Aj and Renae

Aj, in his 50s, has Korsakoff syndrome and an acquired brain injury.

After acquiring the brain injury about five years ago, Aj was in hospital for six weeks. The hospital then discharged him to an aged care facility.

Renae, Aj’s ex-wife, said the hospital gave the family no choice. It was either the aged care facility or home.

‘We couldn't take him home – he needed 24-hour watching.’

Renae said the facility was ‘awful’.

‘The smell, the food quality, the treatment of the patients, they would be made to sit on their beds all day, every day … It was just so sad.’

AJ’s next home was a supported independent living (SIL) unit with four other residents. When he acted aggressively one day, management called police who arrested him and then had him admitted to hospital under an involuntary mental health order. No-one called the family.

‘I had to ring around all the police stations and find him … I found him and I copped it from the police. They were like, “It's not our fault. We, you know, we seen him, he was angry.” And I was sort of like, “Did you not realise you picked him up from a care facility? Did you ask any questions?”’

Eventually Aj was able to tell Renae why he’d been aggressive. He and other residents had been doing physical work for the manager ‘all day’ and when he asked for a can of coke she wouldn’t give him one.

‘So the whole thing, he got arrested over this can of coke,’ Renae said.

Aj had no mental health issues so the hospital put him in a general ward. He spent weeks there while the family tried to find new accommodation for him. Finally he moved into another SIL unit.

‘The workers were lovely, we enrolled him in a gym program for socialisation and he was going shopping … We felt like we were moving forward.’

Aj was receiving a Disability Support Pension and NDIS funding and had been approved for additional support. But there was a delay in the payments. One day when Renae arrived to visit him, Aj wasn’t there. The manager had moved him to another unit.

‘I went to that unit and I opened the door, the place was filthy, there was no furniture in there, not a fridge, not a lounge … The smell in there was horrific, it was just horrific … I was just broken by it – even today, you know, four years down the track. It was so cruel, so cruel. And then, you know, [Aj’s] just standing in the corner crying because he didn't know what to do either.’

The manager was unapologetic.

‘He was like, “Well, you know, I needed my funding”, blah, blah, blah. “If you haven't got money, this is what happens.”’

After that, Aj moved into a privately rented unit. He had different care providers and new problems of bullying, negligence and or exploitation. Renae made two formal complaints to the NDIA. The agency took months to respond and did not take any action.

Aj is finally in a better situation now, with care arrangements that are working well.

Renae told the Royal Commission that there is no help for people like her.

‘When we start out, we've got no idea with this stuff. No idea whatsoever. We're relying and trusting these people and they're letting us down. They're charging extraordinary amounts of money … and they're getting away with it. If we put in a complaint, we get nothing out of it,’ she said.

‘That’s the biggest reason that I've actually wanted to join in here today, to highlight the amount of people in a short period of time that have ripped me off, and caused me anguish, and they've delayed the process of these people in their healings and settling wherever they may be.’