Congress highlights “the main game in town”

 Victorian aged care providers will have the chance to provide direct feedback to the Productivity Commission’s aged care inquiry later this week.

Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald will address the Aged and Community Care Victoria (ACCV) State Congress on Friday.

His presentation will be followed by a 20-minute feedback session when delegates will be given the chance to share their comments and concerns with the commission.

Mr Fitzgerald said the commission is keen to hear from the sector about the broad range of issues underpinning aged care service delivery.

“We are at the stage of doing informal consultations at the moment so we are attending a number of forums,” he said. “The questions and comments that come out of them will feed into the inquiry process.

“In particular, we are interested in hearing about Indigenous Australians, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and people in rural and remote areas.

“We are very concerned about those sorts of issues and we are seeking specific feedback from people who are experts or are interested in those areas.”

The CEO of ACCV, Gerard Mansour urged the state’s providers to pass on their views to the commission.

“This is the biggest game in town for our industry this year,” he said. “It’s a seminal moment where the future of the industry is on the table.

“There’s no point in our industry waiting for the release of first draft of the report so we are making sure the Productivity Commission understands how we see the world today and that changes are needed.”

ACCV’s policy manager, Paul Zanatta is working with members to help them draft submissions to the inquiry.

The association will collect all the submissions from its members and submit them to the commission together.

Earlier this month, commissioner Mike Woods addressed the Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) National Community Care Conference on the Gold Coast and delegates had the opportunity to send video messages to the commission.

Formal written submissions to the inquiry must be received by Friday, 30 July. The commission will release a draft report in December before submitting the final report to the federal government in April next year.

Click here for more information about the commission’s aged care inquiry.