The challenge

The issue of young people in residential aged care (YPIRAC) was identified as a high priority for the Aged Care Royal Commission and we recognised this as a critical opportunity to bring about meaningful change for young people living in aged care. Our challenge was to support as many people with lived experience of the YPIRAC issue as possible to present evidence to the Royal Commission.

Our approach

Giving young people with disability a voice at the Royal Commission was our goal.  Under the banner of #everystorymatters, and with support from the Royal Commission, we held 18 workshops in major cities and regional areas across Australia. Through the workshops we supported 100 people to make their submissions to the Commission. Many of them said they would never have told their stories without the support they got at our workshops. We also supported 5 people to speak directly to the commissioners at public forums.

We also made our own submission to the Commission that focused on key policy and systemic changes needed to help young people with disability to find alternative, age-appropriate housing. The submission was based on our ongoing work with providers in the health and aged care sectors, and on the information that was shared by people at the workshops. These stories of lived experience illustrated the grim realities of living in aged care.

Our impact

The stories of younger people in aged care told during the Royal Commission attracted strong media and community interest.

In November 2019, the Commonwealth Government revised the targets in its Aged Care Action Plan to match the recommendations in the Royal Commission’s interim report. The targets we pushed for were recommended by the Royal Commission in its final report, which was published in March 2021.