David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. Just staying on complaints for a minute, I recently held a town hall meeting at the Hughes Community Centre, and I would like to thank COTA ACT for helping organise that. One of the things that came up too often was how concerned people were about their loved ones making complaints and then having potential reprisals. I've heard stories from others where the complaints process in a facility is basically to put QR codes up on the walls for people to scan. We know that, for many people in that cohort, QR codes are maybe not the most appropriate way for them to do that. The bill provides some pretty muscular complaints mechanisms, but I'm interested in understanding how the government intends to have these mechanisms communicated to senior Australians in residential aged care in an ongoing way. What responsibility do providers have to let seniors know that they can make a complaint? How does the commission or the department ensure that this is happening? And how can seniors make a complaint if they don't feel comfortable making a complaint online?