About the Aged Care Reform Now Team

About us

We are a growing grassroots community of older people, families and friends, current and retired aged-care workers, and others who are passionate about social justice.

We have come together to lobby government for meaningful reform. Our membership primarily comes together in our Facebook group. You can join us too.

What we do

Engage in the reform process with politicians and government departments
Media and advocacy to highlight issues and potential solutions
Collaborate with like-minded stakeholders to influence change
Consult with and mobilise our membership, giving voice to the real needs of people interacting with the aged care system

Who we are

Our patron

Sarah Holland-Batt is an award-winning poet, editor, and critic, and a Professor of Creative Writing at QUT. The author of three books of poems and a book of essays on contemporary poetry, she has received fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell, the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship, an Asialink Literature Residency, a Chateau de Lavigny Fellowship, a Hawthornden Fellowship, a Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, and the Australia Council Literature Residency at the B.R. Whiting Studio in Rome, among other honours.

In 2021, Holland-Batt was the first poet to be appointed as the Judy Harris Writer in Residence at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, an honour offered annually to a distinguished Australian writer whose work offers a literary perspective on health and chronic disease

In addition to her career as a writer, Sarah has also made leading contributions to the public discourse about aged care reform as an independent advocate after her father’s adverse experiences in residential aged care, which prompted her testimony to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. She regularly contributes commentary, reportage and analysis on aged care issues for media outlets including ABC News, Q&A, 7:30, The Project, The Guardian, The Australian, Inside Story, Radio National and other forums; engages with policymakers; and addresses medical and legal bodies.

Sarah Holland-Batt’s first book, Aria, was the recipient of several literary prizes, including the Anne Elder Award, the Arts ACT Judith Wright Prize and the Thomas Shapcott Prize. Her second book, The Hazards, won the 2016 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her third book, The Jaguar, won the 2023 Stella Prize, and has been shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize and longlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the ALS Gold Medal. It was also named The Australian’s 2022 Book of the Year.

She also writes criticism for publications including The Monthly, Australian Book Review, The Weekend Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald, among others. In 2020, supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas and the Copyright Agency, she was appointed the Poet’s Voice columnist at The Australian newspaper.

The team

The following members are all key contributors who help organise our activity, engage in reform events, contribute to parliamentary submissions, and more.

Anastasia (Anna) Willis

Anna Willis is a passionate advocate for consumer rights and improving aged care services. Her interest in aged care stems from personal experiences with her late parents, who attended aged care facilities. Anna believes that residents and their families should have more input in improving aged care and access to information on their rights. She has worked in various fields, including accounting, superannuation, investment, and law, and has been volunteering as an aged care advocate for several years. Anna is a founding organizer of Aged Care Reform Now and is currently the CEO of Aged Care Justice Inc.

Occupation
Solicitor (NSW)

Lived experience
I am passionate about consumer rights, and the delivery of safe and quality products and services. My interest in aged care was sparked by my own personal experiences. Both of my late parents, separately, attended aged care facilities, and I observed that the delivery of care could be improved. I noticed that residents and their families were not empowered to provide input in improving aged care, or discuss how to improve their quality of life, and had little information on rights in aged care. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety further confirmed my belief that the system of aged care delivery had to change.

Background
I started my career in Chartered Accounting, then progressed to superannuation and investment, and later on to law. Throughout the past 15 years, I have worked in a variety of civil disputes. Over the past few years, I have also volunteered as an aged care advocate, which has become a significant passion of mine.

As one of the founding organisers of Aged Care Reform Now, I have played a key role in advocating for better aged care services. I also currently hold the position of CEO of Aged Care Justice Inc.

Amina Schipp

Amina Schipp is a retired Commonwealth Bank of Australia employee who became an advocate for aged care reform after the preventable death of her mother in 2019 due to neglect and abuse in a private aged care facility. She made a submission to the Royal Commission and found the formal complaints bodies, such as the ACQSC and APHRA, to be ineffective. Amina has channeled her energy, pain, and grief into advocating for aged care reform full-time through Aged Care Reform Now. She aims to bring changes to the failed aged care system to prevent others from experiencing the same trauma.

