Interim Report
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s Interim Report laid out the foundations for the fundamental reform and redesign of Australia’s aged care system.
The Interim Report was presented to the Governor-General on 31 October 2019, and tabled in the Australian Parliament that day.
The Interim Report, entitled Neglect, covered much, but not all, of the work of Commissioners the Hon Richard Tracey AM, RFD, QC (deceased) and Ms Lynelle Briggs AO through to September 2019. It found that the aged care system failed to meet the needs of our older citizens in the delivery of safe and quality care.
Neglect set out what the Royal Commission had learned to date, drew some preliminary conclusions and outlined key areas for their work over the next 12 months. It identified three areas which required immediate action:
- to provide more Home Care Packages to reduce the waiting list for higher level care at home
- to respond to the significant over-reliance on chemical restraint in aged care, including through the seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement
- to stop the flow of younger people with disability going into aged care, and expediting the process of getting those younger people who are already in aged care out.
The Interim Report consists of three volumes:
- Volume 1 includes information gathers and some conclusions.
- Volume 2 comprises an overview of public hearings.
- Volume 3 includes appendices and summaries of community.