Noting that “the aged care sector plays a vital role in our social fabric by caring for some of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens”, Ms Motto said “truly sustainable businesses are those which put their consumers front and centre.”

“It is important that staff and other whistle-blowers seeking to report misconduct have the tools to do so, and that an organisation’s leadership is equipped to act on this information effectively,” Ms Motto continued.

“Good governance starts at the top, and the board is ultimately responsible for ensuring their executive is trained to the highest quality governance and risk management standards, and ensuring those that are entrusted to their care come first.”

Ms Motto highlighted how the royal commission into financial services exposed multiple examples of “misconduct, failed ethics and poor corporate culture stemming from a failure of leadership, governance and accountability”.

“This has damaged the reputation of that entire sector, which we saw reflected in Governance Institute of Australia’s 2018 Ethics Index,” she explained, warning that “anything less than full transparency from the aged care sectors’ leaders carries that same reputational risk.”

She praised the proactive response from the aged care industry, saying “it is excellent to see such strong input from the public already”.

Ms Motto said this “bodes well for the royal commission’s investigation and will be healthy for the aged care sector as a whole.”

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“I look forward to reviewing its recommendations and I hope it will drive a strong mandate for change.”