The Coming of Age: New Aged Care Legislation for the Commonwealth (ALRC Report 72)

ALRC Report 72 (tabled March 1995) was the second of three reports, which resulted from a series of inquiries into Acts administered by the Department of Health and Family Services. It identifies problems with the outdated and complicated legislation dealing with aged care services, in particular the National Health Act 1953 (Cth) and the Aged and Disabled Persons Care Act 1954 (Cth).

The Coming of Age: New Aged Care Legislation for the Commonwealth is divided into four parts corresponding to the main issues raised in the terms of reference.

1. Part I sets out the background and context of the report as well as setting principles for new legislation.
2. Part II is about access and equity to aged care services. This section deals with issues such as culturally appropriate services for people from non-English speaking and Indigenous backgrounds; financially disadvantaged people; and special needs groups such as those with dementia and disabilities.
3. Part III examines standards of care, complaints procedures, access to and availability of information about services, and the privacy rights of consumers.
4. Part IV addresses funding processes, accountability and issues pertaining to the enforcement of funding obligations.

View ALRC Report 72 in HTMLon the AustLII website.

This publication is available for purchase in book format.