are.”

Ms Patetsos’ impassioned plea came as members of the Taskforce took to the stage at the ACCPA National Conference on Wednesday afternoon. While the Taskforce is no longer in effect, the influence of its recommendations will be felt for some time in aged care. 

After speaking earlier in the day, the Minister for Aged Care — and Taskforce Chair — Anika Wells also provided a few final words before departing the conference. 

Like Ms Patetsos, Minister Wells said this is by no means the time to stop chasing reform as “we haven’t come this far just to come this far.” 

The Minister added that the government aims to reduce uncertainty over the reform journey so that providers can finally “think about what you want to be.”

“It was mentioned there is a ticking time bomb here; so many residential aged care operations are asking ‘How are we going to survive until the next financial year?’ What I hope you consider is the certainty that hopefully we can give you this year,” she said.

“What does that allow you to do, to plan, and what do you want aged care to look like in the decades to come.”

Meanwhile, Ms Patetsos was emphatic in stating that the sector is on its way to reaching the lofty heights it should be operating from, but now is not the time to slow down.

“I’m never happy entirely because I know the job’s never done. I think the job is not done but we’ve progressed and that progression occurred on the back of some really robust conversations,” Ms Patetsos said.

“Not all providers are the same and we do need a mix of providers to survive this process. Not all consumers are the same. We need to ensure the impact of what we did had as few unintended consequences as possible and that people and small providers, particularly in regional and rural areas, are not left behind.”

She added that the Taskforce was focused on helping influence aged care outcomes where people can access the exact same care regardless of where they live. Ms Patetsos is confident the Aged Care Bill does enable that, to an extent.

“It’s not just a matter of funding and reform, it’s actually on us as providers to come up with models that suit different environments. There’s some really good stuff happening in the bush and we need to be out there [providing care].”

Playing the long game

The Taskforce’s focal point was devising ideas and solutions that would promote long-term financial sustainability. Among the leading ideas adopted by the government in the Aged Care Act is increased consumer co-contributions for services other than direct care.

This will provide additional revenue for providers, however, Grant Corderoy, a senior partner at Stewart Brown, reinforced that providers do have to show some patience.

“We’re not going to see the full financial benefits until the end of financial years 2028 and 2029. We will have more stability in this interim period,” Mr Corderoy said.

“We also need to improve society’s understanding of how aged care is funded. In residential care, it comes down to a simple idea that if your direct care is paid for by the taxpayer, your everyday living is going to be breaking even or in slight surplus, it comes down to the accommodation.

“Until we get that sustainable return on accommodation we won’t have a sustainable sector. We won’t get investment because of direct care, you’re going to get investment because the standard of accommodation gets your return.”

ACCPA CEO Tom Symondson continued the conversation around informing the public and changing the narrative surrounding aged care. He said the reform that is happening at the moment is a “great shift” that has enabled everyone to have a more grown-up conversation around aged care and its funding. 

“We have to stop tolerating the negative and confidently push back about what we’ve done over the last three to five years to resolve the core reasons why people think aged care is bad. We’ve pushed people out of the sector who are delivering bad care,” Mr Symondson said.

“We have to start talking about the good stories but not in an embarrassed way because we assume everyone thinks the worst of us. We also have to call out the advocates who say ‘Nothing’s changed since the Royal Commission.’ A lot is better so our role is to continue to fly that flag and say aged care is a great sector.”