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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-02-12 Daily Xml
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Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:41): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the Attorney-General provide an update to the house on the aged-care standards royal commission?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:42): I thank the member for Colton for his question and important interest in this inquiry.

Mr Malinauskas: Are you going to cooperate with this one? Are you going to shut this one down?

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please! The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety preliminary hearing about the operation of the commission was held in Adelaide on 18 January, at which time the commissioners set out their vision for the operation of the commission. It is now operating out of the offices of 11 Waymouth Street; however, hearings will and continue to be heard in the Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Courts Building at 3 Angas Street.

Public hearings, as many would know, commenced in Adelaide last Monday (yesterday) and will continue until Wednesday this week, and are also scheduled for Monday 18 February to Friday 22 February this year. The royal commission will also hold public hearings in each capital city and in some regional centres. As we can all remember in great detail, the former government oversaw the absolute tragedy at Oakden—something we wish we will never experience again. Looking after our aged residents both in and out of state-run homes, of course, is integral.

In 2017-18, the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner received 5,779 complaints. The majority (75 per cent) related to residential aged care. I am very proud that Adelaide is the home of the royal commission, with our advocates, families, social services and agencies able to participate in future reform. The royal commission has announced that the first of the hearings will inquire into the following:

key features of the aged-care quality, safety and complaints system, about how that system works in practice and at a general level;

key features of the aged-care quality, safety and complaints system at the level of the federal government, including how that system has operated, monitored and regulated prior to 1 January 2019, and how it is expected that system will operate, be monitored and regulated following the establishment of the new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission;

the changing demographics of the Australian population and the implications this has for the aged-care system;

the nature and meaning of 'quality' and 'safety' within the Australian aged-care system, as those concepts are understood from a variety of national perspectives;

key issues affecting the functioning of the Australian aged-care system identified from the perspectives of the representative bodies referred to above and from the experience of people receiving and seeking aged-care services.

To update the parliament, and as many would also know, in the evidence given this week we have heard from Ms Barbara Spriggs; Mr Clive Spriggs; also Mr Ian Yates AM, CEO of COTA Australia; and Professor John McCallum, the CEO of National Seniors Australia. Notably, Ms Spriggs, whose late husband, Robert, suffered mistreatment at the Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service, spoke frankly about her experiences and the issues they thought required urgent attention.

I thank Ms Spriggs for detailing those no doubt traumatic experiences in the public arena for the greater resolution of aged-care related issues and to ensure that we never again see a failure like we did in Oakden. This is not the first time she has stepped forward and stepped up with this information, and I thank her sincerely.

Government agencies, as we have seen, play a huge role in the provision of services for our aged-care residents. Under the Attorney-General's Department, a statewide response team is being developed to properly respond to the royal commission. I have remained constantly updated by this group and, as such, they have alerted me that it is anticipated that the evidence heard over the Adelaide hearings will raise important themes, including whether the current aged-care system is failing to meet community expectations and in what ways; issues relating to the changing demographics and what that means for the aged-care system; the special clinical issues that arise in caring for older people, including the skills required of doctors, nurses and personal care attendants; creating an aged-care—

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier's time has expired. Thank you.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I don't need that commentary, please.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: When the members on my left are finished, I will call the deputy leader.

The Hon. R. Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Child Protection is called to order. The deputy leader has the call.

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