Annual reports

Annual reports by relevant department and government agencies have been collated below.

They include annual reports on the following agencies:

Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997
Australian Aged Care Quality Agency
(including Australian Aged Care Accreditation Agency)
Aged Care Complaints Commissioner

Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997

Source: Department of Health
The Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) meets the requirement of section 63-2 of the Act that the Minister present to Parliament a report on the operation of the Act for each financial year. The report describes the operation of the Act during the year and includes additional information to aid an understanding of aged care programmes and policies.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC)

The ACQSC commenced operation on 1 January 2019, bringing together the functions of the former Australian Aged Care Quality Agency and Aged Care Complaints Commissioner.

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency commenced operations on 1 January 2014 as the body responsible for residential aged care accreditation, and from 1 July 2014, the quality review of Commonwealth-funded home care services.

Residential accreditation was previously undertaken by the former Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd (ACSAA Ltd).

Aged Care Complaints

Current source: Aged Care Complaints Commissioner
Rae Lamb: appointed 5 Jan 2011, replacing Professor John Kelly (Acting Aged Care Commissioner 1 May 2010 - 4 Jan 2011)

1 Jan 2016: The Aged Care Complaints Commissioner Annual Report (2015 – 2016) is the first annual report since the transition from the former Aged Care Complaints Scheme and Aged Care Commissioner to the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner where responsibility for complaints transferred from the Secretary of the Department to the Aged Care Commissioner, in January 2016.
*The reporting period was for 6 months only: 1 Jan - 30 Jun 2016.

*** Quarterly Report Statistics: Up until circa 2006, the complaints scheme published some quarterly reports, which contain more information around than the department are releasing nearly two decades later.

Complaints report statistics

2017 update: Reports of complaints have been resumed, however, the 2017 report contains less information than it's predecessors nearly two decades ago.

Current (2017): Mar 2016 - Mar 201726.75 KB

Quarterly Complaints Report Statistics: Up until 2006, the complaints scheme published a number of quarterly reports:

Aged Care Complaints - quick facts:

Memorandum of Understanding between Complaints Commissioner and AACQA (Jan 2016) (Jun 2018)
January 2016: Rae Lamb took over responsibility for the management of complaints about Australian Government funded aged care on 1 January 2016, with the new title of Aged Care Complaints Commissioner. This transfer of responsibility was announced in the 2015 budget and was an attempt at "separating complaints handling from the Department of Health" which continues to oversee aged care funding and regulation. Despite this perceived separation, the Commissioner is still accountable to the Minister.
September 2013: the Scheme was moved from the former Department of Health and Ageing to the Department of Social Services (the Department) as part of machinery of government changes. It has since been moved back to the renamed Department of Health.
2011: The Complaints Investigation Scheme renamed the Aged Care Complaints Scheme.
2009 - 2011: A Senate committee report published in 2009 identified providers' concerns with the administrative burden arising from the CIS, and the Australian Government subsequently commissioned an external review, known as the Walton Review, to identify areas for improvement; and the current Aged Care Complaints Scheme (the Scheme) came into operation from 1 September 2011 in response to the Walton Review.
1 May 2007: The Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme (CIS) replaced the CRS on 1 May 2007, giving departmental officers greater investigatory powers to determine whether the provider had breached its responsibilities under the Act.
September 2000: The Hon. Rob Knowles was appointed as Commissioner for Complaints in September 2000. Rob was previously Minister for Aged Care in Victoria between 1992-1999 and Minister for Health 1996-1999.
October 1997: The national Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme (CRS) was established on 1 October 1997.