Statement 1: Budget Overview (Continued)
Living Longer. Living Better: aged care reform
The Government is delivering much needed reform of Australia's aged care system, including more home‑based services, greater incentives for investment in new residential aged care facilities, and making the system fairer, more transparent and more responsive to the needs of older Australians.
Australia's aged care system is coming under growing pressure from structural weaknesses as well as the growing number of older Australians. Our aged care system is complex and difficult to navigate; services are limited, as is consumer choice; and there are inequities in subsidies and user contributions which undermine the financial sustainability of the system.
The Government will address these issues with a comprehensive, ten‑year plan for reform of the sector. The first five years of reform will include a $3.7 billion package to address the most pressing areas of need and lay the foundations for longer term reform. This includes a net Government investment of $576.9 million, with the balance of the package to be funded from within the aged care system and by introducing fairer means testing arrangements.
The Government is also working together with industry and community organisations to enable senior Australians to actively contribute to all aspects of society, including through responding to the recommendations of the Final Report of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians.
More aged care services, especially those delivered in the home
To make it easier for older Australians to stay in their home while they receive care, the Government will provide $880.1 million over five years (including $454.0 million redirected from residential aged care) to increase the number of Home Care packages. There will be an additional 40,000 Home Care packages over the next five years, taking the total number of packages to almost 100,000. The introduction of two new levels of home care packages will make it easier for older Australians to move between care levels as their needs increase. Government subsidies for home care places will be means tested to protect those most in need, while making the financing of community care services more sustainable.
Basic home support services will be streamlined and expanded through the creation of a national Home Support program, at a cost of $75.3 million over five years. This includes merging a number of existing home support programs. The Government will also review the Home Support program to inform a move to more consistent and equitable service delivery arrangements and more national consistency in user contributions to the cost of these services.
The Government is providing improved incentives for residential aged care providers to invest in new facilities, including those in regional and remote areas, and greater choice in the level of accommodation services that aged care residents can purchase, at a cost of $660.3 million over five years. Means testing of Government subsidies for residential care and accommodation costs will also be tightened to make the system more equitable and financially sustainable.
To support the growth in aged care services, the Government will invest $54.8 million over five years to streamline and expand support for personal carers.
Addressing workforce pressures
The Government will provide $1.2 billion over five years to establish an Aged Care Workforce Compact between the Government, aged care providers, unions and workforce training stakeholders. The Compact will include measures to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified staff, including wage increases; the development of a national workforce strategy; improving the quality of aged care training in vocational education and training; and increasing the focus on aged care in nursing curricula.
The Aged Care Workforce Compact will be funded by redirecting funds currently provided through the Aged Care Funding Instrument so that the funding claimed by aged care providers better matches the level of care being offered.
Making aged care services more consumer‑centred
The Government will enhance consumer choice and transparency in accessing aged care services, including by:
- streamlining and strengthening front‑end information and access to aged care services by providing $198.2 million over five years (including $123.0 million in redirected funding from other related programs) for an 'aged care gateway', including a new My Aged Care website and national call centre;
- developing a national assessment framework and quality indicators to increase the transparency of aged care service provision. Quality indicators will be published on the My Aged Care website;
- ensuring that aged care prices, including accommodation bonds, reflect the value of the service an individual receives, through the establishment of an Aged Care Financing Authority; and
- protecting and supporting older Australians receiving aged care services by investing $30.8 million over five years for aged care advocacy and community visitors programs.
The Government will also assist the aged care sector in better meeting the needs of aged care recipients, with investments including:
- $268.4 million to tackle dementia (including $135.1 million redirected from residential and home care), by increasing Government subsidies for the provision of aged care for people with dementia and enhancing the skills of aged care, primary care and acute care staff in working with people with dementia, including those with early onset dementia;
- $192 million (including $61.6 million redirected from residential and home care), to support the needs of older Australians from diverse backgrounds, including veterans and Indigenous Australians; and
- $80.2 million to improve palliative care services within the aged care sector, and to create better linkages between the aged care system and broader health system.
Opportunities of an ageing population
The Government has also recognised that the ageing of Australia's population presents great opportunities for our community and economy. Seniors are not only living longer, they are generally better educated, healthier and more financially secure.
The Government is responding positively to the Final Report of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians. The $41 million package focuses on the opportunities presented by maintaining the skills and experience of older Australians in the workforce.
The Government response includes $10 million for new Jobs Bonuses to help tackle age discrimination and encourage businesses to employ seniors who want to stay in the workforce. The new $1,000 Jobs Bonus will be introduced for employers who recruit and retain a mature‑age jobseeker for three months.
The Government will also be providing $4.7 million to establish a new ongoing Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, to consult with communities and to lead the national conversation on ageing issues.
The Government is also providing additional funding to the Age Discrimination Commissioner to undertake projects to address the stereotyping of older Australians through the media and within the broader Australian community, which manifests itself in the workplace.
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