The CEO of the Sydney-based Christian organisation and the head of the peak aged care body are among nine new members to join the Council, which was set up in 2021 in response to a recommendation of the Aged Care Royal Commission.

The Council – which provides advice to Government on key matters relating to the aged care sector and is chaired by former career politician Andrea Coote – will see a number of new members join its ranks this month, including several prominent union heads:

•            Annie Butler, Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Association (ANMF)

•            Lloyd Williams, National Secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU)

•            Carolyn Smith, Aged Care Director, United Workers Union (UWU)

•            Pat Sparrow, CEO of COTA Australia

•            Tom Symondson, CEO of Aged Care and Community Providers Association (ACCPA)

•            Carlo Carli, Chair of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia (FECCA)

•            Jenny Dodd, CEO of TAFE Directors Australia

•            Simon Miller, CEO of Anglicare

•            Cathy Thomas, Group Executive of Aged Care and Community Services, BlueCare

Simon’s appointment is a particularly significant one considering he has openly stated that Anglicare is pausing new aged care bed development to focus on the development of a new model of care, which will see home care services embedded into its villages to help residents age in place and could reshape the retirement village sector in Australia to play a key role in the aged care system.

Nine members will also return to the Council:

•            Anne Burgess AM, Chair of the Aged Care Council of Elders

•            Craig Gear, CEO of the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN)

•            Maree McCabe AM, CEO of Dementia Australia (who is due to step down from her role on 1 July 2024)

•            Mike Baird AO, CEO of HammondCare (who has announced he will leave the provider in late 2024)

•            Rachel Argaman OAM, CEO of Opal HealthCare

•            Jody Currie, Professor of Practice, Indigenous Health at the Queensland University of Technology

•            Dr Sandra Iuliano, Nutritionist and Senior Research Fellow, Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne

•            Associate Professor Michael Murray AM, National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) Board President and Continence Foundation of Australia National President

 “A refreshed membership for the National Aged Care Advisory Council will mean we receive the best advice from the sector as we enter the next phase of reforming aged care,” said Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells.

“The National Aged Care Advisory Council is one of the ways I can be confident I’m hearing from a wide range of sector representatives as we reform aged care, and making changes that are fit for purpose.