Ian Yates: Hello, I'm Ian Yates, Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care.
Paula Pearsall: And I'm Paula Pearsall, Agency Executive Director. Welcome to the Office of the Inspector General of Aged Care. In this video, we will cover some basic information about the office, who we are, what we do, and how we work with other departments that look after aged care.
Ian Yates: The office was set up following recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Our role is to review the aged care system with a focus on how it works and importantly, areas that need critical improvement. We do this work as a standalone agency, independent of other government departments and agencies. Our independence gives us the freedom to complete reviews without influence or bias. This means the information we gather and reports we make to parliament help make the aged care system more accountable and transparent.
Paula Pearsall: Our review process is in-depth and often requires us to look into particular issues or areas of weakness in the aged care system. We pay close attention to the procedures and actions by other Commonwealth agencies that have a shared responsibility in the aged care sector. These agencies include the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.
To have a better understanding of what is happening across the system, we also monitor and gather information from key stakeholders, media and other reviews and reports. These insights allow us to identify emerging trends, patterns and issues that we may need to focus on. An important part of how we look at making improvements to the aged care sector is hearing from you, the public. Your insights and experience will help us better understand how the system is working and the areas we would need to focus on.
Ian Yates: As a new agency, we are now in the final stages of developing our first work plan. The work plan is an important document that sets out our key focuses over the next 6 months and the work we wish to undertake to drive improvement across the aged care system. The plan also provides an outline of the different types of reports the Inspector-General plans to produce over the next 6 months.
These reports include Review reports, which are the results of our findings and recommendations, and Progress reports. These provide updates to Parliament on the implementation of Royal Commission recommendations. The work plan will be available on our website after the 15th of December 2023.
Paula Pearsall: The work of the office in partnership with other government departments, the aged care sector and broader Australian community, means we are actively working towards making a real and meaningful change in an informed and considered way. The process will take time. There are some difficult recommendations that we will need to work through. However, the work that we put in now will ensure that future Australians will experience a progressive and fit-for-purpose aged care system.
To find out how you can get involved or for any other information on the work we are doing, please visit our website on igac.gov.au.
Ian Yates: Thank you for your time and your interest in the role of the Inspector-General.