IGAC Insights: Issue 1, Winter 2026

First edition of the IGAC Insights newsletter, issued in July 2026.

Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of 'IGAC Insights', the new quarterly stakeholder newsletter from the Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care.

As an independent agency, we oversee the administration, regulation and funding of the aged care system by the Australian Government. 

Our role is to scrutinise the system as a whole, identify systemic and significant issues, report transparently to the Minister, Parliament and the public, and recommend changes that can improve aged care for older people across Australia.

We are not a complaints body, a regulator or a policy agency. We do not resolve individual matters or direct providers. Our contribution is different: we look across the system, listen to evidence and lived experience, and identify where the system is operating well and where it is falling short — particularly where those shortcomings affect people who already face barriers to safe, accessible and culturally appropriate care.

Through this newsletter, we aim to make it easier for you to follow how our oversight is contributing to safer, fairer and more transparent aged care for older people in Australia.

This first edition comes to you at an important moment for our Office and the sector, as we prepare to farewell inaugural Inspector-General Natalie Siegel-Brown. Since she took up the position in January last year, Natalie has fearlessly led from the front: with purpose, energy, passion, and an unwavering commitment to elevating the critical issues affecting older people, their families and carers; providers; and the broader aged care sector.

As a relatively new agency with a large remit and a small footprint, we have started strong; and that’s how we intend to continue.

Each quarter, we will share updates on our work, highlight key achievements, and generally provide greater visibility of the issues we are examining across the aged care system. 

Feel free to share this newsletter with others in your network who may be interested in our work, and we welcome any feedback or suggestions for how we can improve it.

Sector engagement roundup

Engagement with stakeholders is central to our work. Since our establishment, we have sought to enact Dadirri (deep listening) and Garma (two-way learning). By listening to – and learning from – the experience of older people, their families and carers; providers and the aged care workforce; as well as peaks, advocates and the broader sector, we can better understand where the system works well and where change is still needed. 

In 2025-26, we have engaged with the sector by:

  • seeking input into our 2025-26 Annual Work Plan. This consultation prioritised the perspectives of people with lived experience of the aged care system, as well as advocacy organisations, government departments and regulators, aged care providers, peak bodies, advisory bodies and the aged care workforce. This feedback informed the work plan, which was themed, ‘From Aspiration to Action: Realising Human Rights and Person-Centred Care in Aged Care’, and outlined our priorities for the year and reaffirmed our focus on practical change that improves people’s everyday experience of aged care.
  • holding targeted discussions, consultations, roundtables and public submissions to inform the 2025 Progress Report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission and the My Aged Care Review.
  • participating in regular meetings and discussions with a range of stakeholders, providers, peak bodies, government agencies and people with lived experience to further inform our understanding of issues across the sector.
  • delivering almost 40 speeches and panel presentations at sector events. This has included topics such as positive ageing, Support at Home, trauma-aware care, remote service delivery, palliative care, dementia, multicultural aged care, and elder abuse.

Key achievements in 2025-26

This has been a seminal year for our agency, as we have set about raising our concerns, including by:

  • publishing the 2025 Progress Report on the implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations. Our statutory progress report assessed the Australian Government’s implementation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommendations and identified where more action is needed to improve outcomes for older people.
  • completing the My Aged Care Review. This major review examined how people experience the gateway to aged care and called for improved awareness, reduced complexity, stronger workforce support, more face-to-face assistance and urgent action to improve fairness of access.
  • contributing to several Senate inquiries. In addition to the Inspector-General’s appearances at Senate Estimates, this year we have contributed formal submissions to several Senate inquiries. Through this work, we have sought to highlight systemic risks early, promote rights-based and person-centred approaches, and support better policy settings for older people. Our submissions have related to:
    • Aged Care service delivery
    • Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Levy Amendment Bill 2025 and Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
    • the Review of Aged Care Rules 2025
    • the transition of the Commonwealth Home Support Program to the Support at Home program
    • the Support at Home program (submission currently being finalised).
  • influencing public debate on key reform issues. Our work has helped highlight critical questions about access to home care, co-payments under Support at Home, complaints management, and the importance of designing policy around rights, dignity and lived experience. For example:

Current priorities

Preventive and early intervention approaches

One of the most important areas of work we are advancing is our economic analysis of preventive and early intervention approaches in aged care. This includes considering how policy settings and investment can better support ageing in place, reduce avoidable decline and improve quality of life for older people. 

Restrictive practices and rights-based reform

We are continuing our work on issues that go to the heart of dignity, autonomy and safety in aged care, including restrictive practices and implementation of the new rights-based legislative framework. Alongside this, we are progressing future oversight work and planning for upcoming reporting, including the legislated review to evaluate the implementation of the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission, and the release of our 2026–27 Annual Work Plan. Across all of this work, our focus remains on identifying systemic issues early and supporting reform that is practical, transparent and centred on older people.

Upcoming key dates

Help shape future editions of 'IGAC Insights'

As this is the first edition of 'IGAC Insights', we would love to hear from you. Your feedback will help us shape future editions, including the topics you would find most useful and the kinds of updates you would like to receive. We want this newsletter to be a helpful and relevant way of staying connected with our stakeholders.

Share feedback

If you would like to share feedback on this newsletter, please email contact@igac.gov.au 

Subscribe to future editions of 'IGAC Insights'

To be added to the mailing list for future editions of IGAC Insights, please email  contact@igac.gov.au

Similarly, if you would prefer not to receive this newsletter, please let us know.

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care. We look forward to continuing to share updates through future editions of 'IGAC Insights' and engaging with stakeholders across the aged care sector as our work progresses.

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