The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) has welcomed the release of the proposed Aged Care Rules and an amendments Bill in Parliament which improve the rights and protections for older people.
OPAN CEO Craig Gear OAM said the Bill contains an escalation pathway regarding the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) which is critically important to ensure the algorithm doesn’t cause unintended harm.
“While our preference is to put human oversight back into the hands of assessment services, it is vital that a pathway for human override occurs this year,” Mr Gear said.
“Further work needs to happen on the algorithm to ensure it is responsive to their true needs and at the initial point of assessment. We will closely monitor the use and effectiveness of this escalation pathway to provide evidence for further reform if required.
“This is not a time to politicise this issue, we need Parliament to put the best interests of older people first.”