Occupation
I’m a proud Wife, Mother, and Grandmother who retired from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia after 30 years of esteemed service across several roles.

Lived experience
In 2019, my mother died in a top private aged care facility in Perth, WA, due to neglect and abuse. This was preventable, and I made a submission to the Royal Commission. However, I was disenchanted by Australia’s ineffective formal complaints bodies such as the ACQSC and APHRA.
With justice yet to be delivered for my beloved mother, I decided to channel my energy, pain, and grief into advocating for those without a voice.

I now advocate for aged care reform full-time and have met kindred spirits through Aged Care Reform Now. This has helped me heal and feel that my mother has not died in vain. I want to see changes implemented in our failed aged care system so nobody else suffers the trauma I have experienced.

Liz Barton

Liz Barton is a retired registered nurse. She has been advocating for senior welfare and aged care reform for many years, having experienced the shortcomings of the aged care system with her elderly mother and mother-in-law. As a member of the ANMF Victorian Branch Liz was a vocal supporter of safe nurse-patient ratios and universal access to palliative care. Her personal experience with poor care in a for-profit aged care facility motivated her to dedicate her post-retirement life to achieving real change in aged care. In recognition of her advocacy work with Aged Care Reform Now, Liz was honored with a 2021 Holt Australia Day Award.

Occupation
Retired RN

Lived experience
I have had a lifelong interest in senior welfare and advocacy, partly due to my personal experience. I live with minor mobility issues caused by a major car accident, which has given me an interest in rehabilitation and re-ablement.

I have also had personal trauma due to a poor experience with a private, for-profit provider’s neglect of a family member. This experience alerted me to the plight of frail elders in residential care. My own elderly mother and mother-in-law’s admission to residential care exposed me to the challenges of aged care. I have seen patients discharged from palliative care to residential care only to be readmitted due to a lack of nursing expertise in aged care facilities. I have dedicated my post-retirement life to achieving real change in aged care via society awareness, education and involvement with political and regulatory processes, including with Aged Care Reform Now.

Background
I have had a diverse nursing career, working at Monash Health, Dandenong, and Peninsula Health in Frankston. I have 12 years of acute surgical nursing experience and 16 years as an associate nurse unit manager in medical respiratory nursing, ER nursing, and pediatric nursing.

I also worked in private aged care in Springvale for a short period before spending 18 years as a specialist palliative care nurse at the Peninsula Palliative Care Inpatient Unit. During my career, I have been extensively involved with ANMF Victorian Branch as a job representative, state conference delegate, and served as Delegate to ANMF Biennial National Conference from 2009 to 2018 advocating for staffing and education changes for the aged care sector.

I have been intensely involved in ANMF Victoria’s successful battle to achieve acute care nurse-patient ratios. In 2011, I appeared before the Productivity Commission advocating for universal access to palliative care. I also served as an ANMF delegate representative before Victorian Committee of Enquiry into Nurse patient ratios. I presented the case for ratios in acute palliative care and helped draft the submission to the State Health Minister, which later formed the basis of the palliative care section of the Safe Patient Care Act, Victoria 2015.

In 2012, I served as ANMF OHS representative, and in 2017, I was ANMF Hannah Sellars Union representative. Throughout my career, I have been intensely involved in workplace safety issues, prevention of occupational violence, and achieving safe workloads for nurses and safe care for patients.

Cecilia Webster

Cecilia Webster is a retired RN who has participated in various aged care inquiries, commissions, and research projects over nearly 30 years since the 1997 Aged Care Act was introduced. She has personal experiences with different family members and friends whose experiences ranged from great to total negligence in aged care. Her 43 years of nursing experience in different states have given her a wide appreciation of issues within the health and ageing systems. As an advocate, she continues to inform, educate, and assist governments and advocacy groups like ACRN to make real changes and take aged care in a new direction.

Occupation
Retired RN

Lived experience
Dozens of aged care inquiries, royal commissions, productivity commissions, and research projects over nearly 30 years since the 1997 Aged Care Act came to be, many of which I took part in, have been ignored, manipulated, and brought us to where we stand today.

