The terms of Reference for the Aged Care Royal Commission (headed by the Honourable Justice Joseph McGrath) are
RECOGNISING the contribution of older Australians to society, and that
older Australians deserve high quality care in a safe environment that protects
their wellbeing and dignity.
AND the importance of building a national culture of respect for ageing and
older persons. ·
AND that Australia's population is ageing and the proportion and number of
people accessing and ne~ding care is increasing.
AND the many positive examples of high quality care within the Australian
aged care sector which engages thousands of dedicated people providing aged
care services every day, complemented by the important contribution of
families and volunteers.
AND that as a community all Australians expect high standards of quality and
safety from our aged care services, and it is important that the Australian
Government has the best regulatory and policy framework to provide a
sustainable aged care system that meets the needs of older Australians in the
future.
AND that it is important that frail, older people needing care should receive
services that reflect and address their care needs.
AND that the Commonwealth provides funding to, and regulates, providers of
aged care services. .
AND that some people residing in aged care facilities, including younger
people, or otherwise receiving aged care services, have disabilities and
Australia has undertaken relevant international obligations, including to take
all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the
implementation of the rights of people with disabilities.
NOW THEREFORE We do, by Our Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on the advice of the
Federal Executive Council and under the Constitution of the Commonwealth
of Australia, the Royal Commissions Act 1902 and every other enabling
power, appoint you to be a Commission of inquiry, and require and authorise
you, to inquire into the following matters:
(a) the quality of aged care services provided to Australians, the extent to
which those services meet the needs of the people accessing them, the
extent of substandard care being provided, including mistreatment
and all forms of abuse, the causes of any systemic failures, and any
actions that should be taken in response;
(b) how best to deliver aged care services to:
(i) people with disabilities residing in aged care facilities,
including younger people; and
(ii) the increasing number of Australians living with dementia,
having regard to the importance of dementia care for the future
of aged care services;
(c) the future challenges and opportunities for delivering accessible,
affordable and high quality aged care services in Australia, including:
(i) in the context of changing demographics and preferences, in
particular people's desire to remain living at home as they age;
and
(ii) in remote, rural and regional Australia;
(d) what the Australian Government, aged care industry, Australian
families and the wider community can do to strengthen the system of
aged care services to ensure that the services provided are of high
quality and safe;
(e) how to ensure that aged care services are person-centred, including
through allowing people to exercise greater choice, control and
independence in relation to their care, and improving engagement
with families and carers on care-related matters;
(f) how best to deliver aged care services in a sustainable way, including
through innovative models of care, increased use of technology, and
investment in the aged care workforce and capital infrastructure;
(g) any matter reasonably incidental to a matter referred to in paragraphs
(a) to (f) or that you believe is reasonably relevant to the inquiry.
AND We direct you to make any recommendations arising out of your inquiry
that you consider appropriate, including recommendations about any policy,
legislative, administrative or structural reforms.
AND, without limiting the scope of your inquiry or the scope of any
recommendations arising out of your inquiry that you may consider
appropriate, We direct you, for the purposes of your inquiry and
recommendations, to have regard to the following matters:
(h) all forms of Commonwealth-funded aged care services, whatever the
setting or environment in which those services are delivered;
(i) all aspects of the quality and safety of aged care services, including
but not limited to the following: (i) dignity;
(ii) choice and control;
(iii) clinical care;
(iv) medication management;
(v) mental health;
(vi) personal care;
(vii) nutrition;
(viii) positive behaviour supportsto reduce or eliminate the use of
restrictive practices;
(ix) end of life care;
(x) systems to ensure that high quality care is delivered, such as
governance arrangements and management support systems;
(j) the critical role of the aged care workforce in delivering high quality,
safe, person-centred care, and the need for close partnerships with
families, carers and others providing care and support;
(k) the wide diversity of older Australians and the barriers they face in'
accessing and receiving high quality aged care services. This should
take into account the increasing incidence of chronic and complex conditions;
(1) the interface with other services accessed by people receiving aged
care services, including primary health care services, acute care and disability services, and relevant regulatory systems. This should take
into account how people transition from other care environments or
between aged care settings; ·
(m) examples of good practice and innovative models in delivering aged
care services;
(n) the findings and recommendations of previous relevant reports and
inquiries.
AND We further declare that you are not required by these Our Letters Patent·
to inquire, or to continue to inquire, into a particular matter to the extent that
you are satisfied that the matter has been, is being, or will be, sufficiently and
appropriately dealt with by another inquiry or investigation or a criminal or
civil proceeding.
AND, without limiting the scope of your inquiry or the scope of any
recommendations arising out of your inquiry that you may consider
appropriate, We direct you, for the purposes of your inquiryand
recommendations, to consider the following matters, and We authorise you, as
you consider appropriate, to take (or refrain from taking) any action arising
out of your consideration:
(o) the need to establish mechanisms to facilitate the timely
communication of information, or the furnishing of evidence,
documents or things, in accordance with section 6P of the Royal
Commissions Act 1902 or any other relevant law, including, for
example, for the purpose of enabling the timely investigation and
prosecution of offences;
(p) the need to ensure that evidence that may be received by you that
identifies particular individuals as having been subject to
inappropriate treatment is dealt with in a way that does not prejudice
current or future criminal or civil proceedings or other
contemporaneous inquiries;
(q) the need to establish appropriate arrangements in relation to current
and previous inquiries, in Australia and elsewhere, for evidence and
information to be shared with you in ways consistent with relevant
obligations so that the work of those inquiries, including, with any
necessary consents, the testimony of witnesses, can be taken into
account by you in a way that avoids unnecessary duplication,
improves efficiency and avoids unnecessary trauma to witnesses;
(r) the need to establish, as you see fit and having regard to the date by
which. you are required to submit your final report, appropriate
arrangements for evidence and information to be shared with you by
people about their experiences, including people receiving aged care
services, their families, carers and others who provide · care and support, recognising that some people will need special support to
share their experiences. ...
AND We declare that, in exercising your powers under Part 2 of the Royal
Commissions Act 1902, you are to inquire into the matters falling within the
scope of paragraphs (a) to (g) only to the extent that Commonwealth
constitutional power extends to those subjects of inquiry.
AND We declare that you are a Royal Commission to which item 5 of the
table in subsection 355-70(1) in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 applies.
AND We declare that in these Our Letters Patent: aged care services means services provided by any of the
following: ·
(a) approved providers within the meaning of the Aged Care
Act 1997;
(b) entities to which a grant is payable under Chapter 5 of the
Aged Care Act 1997;
(c) entities to which funding is payable under a program
relating to aged care specified in Schedule lAA or lAB to
the Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers)
Regulations 1997;
(d) entities that receive funding for the purposes of the
Veterans' Home Care Program established under the
Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.
The Commission is to submit an interim report not later than 31 October 2019 (ie safely after the election) and a final report not later than
30 April 2020
