Draft report
You were invited to examine the draft report and to make a written submission or comment by 14 July 2017.
Please note: This draft report is for research purposes only. For final outcomes of this inquiry refer to the inquiry report.
You were invited to examine the draft report and to make a written submission or comment by 14 July 2017.
Please note: This draft report is for research purposes only. For final outcomes of this inquiry refer to the inquiry report.
The Productivity Commission has released a draft report that identifies widespread changes are needed to end-of-life care in Australia.
'We need to see vast improvements in end-of-life care services both in homes and residential aged care facilities. We see far too many people stuck on a 'medical conveyor belt' at the end of their lives instead of getting the care they want, where they want,' Productivity Commission's Social Policy Commissioner Richard Spencer said.
'About 70 per cent of Australians would prefer to be cared for and to die at home, but don't because they can't access community-based palliative care. Instead people receive care and die in a place that is not of their choosing,' Mr Spencer said.
The Productivity Commission's draft report on Human Services finds too much variability in the availability of care at the end-of-life. 'All Australians should be able to receive high quality end-of-life care regardless of their circumstances, where they live, or the cause of their illness,' Mr Spencer said.
The report also identifies a surprising lack of palliative care in aged care facilities.
'Four out of five residents of aged care facilities die there. But many often make traumatic and costly trips to hospital to receive end-of-life care that could have been provided in surroundings that are by now familiar to them,' Mr Spencer said.
End-of-life care is the physical, spiritual and psychosocial services provided to a person in their last 12 months of life.
Building on the Commission's 2016 Human Services Study, the draft report proposes improvements in six fields of human services: end-of-life care services; social housing; services in remote Indigenous communities; government-commissioned family and community services; public hospitals and public dental services.
'Taken collectively, these changes put in prospect improved wellbeing for all Australians,' Productivity Commissioner Stephen King said.
The draft report also finds that robust government oversight is essential in unlocking the potential benefits of user choice and competition in human services.
The Commission's proposed improvements in the access to and quality of end-of-life care services in Australia can be found in its draft report, Introducing Competition and Informed User Choice into Human Services: Reforms to Human Services.
People interested in making a submission or attending a public hearing should go to pc.gov.au.
'Australia's social housing system is broken, unfair and is failing those in need. People in the community who need the security of social housing can wait 10 years or more for a place to become available,' the Productivity Commission's Social Policy Commissioner Richard Spencer said.
The Productivity Commission has released a draft report that recommends moving to a single model of housing assistance across both social and private rental markets.
'An overhaul is needed to create a fairer, more flexible system so people who are eligible for housing assistance have greater choice over where they live. This means people can move closer to the services they use such as schools and be closer to where they work or want to work,' Productivity Commissioner Stephen King said.
'We are also recommending, as have many before us, a well overdue increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance. An increase of about 15% is needed to catch up with rises in rental prices. Rent assistance should also be indexed to rental prices so that the rental affordability gap does not worsen for Australians most in need,' Dr King said.
Some people could also be eligible for an additional housing payment, such as those with a demonstrated need to live in a high cost area.
The Productivity Commission's proposed changes retain a foundation role for social housing in Australia.
'Some tenants are not well placed to enter the private rental market, and it is important that social housing continues to provide them with stable accommodation and support services,' Dr King said.
The call for an overhaul to social housing in Australia, and the full list of proposed reforms, can be found in the Productivity Commission's draft report, Introducing Competition and Informed User Choice into Human Services: Reforms to Human Services.
The services covered in the draft report are: end-of-life care services; social housing; services in remote Indigenous communities; government-commissioned family and community services; public hospitals and public dental services.
The draft report also finds that robust government oversight is essential to unlock the potential benefits of user choice and competition in human services.
People interested in making a submission or attending a public hearing should go to pc.gov.au.