Terms of Reference
The
terms of reference for the Royal Commission are included in the Letters
Patent, which the Governor-General signed on 8 October 2018.
The Commissioners were appointed to be a Commission of inquiry, and
required and authorised to inquire into the following matters:
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;
how best to deliver aged care services to:
- people with disabilities residing in aged care facilities, including younger people; and
- the increasing number of Australians living with dementia, having
regard to the importance of dementia care for the future of aged care
services;
the future challenges and opportunities for delivering accessible,
affordable and high quality aged care services in Australia, including:
- in the context of changing demographics and preferences, in particular people’s desire to remain living at home as they age; and
- in remote, rural and regional Australia;
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;
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;
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;
any matter reasonably incidental to a matter referred to in
paragraphs (a) to (f) or that [the Commissioners] believe is reasonably
relevant to the inquiry
