Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt said the Aged Care Act of 1997 would be torn up.

“That will be a significant process but it’s based on a simple concept of respect for the individual,instead of being about providers,instead of it being about money,” Mr Hunt said.

Mr Morrison said the royal commission was “the inquiry we needed to have”.

“This is a challenge to all of us. So,yes,the findings of this commission’s work is as shocking as I thought it would be and frankly expected it to be.

“Australians must be able to trust that their loved ones will be cared for appropriately and the community should have confidence in the system. This remains our clear goal.”

As well as reaching joint recommendations,the commissioners made their own,individual recommendations.

‘Australians must be able to trust that their loved ones will be cared for appropriately and the community should have confidence in the system.’

PM Scott Morrison

Commissioner Tony Pagone,QC,recommended the establishment of a separate aged care commission as a corporate Commonwealth entity to maintain the aged care system and monitor quality and safety. He also recommended the creation of an aged care pricing authority and an aged care advisory council.

Commissioner Lynelle Briggs recommended that there always be a senior cabinet member responsible for aged care and said the Department of Health should be renamed the department of health and aged care.

Mr Morrison said some of the recommendations were “completely conflicting with each other”.

“Some of the recommendations are completely different to each other and they set out the reasons for that,and so the government will have to obviously work through that and consider it,” he said.

Providers said the report was a “watershed moment”. However,they were concerned the commissioners could not agree on fundamental issues.

Speaking for the Australian Aged Care Collaboration,which represents more than 1000 aged care service providers,Pat Sparrow said the sector would need time to go through the recommendations in detail.

“It is concerning the royal commissioners did not provide a unanimous and clear position of how aged care should be funded in future,” she said.

Mr Hunt said the government was committed to reforming aged care.

“The royal commission’s report is a significant document,the culmination of a two-year inquiry,and demands a carefully considered response,” he said.

In its two years,the royal commission heard from 641 witnesses,including residents,staff,families and experts,held almost 100 days of hearings,accepted more than 10,500 public submissions and produced 38 reports and research papers,including a special report on COVID-19.