Despite years of cyclical care reforms for service providers and shifting regulations, aged care services quality and accountability remains a significant concern to both the Government and the Australian public. To break this cycle, it is essential that Australia establish a set of long-term and comprehensive indicators of quality in aged care.
It has been recommended that the Australian Government Department of Health mandate the collection and publication of quality-of-life outcomes in aged care to provide a minimum set of standards and provide transparency in aged care quality. However, substantial variabilities between available toolsets, a lack of best practice guidance, and a lack of publicly reported outcomes has meant that measuring the impact of aged care services on quality of life, consistently and systematically, is a challenge for most aged care providers.
