It’s no secret that many Australians are deeply unhappy about the quality of residential and in-home care provided to its elderly and infirm.

The Federal Government’s Aged Care Complaints body reports quarterly, with its September 2017 quarter showing 1,286 complaints were received relating to residential, in-home and community care in just three months.

Indeed, the crisis in aged care is so deep and systemic that, after calls from seniors and aged care providers, the Federal Government recently announced it would close and replace the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency (AACQA) because it could not be trusted to act.

According to a report in The Age, the agency failed to detect and act on a number of shocking cases of inadequate care, abuse and neglect.

The table below shows the breakdown of complaints received in the September quarter 2017 by the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner from all states and territories.

State/ Territory	No. of complaints	% of complaints relating to aged care facilities	% of complaints relating to in-home care	% of complaints relating to community care
NSW	421	71.3%	26.9%	0.2%
Vic	345	79.4%	19.4%	1.2%
Qld	303	75.7%	24.8%	0.7%
SA	106	84.0%	14.2%	1.9%
WA	48	75.0%	27.1%	0.0%
Tas	24	66.7%	33.3%	0.0%
ACT	21	47.6%	47.6%	4.8%
NT	11	63.6%	36.4%	0.0%
Source: Australian Government’s Aged Care Complaints Commissioner https://www.agedcarecomplaints.gov.au/internet/accc/publishing.nsf/Content/quarterly-reports

Indeed, official complaints sent to the Aged Care Complaints Commission – the body charged with assessing whether industry standards are being met – were well documented.have risen from 2,996 in the year to June 2017 to 3,205 in the following six months alone.

Complaints rose from 2,996 in the year to June 2017 to 3,205 in the following six months alone.The Commission’s data also reveal the huge rise was not only in aged care complaints but that the agency also saw a significant jump in serious risk decisions:

The Commission’s data also reveal the huge rise was not only in aged care complaints but that the agency also saw a significant jump in serious risk decisions: