The Australian government has postponed the implementation of critical changes to the Aged Care Act from July to November, leaving over 121,000 older Australians in limbo as they wait to be assessed for assistance in maintaining their independence at home. The long-awaited approval has ushered in a political firestorm. Opposition parties and advocacy groups have been pressing the federal government to fast track the release of home care packages.
As industry awaits the full deployment as of November, the U.S. At the same time, more than 87,000 older Australians have been approved for assistance and are waiting for appropriate packages or additional support to become available. This is a deeply troubling indictment on the health and health impacts of those most affected, and the pressure placed on Australia’s health system.
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said support would be delivered quickly. Everyone determined to be high priority will be getting help within a month after the new rollout date. From November 1, the federal government will make available 83,000 home care packages. We hope that this initiative does some of that work to help take the pressure off a very stressed system.
Political Pressures Mount
The Coalition, Greens, and independent senator David Pocock are pressuring the government to bring forward 20,000 home support packages to address the urgent needs of older Australians. Senator Penny Allman-Payne, the Greens spokesperson for older people, has written to Health Minister Mark Butler, warning of the severe consequences stemming from the delay.
“Yes, you delayed the act but you can’t delay the packages. We need more now.” – Tom Symonston
This is a fight and a bold statement that speaks to the dramatic growing frustration among various stakeholders. They say that the postponement has forced families to return their relatives to hospitals because they are unable to locate sufficient in-home services. Despite claims to the contrary, Department officials confirmed that no new packages have been released since the close of the last financial year. The only avenue through which the current packages have become available is when older people die, or enter residential aged care.
Senator Anne Ruston criticized the government’s approach, claiming that it has abandoned older Australians who require support to live independently. She added that the decision to stop releasing any additional home care packages is reverberating across the entire healthcare sector. This decision has directly affected the number of available hospital beds.
“It is clear that the government’s refusal to release more home care packages is rippling across our healthcare system, in particular the availability of hospital beds.” – Anne Ruston
Government’s Response to Criticism
Minister Sam Rae acknowledged that there had been an increase in calls about long wait times for aged care assessments. He promised the American people that they weren’t that far off from fixing these issues. He emphasized the importance of planning now to make sure the new system works the way it should after it goes into effect.
“We acknowledge that wait times for aged care assessments are longer than we would like and we are working to address this.” – Sam Rae
For Rae, as important as releasing new packages is, that truly is the beginning. This initiative signals an absolute reform of aged care provision in Australia. He framed the new plan as a key component of a larger strategy to bring the long-delayed modernization of the nation’s aged care system.
“This is a system-wide reform that changes the way that care is delivered.” – Sam Rae
Rae said that stakeholders would welcome a short delay in making the new Aged Care Act operational. This new delay is intended to help prepare for a smoother transition that is more in line with the needs of older Australians.
“The overwhelming response from elderly Australians and providers was that they needed a brief deferral of the implementation of the new Aged Care Act to ensure that the implementation would be smooth and would meet the needs of older Australians.” – Sam Rae
A Call for Immediate Action
As November draws near, yet another deadline calls for quick action only increase. Tom Symonston, an industry representative, stated that they could easily manage an influx of new packages and criticized the government’s delay in addressing these urgent needs.
“We could deal with 20,000 new packages really quite easily as a sector.” – Tom Symonston
Health Minister Mark Butler is committed to ensuring all packs are available for rollout by November. He has not lost sight of making this a reality. He understands that this transition is key, and he’s doing everything he can to help make it possible.
“I want to get to the 1st of November and get those new packages into the system.” – Mark Butler
