1,000 signatures reached
To: Hon. Anika Wells, Minister for Aged Care
ACAS must remain in public hands
The provision of Aged Care Assessment Services must remain in public hands to ensure patients are put before profit.
Why is this important?
The Commonwealth risks the health of vulnerable elderly Australians if ACAS is privatised.
The model for ACAS is changing, with the first stage of the new Single Assessment System due to be implemented as of July 2024.
The Commonwealth has decided to openly tender (meaning private providers can tender for the first time) for the provision of services to support the new system, while bilateral negotiations with states and territories still are ongoing, creating a lack of transparency and certainty regarding the future of the service.
The Commonwealth is leaving frontline staff and patients in the dark as to how this model will operate.
This risks good public sector jobs and patient safety.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety explicitly stated that assessments should be undertaken by assessors who are independent from approved providers. Allowing aged care providers to also conduct assessments directly contradicts the advice of the Commission and will potentially put profits before patients, with the end result potentially jeopardising patient care.
Our members have experienced years of precarity and uncertainty regarding the future provision of aged care services, meaning many experienced Allied Health Professionals have already left the sector to ensure their own personal job security, while others fear for their role beyond 1 July 2024.
This loss of collective knowledge and expertise could prove disastrous to ensuring that our elder Australians receive the best care in their later years.
To prevent this, we demand that aged care assessment services remain in public hands, that good public sector jobs are safeguarded and that patient safety is put before profits.