Implementation of aged care policy in the Australian federal system
By: CLARK, Michele J
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Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Oxford : Blackwell Publishers Limited, September 1997Australian Journal of Public Administration 56, 3, p. 53-64Abstract: In 1983-84 the Commonwealth and state governments trialled the introduction of the geriatric assessment team (GAT) program. Twenty years of Australian Health Minister's Conference (AHMC)minutes and records (1969-88), files within the Queensland and Commonwealth health departments (1983-88) and interviews with major stakeholders revealed that implementation can extend over many years and can require a confluence of factors for a policy idea to come to fruition. This article examines the dynamics involved in the implementation of the GAT policy and reveals that expert advisers played a central role i´n policy implementation. While there was evidence of delay and conflict, the Australian states through their expert advisers were significant contributors to the development and implementation of aged care policies. Many of the intergovernmental relations were often characterised by a high degree of cooperation at least at the officer to officer level. The 'coercive' nature of the federal system may need to be revisited
In 1983-84 the Commonwealth and state governments trialled the introduction of the geriatric assessment team (GAT) program. Twenty years of Australian Health Minister's Conference (AHMC)minutes and records (1969-88), files within the Queensland and Commonwealth health departments (1983-88) and interviews with major stakeholders revealed that implementation can extend over many years and can require a confluence of factors for a policy idea to come to fruition. This article examines the dynamics involved in the implementation of the GAT policy and reveals that expert advisers played a central role i´n policy implementation. While there was evidence of delay and conflict, the Australian states through their expert advisers were significant contributors to the development and implementation of aged care policies. Many of the intergovernmental relations were often characterised by a high degree of cooperation at least at the officer to officer level. The 'coercive' nature of the federal system may need to be revisited
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