Commissioner’s message
The opening weeks of the year are often a good time to reflect on current priorities and what’s up ahead. There’s no doubt that everyone working in aged care continues to have a “full dance card” with many issues clamouring for attention. Realistically, that’s not going to change and the challenge for us all is to identify and distinguish the important and the urgent priorities, and then assemble the necessary resources (time, attention, staff, policies and procedures) to address them. Definitely easier said than done!
Since our last issue, we have released 3 Regulatory Bulletins to assist services to understand how specific requirements and processes fit within the overarching aged care regulatory framework. I encourage you to read the Regulatory Bulletins and review your practices accordingly.
The reform program continues this year. We will see the new Quality Indicators commencing from 1 April, the introduction of the residential care 24/7 registered nursing requirements from 1 July, further work on the strengthened Quality Standards, and ongoing activities to embed the 1 December 2022 reforms.
A key part of our regulatory role is to support providers to understand their obligations through relevant and fit-for-purpose guidance, information and education that is accessible and engaging. We continue to review, evaluate and develop our efforts and products in this regard to make sure that they are hitting the mark and achieving the best possible results.
Building on the series of very well attended reform webinars we hosted in 2022, we will be holding monthly webinars for the sector across 2023. The webinars will cover a range of regulatory topics to support providers, services, workers and consumers.
Our first two webinars for 2023 are:
- Site audits in residential aged care – 11:30am–12:30pm AEDT on Tuesday 21 February. Registrations for this webinar are now open.
- Early lessons learned: from SIRS in home services – 1:00pm–2:00pm AEDT on Tuesday 21 March.
The schedule of monthly webinars will be published on the website in the coming weeks. Stay up to date by regularly visiting the Commission's Webinars page.
You will also see changes in how we communicate with you based on sector feedback, including a different approach to the monthly Quality Bulletin and a redesign of our website. As we introduce changes, it would be great to know what you think so please send us your feedback via agedcarereforms@agedcarequality.gov.au.
The Commission is determined to listen to, talk with, and work together with consumers and providers to improve the quality and range of information and resources we produce. This will enable us to better equip the sector to rise to our shared goal of every older Australian in aged care receiving the services that meet and exceed their expectations.
To keep up to date with changes and the resources available, I encourage you to follow us on our social media accounts:
- LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/agedcarequality)
- Facebook (@AgedCareQuality)
- Twitter (@AgedCareQuality)
Last but by no means least, I can advise that recruitment is underway to fill the newly established position of Complaints Commissioner within the Commission. Following appointment to this role, which will report to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, we are looking forward to increasing our engagement with both consumers and providers to explore the benefits and best means of harnessing constructive feedback on care experiences to drive continuous improvement.
I look forward to continuing our important work together in 2023.
