Senior Counsel Assisting Peter Gray QC appears to have gone cold on the Commissioners’ redesign of the aged care system in their Consultation Paper 1 released in December, saying the Counsel Assisting team are not proposing that the separation of care and accommodation in residential care and funding tied to the consumer outlined in the Paper 1 go ahead.
You can read the full 75-page submission HERE.
Unlike the recent workforce hearings where Senior Counsel Assisting Peter Rozen QC was firm on his recommendations, Mr Gray repeatedly pleaded for input from Government, providers, peaks and the public on the proposals made at the one-hour hearing in Adelaide last Wednesday.
“These submissions are not our final recommendations to the Royal Commissioners about program design and we invite further public submissions in response to these submissions,” he said.
These proposals include:
- uncapping the supply of aged care beds and home care packages.
- guaranteeing access to interim supports immediately.
- face-to-face assistance to access services, with the My Aged Care website and contact centre to take a supporting role.
- a focus on reablement and innovative accommodation models; and
- better collection and analysis of data around demand and preventive care
Commissioner Tony Pagone was also looking for more input from the sector, calling for providers to “engage fully” with the Royal Commission.
“We are listening to you and we will continue listening to you,” he said. “We urge you, therefore, that you engage with us meaningfully so that we can continue to listen and produce the best outcome that we are able to produce.”
You will need to get in quick however – the deadline for submissions in response is Wednesday, 18 March 2020.
