Art in aged care offers a therapeutic, stimulating and social environment for residents, helps with marketing and staff satisfaction and importantly, doesn’t have to put you in the red.

The Australian government needs to develop and implement an overarching national action plan that will deliver on a long-term vision for ageing, the Council on the Ageing (COTA) has said.

ACSA has also called for changes to the ACAR process, the mandatory reporting regime and the accreditation system in its submission to the Commission of Audit.

In a sector that has been traditionally structured around a nursing and carer model, integrating allied health services into mainstream aged services is proving to be a challenge.

An industry project to develop leadership capability within the sector has recommended setting up a national centre for aged care leadership and a capability framework to define key skills and abilities.

Everald Compton says he is hopeful that interested organisations might support the panel so it could see its work through to completion.