Industry reacts to Albanese Govt’s first Budget

The aged care sector and advocacy groups have largely praised the Albanese Government’s first Budget, though believe more can be done for older Australians. The October Budget, handed down by Treasurer Jim Chalmers (above) last night, contained a raft of measures for aged care and elderly Australians. Tom Symondson (pictured), CEO of industry peak body Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), says that the almost $4 billion towards caring for Australian seniors is a welcome sight, though “decades of underfunding will take time to fix”.

“The $3.9 billion for aged care measures included in this Budget represent an important step along the road to fixing Australia’s aged care system and realising the vision set out by the Royal Commission. “We also look forward to further investment in the coming months as Government delivers on its commitment to fund the outcomes of the Fair Work Commission work value case, and the inaugural recommendations of the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority which should take us further down the road of recognising the true cost of delivering high quality aged care services to older Australians,” he said.

Ryman Healthcare Australia CEO Cam Holland (pictured) agreed that more money for the sector was welcome; however, he stressed his belief that the sector needs reform to reduce dependence on Government funding, pointing to the NZ-style Continuum of Care model the provider champions.

“Aged care in Australia is fundamentally broken with almost 67 percent of operators currently running at a loss and ageing aged care stock not meeting customers’ changing needs. A new model is needed to help fix this broken system instead of just pouring more taxpayer dollars into a bucket with a hole in the bottom. “The Continuum of Care model delivers communities that incorporate quality retirement living options, integrated with serviced apartments, home care services and aged care facilities. “Efficiencies are provided through the sharing of fixed costs such as facilities, care staff, property maintenance and operational expenses. This can then facilitate further investment in high-quality aged care,” he said.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia has given the Budget a thumbs-up, saying it “has kept its promises to older Australians”, and even gone beyond those promises in some areas.

“The Budget builds on the previous government’s work to implement many of the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission; extends measures that had only been short-term funded; and funds the additional commitments Labor made during the federal election, including to extend care hours, require 24-hour nursing cover, improve transparency and improve the quality of food and the meals experience in both residential and home care. “Self-evidently much is being done and will be done in aged care reform with the nearly $4 billion committed in this Budget, with aged care wage increases still to come. We congratulate not only Ministers Butler and Wells on their hard work so far, but also the evident commitment of the Prime Minister and Treasurer to this reform process being given priority,” the organisation said.