Psychiatric care implications of the Aged Care Royal Commission: Putting the cart before the horse

That another Royal Commission (RC) or Board of Inquiry has eventuated is sadly unremarkable, given the breadth and depth of dysfunction in Australia’s aged care system. The key is whether there will be any effective action, as the accretion of problems through decades of manifest neglect will be very difficult to remediate. Substantial reform of the Australia’s Aged Care system has been proposed and is welcomed (Commonwealth of Australia, 2021). There is a great deal that could be achieved with concerted effort. However, in common with the recent Productivity Commission Report on Mental Health, there are concerns about the recommendations directly affecting clinical healthcare (Looi et al., 2021). Therefore, we focus on the specific recommendations that are of most direct relevance to the provision of psychiatric care for older Australians, discussing the proposals and their ramifications.