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Discursive constructions of consumer choice, performance measurement and the marketisation of disability services and aged care in Australia

Discursive constructions of consumer choice, performance measurement and the marketisation of... We show how policy discourses construct consumer choice, performance measurement and quality standards as key technologies in the marketisation of disability services and aged care in Australia. The emergence of performance outcome measurement and increased consumer access to these through diverse consumer facing and interactive platforms enables the state to “govern at a distance” through the management and shaping of outcome indicators rather than delivery of services. The state does this by creating market competition and establishing outcomes which reflect the construction people using services as informed and rational consumers rather than citizens. This construction and operationalisation frame marketisation as a rational solution to broken systems, assume choice is unproblematic and ignore diverse capacities to access and use information, resource differentials and contextual variables such as market maturity and service availability. The benign marketisation of human services thus discriminates against those who are already marginalised and disadvantaged unless equity strategies are clearly in place. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian Journal of Social Issues Wiley

Discursive constructions of consumer choice, performance measurement and the marketisation of disability services and aged care in Australia

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References (57)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 Australian Social Policy Association
eISSN
1839-4655
DOI
10.1002/ajs4.139
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

We show how policy discourses construct consumer choice, performance measurement and quality standards as key technologies in the marketisation of disability services and aged care in Australia. The emergence of performance outcome measurement and increased consumer access to these through diverse consumer facing and interactive platforms enables the state to “govern at a distance” through the management and shaping of outcome indicators rather than delivery of services. The state does this by creating market competition and establishing outcomes which reflect the construction people using services as informed and rational consumers rather than citizens. This construction and operationalisation frame marketisation as a rational solution to broken systems, assume choice is unproblematic and ignore diverse capacities to access and use information, resource differentials and contextual variables such as market maturity and service availability. The benign marketisation of human services thus discriminates against those who are already marginalised and disadvantaged unless equity strategies are clearly in place.

Journal

Australian Journal of Social IssuesWiley

Published: Dec 1, 2022

Keywords: aged care; consumer choice; governmentality; marketisation; NDIS

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