Yesterday, the Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, issued a statement on retirement homes regulation saying that behaviour that leads to the exploitation of elderly and vulnerable Australians will not be tolerated by the Turnbull Government.
Retirement village operator Aveo has been accused by residents of bad business practices including “churning, gouging, safety issues and misleading marketing”.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of older Australians is of paramount importance to the Government, and we will be taking meaningful action to ensure this kind of behaviour is not tolerated, is dealt with accordingly, and that the necessary regulatory framework is in place to prevent it from happening,” said Mr Wyatt.
In response to the recently highlighted cases, the Government will consider all the recommendations of both the 2007 Parliamentary inquiry, Older people and the law and the 2011 Productivity Commission review, Caring for older Australians.
“Older Australians should be able to feel safe and secure in their aged care, and not be subjected to mistreatment or abuse of any kind,” said Mr Wyatt.
What do you think? Is the Federal Government doing enough in response to the highlighted cases and allegations about current practices? Should we be calling for a royal commission into the retirement homes industry?
Read more at health.gov.au
Read more at abc.net.au
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