As a retired nurse who has seen what works and what doesn’t in care, who has had personal experiences with different family members and friends whose experiences ranged from great to total negligence in aged care I continue to do what I can to inform, educate and assist governments and advocacy groups like ACRN to make real changes and take aged care in a new direction.

Background
My Nursing career started in 1974 at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne only recently retiring. My 43 years on and off of general nursing experiences from Acute Surgical, Emergency, Oncology, Aged Care, Palliative Care and Sub-acute care in different states around the country have given me a wide appreciation of issues within the health and ageing systems and the issues that our seniors and their families face as they traverse these systems and what is usually very complex and distressing times in their lives.

Several years of Aged Care Nursing in a not-for-profit aged care nursing home and hostel complex in country New South Wales during the years of change that came from the introduction of the 1997 Aged Care Act gave me firsthand experience of what it was like to fight changes that were detrimental to how people were cared for. The marketisation of care. The warnings and predictions that nurses and aged care workers at the time made, the hope that we would be consulted and our very serious highly valid concerns would be heeded went on deaf ears. As the primary group caring for aged care residents, we were ignored, excluded, and disempowered. The complexities of care and the work done by nurses and aged care workers were devalued right in front of my eyes.

Yvonne Buters

Yvonne is a retired Occupational Therapist who became involved in Aged Care reform after her personal experience caring for both her parents with dementia. She has a broad range of knowledge on what works well and what doesn’t in aged care, and is an active representative of ACRN in Western Australia, advocating for necessary reforms. With experience in pediatrics, rehabilitation, home visiting, prescription of aids and equipment, and neurology, Yvonne has a diverse background that informs her perspective on aged care.

Occupation
Retired Occupational Therapist

Lived experience
I became involved in Aged Care reform after my personal experience helping care for both my parents with dementia, first at home and then in residential care for a short period. Although my parents’ experience in residential care and the following complaints process was traumatic, I also had a more positive experience with my mother-in-law in residential care. Through these experiences, I believe I have a broad range of knowledge on what works well and what doesn’t, and I can support positive change in aged care through this.

Background
My Occupational Therapy experience is diverse including pediatrics, rehabilitation, home visiting, the prescription of aids and equipment, and neurology. I have also spent some time living rurally and understand the challenges facing people who need health support in these areas. As one of the WA representatives of ACRN, I am active in meeting with politicians to promote ACRN and necessary reforms in aged care.

Margaret Walsh

Margaret Walsh is an experienced nurse and manager with a passion for advocating for people with disabilities. She has experience in policy development and delivery of services according to service agreements. Margaret has a background in managing an Alternatives to Employment organisation and working in Home and Community Services. She has served on various committees and boards and was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia for her services to people with disabilities. Margaret is now retired and has two children and four grandchildren.

Occupation
I am an experienced nurse and manager of organisations that provide services to people living with disability and aged care. Throughout my career, I have passionately advocated for the disability sector, bringing extensive experience in policy development and service delivery.

Lived experience
I strongly believe in the importance of including lived experience in my work, especially in the disability field, where I managed an Alternatives to Employment organisation for young adults with severe disabilities and high support needs. I also have experience providing home care to frail aged seniors and younger people with disabilities.

Background
I have served as the Community Representative for the WA Older Person Health Network Expert Advisory Group and have extensive Committee and Board experience, as well as experience working with various Health Consumer Council consultations and projects. I am a Board member of the Association of Independent Retirees (AIR) and a member of the Council of Elders. I have also worked with the Royal Perth Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital and served on Indego Consumer Advisory committees. In 2011, I was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia for my services to people with a disability. I am now retired and enjoy spending time with my husband, Doug, our two children, and four grandchildren.

Gwenda Darling

Gwenda Darling is an active advocate and volunteer in rural communities, providing advice and assistance in navigating aged care services. She has lived with younger onset Fronto temporal dementia, Temporal Lobe epilepsy, and other comorbidities and manages her own home care package. Gwenda is a proud Aboriginal woman, appointed to the council of Elders and joined the National Older Persons Reference Group(OPAN) this year. She is an ADNet steering committee consumer member and is involved in many committees and research projects. Additionally, she is a matriarch in her own family, providing support and advocacy within the aged care system.

