Know your rights: new Charter to guarantee rights of aged care recipients

The Department of Health published a ‘Report on the outcome of public consultation on the draft charter of aged care rights’ in November 2018 which recognises ‘The Australian population is ageing, and the expectations of older people and the community are changing’. The Australian Government is taking steps to fundamentally reform the aged care system to ensure high-quality services are provided to aged care recipients. As part of these reforms, the Department of Health has introduced a single Charter of Aged Care Rights which is applicable to all recipients of Commonwealth subsidised aged care services.

The single Charter of Aged Care Rights took effect on 1 July 2019 and replaces the four Charters relating to the rights of aged care recipients under the User Rights Amendment, including:-

• Charter of care recipients’ rights and responsibilities – residential care
• Charter of care recipients’ rights and responsibilities – home care
• Charter of care recipients’ rights and responsibilities – short-term restorative care (part1, residential care setting; part 2, home care setting).

The single Charter of Aged Care Rights is intended to:-

• focus on the core rights of central importance to aged care recipients;
• provide the same rights and make rights clearer for aged care recipients; and
• sit alongside, but not duplicate, other laws that inform the delivery and quality of aged care, for example, the Aged Care Act 1997, the aged care recipient outcomes in the new Standard, and rights under Australian consumer law and anti-discrimination law.

The new Charter covers the 14 fundamental protections:-

1. Safe and high quality care and services;
2. be treated with dignity and respect;
3. have my identity, culture and diversity valued and supported;
4. live without abuse and neglect;
5. be informed about my care and services in a way I understand;
6. access all information about myself, including information about my rights, care and services;
7. have control over and make choice about my care and personal and social life, including where the choices involve personal risk;
8. have control over, and make decisions about, the personal aspects of my daily life, financial affairs and possessions;
9. my independence;
10. be listened to and understood;
11. have a person of my choice, including an aged care advocate, support me or speak on my behalf;
12. complain free from reprisal, and to have my complaints dealt with fairly and promptly;
13. personal privacy and to have my personal information protected;
14. exercise my rights without it adversely affecting the way I am treated.

Aged care recipients must be provided with a copy of the new Charter signed by an aged care provider. Aged care providers should ensure an aged care recipient or their authorised person have been given a reasonable opportunity to sign the new Charter. Aged care recipients may choose whether or not they wish to sign the new Charter and they may commence and/or continue to receive care and services.