Opinion: Aged Care Taskforce’s Final Report delivers hope – but also hurdles

The long-awaited Final Report is cause for optimism across the aged care and retirement living sectors – but there are challenges ahead. As we reported on Tuesday, the Report contains 23 recommendations aimed at making Australia's aged care funding more “equitable and sustainable”. Importantly, the key recommendations support DCM Group’s Plan B, which has been advocating for two years for the Government to continue to pay for direct care costs, but for consumers with the means to contribute to pay more towards the cost of their accommodation and daily living expenses. Early analysis by aged care accountants StewartBrown suggests that if the recommendations are accepted by the Government, increased consumer contributions could add another $3.6 billion a year to the aged care funding pool once fully rolled out.

But there are two hurdles to pass. The first is that the Taskforce recommendations are just that – recommendations. The Government still has to get them through Cabinet at a time when the cost of living is a major political problem. The second hurdle is the need for bipartisan support.

Only 24 sitting days until 1 July 2024

There is now talk that the Government will need to introduce new legislation if it takes up the recommendations – and this will require the backing of the Opposition, which could take some months to secure. The 1 July 2024 deadline for the new Aged Care Act – which is dependent on the Government’s response to the Taskforce recommendations – looks even further in doubt when you consider there are only 24 sitting days between now and then – including the 14 May Federal Budget. It now appears that the earliest date for any legislation to pass Parliament could be October. Once passed, the Department of Health and Aged Care then needs to provide the structure for operators to implement the new legislation. Given the time needed to prepare the sector for the changes, will they be ready for a 1 January 2025 start date? This seems unlikely – and would suggest that any changes passed by Parliament will only be ready to be put in place from 1 July 2025 – more than 18 months’ away. The release of the Report is absolutely a positive step – but there is still a long journey ahead.