Occupation
As a volunteer, I advocate for and provide advice to others in rural communities on navigating aged care services.

Lived experience
I have personally lived with younger onset Fronto temporal dementia, Temporal Lobe epilepsy, and other comorbidities, and have been a recipient of a home care package which I now self-manage. I have seen many changes in aged care services since 2014 when I started on a CHSP package under the NSW Dept of Ageing Disabilities and Home Care prior to privatisation.

Background
I was appointed to the council of Elders by the previous Government and recently joined the National Older Persons Reference Group(OPAN). I have been an active advocate for senior Australians for some years. As a proud Aboriginal woman, descended from the Tebrikuna tribe and born in the Gamilaroi country, I am a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who lives in rural NSW. I am also a Dementia Australia advocate and ADNet steering committee consumer member.

I am involved in many committees and research projects, including being an associate researcher with the University of Western Australia reviewing the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment tool, a health department-approved tool used by ACAT assessors for First Nations people across Australia. In my own family, which includes five ageing siblings, I am considered the matriarch and provide support and advocacy within the aged care system.

Michelle Chaperon

Michelle cared for her father until he passed away in 2020, and she now supports her ageing mother along with her two sisters. Her personal experience inspired her to create Carer’s Circle, a website that assists children of ageing parents in navigating the complexities of ageing and promoting positive ageing. Michelle is also a founding member of the Aged Care Reform Now Committee, aiming to bring about systemic change and improve aged care for the elderly.

Occupation
Founder Carer’s Circle – caring for ageing parents and corporate communications professional.

Lived Experience
As a child of divorced parents, I found myself advocating for my Dad in my 20s, both when he was living at home and then in a nursing home until he passed away in 2020. I also support my ageing mother along with my two sisters. My parents came to Australia in 1970 so I understand the challenges people from non-English speaking backgrounds face, particularly in the complicated system that is aged care.

Background
My experience with my Dad and the lack of easy-to-find resources inspired me to start a website – Carer’s Circle- caring for againg parents. The website is aimed at helping children of ageing parents navigate the maze that is ageing. I hope to promote positive ageing so our parents can live their best lives and die happy.

Through Carer’s Circle, I try to help others in the same situation with practical information, but I also realise that the aged care system is broken. That’s why I became a founding member of the Aged Care Reform Now Committee – to help bring about systemic change and make a difference for our parents, grandparents, and ourselves in the future.

Erietta Sapounakis

Erietta’s interest in aged care follows her father’s illness and her family’s disjointed experience with health and aged care providers. She went on to work for one of these providers for two years meeting many dedicated and inspiring workers. Erietta is one of the founding organisers of Aged Care Reform Now, facilitates the annual strategic planning, and is responsible for our branding, website, and digital channels.

Occupation
User Experience Design Manager

Lived Experience
My interest in aged care developed after my father’s illness and our family’s fragmented experience with health and aged care providers. I was to learn that this experience was typical and even fortunate in that there was no neglect.

Background
My professional experience is in a field called User Experience design. This discipline uses research with people to inform, improve, and test products, digital experiences, and services. I’ve consulted to and worked for banks, media companies, in telecommunications, and e-commerce. I also worked for an aged care provider for two years in a similar capacity and met many dedicated and inspiring workers, while also recognising that even the most progressive providers can only do so much without wider structural reform in the system.

I strongly believe that change needs to be defined with and for older people, their families, and aged care workers.

I joined Aged Care Reform Now as one of the founding organisers, keen to continue contributing to Aged Care with my professional skills to support the work of passionate advocates. I facilitate the annual strategic planning and I am responsible for the branding, website, and our digital channels.

Special thanks

Special thanks to the following community members who continue to make invaluable contributions to submissions, administrative and IT support, their participation in meetings, and who help in so many other ways.

Angie Stanojevic
Alwyn Blayse
Lynn Wakefield
Lynda Henderson
Ron Carroll
Vicki Barry
Val Fell
Leonie Short
Coral Wilkinson
Jay Richters

Our Collaborators

We’re proud to work with like-minded organisations which share our vision for reform.