27 Jun 2017 | Launch

CAAT Project Launch by Hon Ken Wyatt, Minister Aged Care and Indigenous Affairs

Good afternoon and thank you for your kind introduction.
Before I begin I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. I also extend my respects to Elders past, present and future and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here this afternoon.
I also acknowledge:
From the Aged Care Quality Advisory Council
Andrea Coote, Chair;
Nick Ryan, Chief Executive Officer;
Ann Wunsch, Executive Director Operations,
Christina Bolger, Executive Director Programs and Education;
Charles Grady, Executive Director, Corporate Services and Strategy.
From Mission Australia –
Jill Bicknell, General Manager Aged Care; and
Kelly Golik, Quality and Compliance Manager, Aged Care;
And from Envision Australia, CEO, Steven Bungay.

Ladies and gentlemen

It’s a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to launch a new and exciting digital tool, designed with the best interests of people in residential care in mind, along with the broader aged care sector.

Congratulations are due to the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency for developing this advance in quality assurance, and to Envision for building the software to make it possible.

This innovation comes at an important time, amid well-publicised reviews of assurance processes, and as we finalise a five-year analysis of aged care reform.

The new tool is also another promising step forward in the Turnbull Government’s Digital Transformation Agenda.

ADVANTAGES

We now have a leading edge tool to support information collection during a site audit at a home that says goodbye to pen, paper and notebooks.

Quality surveyors will be able to much more efficiently conduct a re-accreditation audit to inform the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency of accreditation decisions.

The debut of the Computer Assisted Audit Tool, or “CAAT”, marks a major improvement in evidence collection and recording of the details that are significant in achieving the expected standards of care and services.

It will make a big difference to the outcomes that independent quality surveyors can achieve when they capture information and evidence from interviews, observations and document reviews.

The new system will increase transparency, support more consumer-friendly reports, streamline compliance monitoring of aged care homes, and deliver accreditation services more efficiently and effectively. Aged care providers will also benefit from CAAT. During assessment visits they will receive a greater depth of feedback from the assessment team.

Ultimately, more detailed data will highlight what lies behind poor performance - and what factors are significant in good quality care.

It will enable a risk-based regulatory approach so we can focus on the right places at the right times to provide greater assurance of the quality of care and services for older Australians.

CONSUMER INFORMATION ON QUALITY

More information for residents and their families is a crucial part of the Government’s commitment to a consumer-led system.

The Quality Agency publishes accreditation and re-accreditation audit reports and decisions, to help people make the best choices for aged care services.

Enabled by CAAT, another exciting development is the production of a Consumer Experience Report from the site audit interviews of residents in the home.

These reports will be placed on the Quality Agency website in a few days’ time. The standards of residential aged care have never been more important and are at the heart of the Government’s significant aged care reforms.

Care is front and centre of our policy commitment, and it is vital that residents have a strong voice in the direction of that care. This means more choice and control over the services they receive.

So I’m pleased to launch this tailor-made tool that helps define how an aged care service meets the needs and expectations of the people who live there, and those of the community.

CONCLUSION

This will help drive efficiency and productivity, with the nationwide roll-out already underway.

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency has distributed devices to assessors, and training for CAAT has begun.

Thank you to the Agency for your excellent work in developing this.

Thank you to Envision for your software skills. You set a fine example of a small business, based in Melbourne, rising in the ranks as a result of resourcefulness and imagination. Thanks also to the quality assessors, who are now better equipped and even more vigilant in continuing to serve both consumers and providers of aged care in Australia. And thank you to the caring providers for being there with quality aged care. But most of all, I want to thank our older generation in residential aged care, to whom we all owe so much.