The Royal Commissions into Mental Health, Disability and Aged Care: Systemic Problems and Law Reform in the Australian Care and Support Sector

Abstract

Royal commissions are the most prestigious form of Australian public enquiry with important investigative, fact-finding, policy-making and truth-telling functions. It is no coincidence that Australia has had three royal commissions in the last five years into the care and support sector. This ground-breaking article is the first to compare the final reports of the Victorian Mental Health and Commonwealth Aged Care and Disability Royal Commissions to analyse the systemic problems in each sector and the recommended reforms. It provides a useful overview of each commission and how the three reports intersect with each other. The article identifies seven interconnected themes which recur across the three commissions: (i) difficulty accessing services and supports; (ii) a lack of choice and control; (iii) negative social attitudes and discrimination; (iv) the overuse of restrictive practices; (v) an undertrained and underpaid workforce; (vi) problems with oversight and complaints processes; and (vii) chronic under-funding. It also sets out the different approaches to reform in each report which should arguably be adopted across all three sectors. Finally, it provides an update about government implementation of each report. Given the dire state of the care and support sector, the problems highlighted by the seven themes require urgent attention.