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Budget 2019: Hits and misses
A look at who benefited and who
didn’t in this year’s federal budget.
older Australians still waiting for home care
across the country.”
By Dallas Bastian
A
ged care wasn’t entirely forgotten
about in this year’s budget
announcements – with a number
of measures welcomed by the sector – but
those waiting for home care were.
The government celebrated a $7.1 billion
surplus, but Leading Age Services Australia
(LASA) said this focus means it has missed
the opportunity to meet the needs of the
120,000 older Australians on the home
care waitlist.
Chief executive Sean Rooney said: “We
acknowledge the investment in aged care
announced tonight but with a $7.1 billion
surplus, many aged care providers and the
older Australians they serve will be rightly
disappointed.”
While previously announced home care
packages were reaffirmed in the budget, it
failed to add any new funds.
COTA Australia chief executive Ian Yates
said: “The counsel assisting the royal
commission described the home care
waitlist as ‘cruel, unfair, disrespectful and
discriminatory against older Australians’,
and we’d agree.
“The government’s own department
has told the royal commission it will
only cost $2–2.5 billion a year to ensure
older Australians wait no more than three
months for the assessed level of care
they need.
“The lack of investment in this budget
sends a troubling signal to the 125,000
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agedcareinsite.com.au
WELCOME ANNOUNCEMENTS
In its budget, the government committed
$2.6 million to provide additional support
for the implementation of the Aged Care
Workforce Strategy.
It would also provide $5.9 billion over
two years from 2020 to 2021 to extend
the Commonwealth Home Support
Programme (CHSP) funding arrangements.
While Aged & Community Services
Australia (ACSA) said these two measures
are important, they need to be followed up
with much more coordinated action from
the whole of the government.
“The government has responded to
increased scrutiny of aged care with a
number of compliance and regulatory
initiatives, but the hard reality is that so
far we’ve really only seen stopgaps,” chief
executive Patricia Sparrow said.
Among the other aged care measures
announced were:
• $7.1 million over two years from 2018 to
2019 to address stakeholder concerns
regarding unspent funds and align
home care arrangements with other
government programs.
• $1.5 million to undertake preparatory
work for the introduction of a new
Serious Incident Response Scheme from
July 2022. This would require residential
care providers to report a broader range
of incidents occurring in their facilities.
• $5.6 million to commence the
implementation of an enhanced home
care compliance framework to improve
the quality and safety of home care
services and enhance the integrity of the
home care system.
• An additional $84.3 million over four
years from 2019 to 2020 to expand the
Integrated Carer Support Service.
Rooney said while these announcements
are welcome, the budget overall shows the
government does not have a strategy to
make aged care better right now.
DEMENTIA
The government allocated money towards
dementia research, but Dementia Australia
said the budget failed to “speak to the
heart of the problem” for those living
with disease: the need for recognition of
dementia within the health, ageing and
disability industry.
The budget saw commitments of
$185 million to the Ageing, and Aged Care
and Dementia Mission through the Medical
Research Future Fund, and $10 million to
establish the Curtin University Dementia
Centre of Excellence.
Maree McCabe, Dementia Australia
chief executive, said the issues important
to people impacted by dementia are
timely diagnosis and support, the need
for quality dementia care and tackling
discrimination.
“A comprehensive and coordinated
action plan is required to specifically
address the complex needs of people
living with dementia and their families
and carers.
“I urge all parties in the 2019 federal
election campaign to pledge to include
significant investment in dementia care.” ■