Does your party propose to increase funding for elderly Australians who need care at home?
We support the principle of enabling elderly Australians to spend as long as reasonably possible living in their own home.
Labor is the party of aged care reform and older Australians can be assured we will always do better for older Australians in residential aged care and those waiting for care at home.
The Liberal Government has not done enough to fix the crisis in our aged care system. They have been too distracted by dysfunction and division. Scott Morrison cut $1.2 billion from aged care in his first budget as treasurer.
Older Australians deserve better. We will have more to say on our policies for older Australians in the coming weeks.
The Greens strongly support older Australians having access to safe and affordable aged care at home. There is an ongoing need to improve the quality of aged care in Australia. We believe in an aged care system based on person-centred care that provides older Australians with quality and choice. To start to meet the overwhelming demand for care at home, we are providing an additional 50,000 Level 3 and Level 4 Home Care Packages.
The Morrison Government recognises senior Australians are choosing to remain living at home and is committed to continuing to support older Australians to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible, with assistance as needed.
Since December 2017, the Coalition has announced 40,000 additional home care packages – all up, a $2.2 billion commitment to expanding home care, part of our $7 billion boost to aged care funding over five years.
ln the 2019-20 Budget, the Morrison Government announced $282.4 million to support senior Australians who wish to stay at home for longer by providing funding for 10,000 home care packages across all levels to reduce wait times for home care. This builds on the 10,000 high-level home care packages (5,000 level three and 5,000 level four) announced in December 2018 and a further 20,000 announced since December 2017.
The Coalition has increased home care packages from 60,308 in 2012-13 to 124,032 in 2018-19 and will grow them to 157,154 by 2022-23 – an increase of 161 per cent, The cost of home care is also being reduced, with care recipients set to pay $400 less for a Level 1 package, $200 less for a Level 2 package and $100 less for a Level 3 package. The average annual increase in funding from 2018-19 to 2022-23 is 11 per cent.
The Morrison Government has extended the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) by two years, to June 2022, a $5.9 b¡llion investment to support up to 800,000 people with essential home support services including meals, transport, personal care, nursing, domestic help, home maintenance and respite care.
ln the 2018-19 Budget, the Morrison Government announced funding of $29.2 million to promote better ageing and independent living through a reablement trial to assess whether more active, targeted support helps people to become more physically able, mobile and able to care for themselves.
ln addition, the Government is providing $35.4 million to increase funding for home care to support the additional needs of people living at home with dementia.
Elderly Australians should have the option of aged care to allow them to remain in their own homes as long as is possible.
Related Links:
Federal Election Guide – Care For The Vulnerable
Federal Election Guide – Education
Federal Election Guide – Religious Freedom
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