Industry collaboration hits a new high

ACSA and Catholic Health Australia put their policy where their mouth is with new level of collaboration to achieve aged care reform

Above: “…one of the most skilled and capable aged care policy people in Australia now”Nick Mersiades, Senior Policy Advisor for Catholic Health Australia, seconded to ACSA

By Keryn Curtis

The ‘single voice’ strategy for the aged care sector over the last two years has gained new momentum with the announcement yesterday of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) and Catholic Health Australia (CHA) that will see the part-time secondment of CHA’s highly respected aged care policy expert, Mr Nick Mersiades, to ACSA, to provide strategic and policy advice through the crucial early aged care reform process.

Under the MOU, which will be in place until June 30, 2012, Mr Mersiades will be seconded from CHA to ACSA for three days of each week.  Mr Mersiades will continue in his current role at CHA for two days each week, and will continue to represent CHA on the aged care Minister’s Expert Ageing Reference Group.

In another strike for cooperation, ACSA, which is seeking to establish a permanent office in Canberra, will utilise CHA’s office facilities in Deakin.

Currently CHA’s Senior Aged Care Policy Advisor, Mr Mersiades has extensive experience in health and age care gained from working at senior levels in the Commonwealth Government and in the not for profit sector. He has headed up the Ageing and Aged Care Division in the Department of Health and Ageing, responsible for developing policy advice for the Minister for Ageing and for administering the Australian Government’s residential and community aged care programs. He was also formerly State Manager of the Department’s Queensland and New South Wales offices.

CEO of CHA, Mr Martin Laverty, said it made sense for the two organisations to continue the collaboration begun two years ago under the Campaign for the Care of Older Australians seeking aged care reform.

“Aged care providers and the peak bodies combined their energy with that campaign to achieve aged care reform. That campaign was successful in delivering, through the Productivity Commission (PC) – a blueprint for greater choice, better access and more sustainable services for older Australians.  

“Having had the PC report presented to government, we are now in a new phase of working to achieve those changes and that requires collaboration between peak aged care groups to ensure the Government and the Opposition deliver on the reforms.”

Mr Laverty said it was also the case that ACSA and CHA have a common membership with Catholic aged care organisations being members of both CHA and ACSA.

“Catholic Health will always have its own mission but actually this is about combining on policy and advocacy and working with both the Government and Opposition to achieve these important reforms.  

“As I have said for a long time, there is a greater chance of the Government delivering reform if the message of the provider community is delivered by one voice and this is the basis for our agreement to partner with ACSA.

Mr Laverty emphasised that the aged care reform would only be possible through a bipartisan approach.

“Reform will only be delivered if we take partisan politics out of it. The PC Report is about putting citizens’ choices front and centre and we don’t see any reason that [the reform process] should get stuck on political differences.  But in this politically uncertain environment it is a risk – so we have said to all, we want to work constructively with all sides. So far the signs are good,” he said.

Mr Laverty said the partnership had been put in place until after the federal budget next year.

“Both Labor and the Coalition have to deliver the budget next year. That’s why we’ve put the partnership in place for 12 months – to deliver and bed down the reforms.  I am delighted that Nick Merciades, who is one of the most skilled and capable aged care policy people in Australia now, will be able to work across the two organisations and to have ACSA work in CHA’s Canberra office.

ACSA CEO, Patrick McClure AO said, “Reform of aged care has in part been made possible by the united single voice that aged care providers have used with government.”

Tags: acsa, aged-and-community-services-australia, aged-care-reform, budget-2012, catholic-health-australia, cha, martin-laverty, nick-mersiades, patrick-mcclure,

1 thought on “Industry collaboration hits a new high

  1. Today I read “In the dark on aged care” in 50 Something April/May 2012 edition relating to the findings of a survey conducted amongst 1800 National Seniors members in December 2011..
    I quote “71 percent believe the ability to age at home is the most important feature of the aged care system; and 71 percent favour an independent Aged Care Ombudsman to investigate complaints.

    I follow your National Seniors email reports and I look forward to the final results and changes by government in all states of Australia.

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