Many are applauding the Federal Government's decision to hold a royal commission into residential aged care, but why aren't our politicians able to solve such controversial issues themselves?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the inquiry last weekend, the day before the ABC's Four Corners program aired a two-part, five-month investigation into the sector.

It follows the clinically forensic and devastating examination of the banks, financial institutions and superannuation schemes still underway.

Some within the Coalition say they're not shocked by the banking revelations. But the constant stream of damning evidence is gobsmacking.

The Coalition is now trying to fine-tune what the aged care royal commission will investigate, and no doubt there will be many people disappointed that issues and questions they believe are crucial will be excluded from the terms of reference.

Mr Morrison and senior frontbenchers are narrowing the scope for the terms, and trying to manage public expectations.

There have been at least 13 inquiries and reviews into the sector during the past decade, yet there remains an embedded problem with the industry where it appears profits have been prioritised over patients.

Here is a (long) list of the inquiries conducted, and this may not even be all of them. Some of these reviews are yet to conclude, let alone see final reports published:

A decent quality of life: Inquiry into the cost of living pressures on older Australians (Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs 2008)

A decent quality of life: Inquiry into the cost of living pressures on older Australians (Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs 2008) Aged Care Amendment Bill 2008 (Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs)

Aged Care Amendment Bill 2008 (Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs) Residential and Community Aged Care in Australia (Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration 2009)

Residential and Community Aged Care in Australia (Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration 2009) A Healthier Future for All Australians (contained information about aged care, 2009)

A Healthier Future for All Australians (contained information about aged care, 2009) Review of the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme (2009)

Review of the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme (2009) Review of the residential aged care accreditation process for residential aged care homes (Department of Health and Ageing 2010)

Review of the residential aged care accreditation process for residential aged care homes (Department of Health and Ageing 2010) Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector (Productivity Commission research paper 2010)

Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector (Productivity Commission research paper 2010) Productivity Commission Review into Aged Care (2011)

Productivity Commission Review into Aged Care (2011) Legislated Review into Aged Care (2017)

Legislated Review into Aged Care (2017) Review of National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Processes (2018)

Review of National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Processes (2018) Senate inquiry into the effectiveness of the aged care quality assessment and accreditation framework for protecting residents from abuse and poor practices and ensuring proper clinical and medical care standards are maintained and practised (due November 2018)

Senate inquiry into the effectiveness of the aged care quality assessment and accreditation framework for protecting residents from abuse and poor practices and ensuring proper clinical and medical care standards are maintained and practised (due November 2018) Quality of Care in Residential Aged Care Facilities in Australia (Standing Committee on Health, Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, commissioned March 2018, no date yet for its final report)

Quality of Care in Residential Aged Care Facilities in Australia (Standing Committee on Health, Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, commissioned March 2018, no date yet for its final report) The Aged Care Workforce Strategy (September 2018)

The latest aged care review may not be the last royal commission the Government announces. The Morrison Administration is keeping open the option of holding an inquiry into energy companies.

It's a sword of Damocles to focus the collective minds of chief executives that the Government is serious in wanting cheaper, reliable power ASAP.

The banking royal commission was an inquiry the Government didn't want, and only commissioned under threat of rebel Nationals MPs crossing the floor.

The finance sector also was an industry subject to ongoing investigation and oversight, as well as ad hoc inquires, yet deep cultural problems pervade it.

These were complex issues that parliaments and politicians previously set aside partisan differences for, to craft thoughtful, sensible solutions — or bipartisan policy — that placed the people, voters, first.

Examples of this are the parliamentary committees on defence, intelligence, foreign affairs and electoral matters. Perhaps because there is a clear "national interest" test, these committees have largely crafted ideas, reports and recommendations that have been bipartisan and led to a unified approach on policy.

We're setting a precedent of royal commissions

In what has become a hyper-partisan environment, it seems the job of forensically dissecting controversial issues and making solid recommendations is now being handballed to institutions outside of Parliament.

The Prime Minister admitted as much when he announced the royal commission on Sunday: "We've got to take the politics out of this issue."

The phenomenon isn't just isolated to the federal sphere.

In recent years state governments have also referred complicated issues to royal commissions, the Murray River and family violence investigations are two examples that spring to mind.

It sets a precedent.

If only governments were bound by the inquiries' recommendations, many voters might say bring on the royal commissions into energy and carbon emissions policy.

If you have a story you would like to share with the ABC about Aged Care, please email aged.care@abc.net.au.

For more information on how the ABC is covering Aged Care, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.