Older people have the right to be treated with respect and dignity, whether they are being cared for in their own homes or in aged care residences.
Abuse can be any harm to someone caused by another person in a position of trust or authority. The abuser could be a spouse or family member, a carer, friend, co-resident or a worker.
Protection in Aged Care Homes
The Charter of Residents Rights and Responsibilities under the Aged Care Act 1997 explicitly states that people living in aged care homes have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to live without exploitation, abuse or neglect. To read more about the Charter of Residents Rights and Responsibilities, click here.
All residential care services are required to maintain standards. To meet these standards, services must provide a high quality of personal care to every resident, have a safe building and be committed to protecting their resident's rights. Service providers must also ensure that they have appropriately qualified staff with the right mix of skills to meet residents' needs. The standards cover all aspects of residents' needs from health and personal care and safety to a range of lifestyle matters including independence, privacy and dignity. To read more about residential standards and accreditation, click here.
All Australian Government-funded residential aged care services must, by law, report all incidents or allegations of sexual or serious physical assault. Reports must be made to the police and the Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance within the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing on 1800 550 552 (freecall).
All Aged Care Services
Operators of aged care services funded by the Australian Government are required to ensure staff, volunteers and contractors who have, or are likely to have, unsupervised access to care recipients to undergo a national criminal history record check, which must be renewed every three years.
The Complaints Investigation Scheme (CIS) is available to anyone who wishes to provide information or make a complaint about an Australian Government funded aged care service, including residents of aged care homes, people receiving community aged care packages or flexible care or relatives, guardians or representatives of those receiving care. To read more about the Complaints Investigation Scheme, click here.
Advocacy Services
Free, confidential and independent advocacy services are available to those people who live in an Australian Government-funded aged care home. If you would like to speak with someone about your rights, or have support in exercising your rights, you or your representative can contact advocacy services to discuss how they may be able to support you. To find out more, click here.
