Living Longer. Living Better: aged care reform

A better system for older Australians

The Government is embarking on a 10 year reform plan for a better aged care system with more supply, better access to higher quality care, and a system more responsive to the needs of older Australians. We are doing this in a fiscally sustainable and fair way.

Helping people stay at home for longer

To address substantial unmet demand and respond to older Australians' preference for receiving care in the home, the Government will increase the number of Home Care packages at a cost of $880 million. The number of Home Care packages will increase by nearly 40,000 over the next five years.

We are also strengthening residential aged care by encouraging greater investment in the sector and providing consumers with more choice and greater protections, at a cost of $660 million over five years.

To ensure the sustainability of the aged care system, we will strengthen and improve the fairness of means testing arrangements for people commencing Home Care packages or entering residential aged care after 30 June 2014.

Addressing workforce pressures

The Government will provide $1.2 billion over five years to tackle critical workforce shortages through a new Aged Care Workforce Compact.

The Compact will improve recruitment, training and wages for aged care staff, enabling the sector to meet growing demand and provide quality care for older Australians.

More consumer-centred services

Additional investments will address particular aged care priorities:

• $268 million to improve the quality of care for people with dementia;
• $198 million to improve access to information through a new aged care gateway;
• $192 million for services for people from diverse backgrounds; and
• $80 million to improve palliative care services and linkages with the broader health system.