The UTS Ageing Research Collaborative (UARC) consists of leading academics from multiple UTS Faculties conducting research in collaboration with industry leaders, health and aged-care providers, and the government to address the obstacles to people ageing well in Australia and impact on complex problems in aged care policy and practice.

The big challenge

The big challenge for the aged care sector in Australia is how to make it economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

UARC takes a multi-disciplinary approach to finding practical solutions to the current and emerging big challenges facing the Australian Aged Care sector.

Its research focus is on the sustainability of delivering high quality, safe care services. Its intended outcome is to develop an evidence base that informs reforms to improve the quality of ageing for all in Australia towards a more equitable, effective and efficient aged-care system. 

URGENCY

Elderly group of friends walking along beach

It's predicted that the structure of supply will need to shift, with larger increases in community care on the one hand and high-level residential care on the other. Supply-side adjustments will also be impelled by changes in the costs of the different types of aged care.

The proportion of people aged 65 years or over in the total population is projected to increase to 21% – 23% by 2066 and as the Australian population ages, the demands on the sector will continue to grow.

COMPLEXITY

Elderly mother with adult son

Aged care is a complex policy and regulatory environment and has been subject to significant changes over the past 25 years. Monitoring, compliance and funding structures have also been in a state of flux.

There are also a large number of stakeholders and interest groups in the sector with competing and, at times, incompatible interests. Plus, the sector faces challenges in relation to financial sustainability.

INTRACTABILITY

Group of elderly friends playing chess

The Royal Commission has shown that many aspects of the aged-care system aren't meeting community expectations. Intractable problems such as these are often referred to as 'wicked problems' and require multi-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration to generate solutions.

There has been a long history of trying to resolve these questions, but only limited success: many of the issues at the heart of the current Royal Commission have been the focus of previous inquiries.