Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senators Griff and Kakoschke-Moore, move:

That—

(a) the Senate notes that:

  (i) on 20 April 2017 it was announced that the Makk and McLeay Aged Mental Health Care Service at Oakden (Oakden) in South Australia, the state-Government-run nursing home for vulnerable dementia patients, would be shut in the wake of allegations of mistreatment at the facility,

  (ii) the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency (AACQA) has a responsibility to accredit Australian-Government-subsidised aged care homes, and had accredited Oakden,

  (iii) the chief executive of the AACQA, visited the facility after the announced closures and conceded that Oaken was one of the "poorest examples" of nursing homes he had experienced,

  (iv) the AACQA is now conducting a review on its own performance in relation to the accreditation of Oakden, and

  (v) there is always danger in self-assessment by Government agencies; and

(b) there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Aged Care, by no later than 5 pm on 11 May 2017, the following Oakden-related documents for the period 2007 to date:

  (i) all accreditation site audit reports,

  (ii) all assessment information documents,

  (iii) all assessment contact reports, both announced and unannounced,

  (iv) all decisions to accredit or not accredit and associated reasons,

  (v) any recommendations to impose sanctions,

  (vi) all referrals from the Department of Health to the AACQA, and

  (vii) all statements of major findings.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In light of recent findings in relation to failures in the quality of care delivered at the Oakden campus of the South Australian Older Persons Mental Health Service, Minister Wyatt announced an external review that will examine the report by 31 August 2017 on the Commonwealth government aged-care accreditation, monitoring, review, investigation, complaints and compliance processes. The reports requested can be provided within the fortnight, as the department will need some time to integrate the systems and collate all the reports, noting that we could be referring to thousands of pages of documentation.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute, Senator Gallagher.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition will not be supporting this motion. The review of the Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service provided a detailed report on matters of concern relating to the care and treatment of patients. The significant failures that the report exposed are deeply concerning. However, they are also not isolated. It is critical that we take a national approach to urgently address the aged-care quality regulatory processes that are letting too many older Australians and their families down. Labor supports the review of the Commonwealth's aged-care quality regulatory processes announced on 1 May and believes this is the appropriate avenue to consider any additional documentation relating to Oakden.

Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a very short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute, Senator Xenophon.

Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Notwithstanding the review that has been announced by Minister Wyatt, which is very welcome, that does not obviate the need for this motion. I have been approached by a number of families whose loved ones were at this facility—this house of horrors, which many people now regarded it as. We owe it to those families to do everything we can at every possible opportunity to get to the truth of what occurred and to have appropriate scrutiny. This order for the production of documents does that, and I urge my colleagues to support this motion.

Question agreed to.