On the money
What aged care can expect from the government ’ s federal budget .
By Elise Hartevelt and NCA NewsWire .
The 2022-23 federal budget has outlined the government ’ s plans for the coming term and Treasurer Jim Chalmers placed aged care high on his priority list .
The government spent its first $ 18.8 billion in its debut budget on reforming the aged care sector , as part of a five-year program designed in response to the Royal Commission .
Around $ 7.7 billion went to home care reforms , including opening up an additional 80,000 home care packages , which are estimated to give 275,600 people access to a package by June 2023 .
Another $ 10.8 million has been spent on the design of a unified Support at Home program , due to commence on July 2024 , which will bring together Commonwealth Home Support Program ( CHSP ), Home Care Packages and Short Term Restorative Care program .
The government also forked out $ 1.4 billion to extend Covid-19 response measures over the next three months which are due to continue until December 31 this year .
The funding included $ 840 million for aged care support , including on-site PCR testing ; $ 142 million in Medicare rebates for Covid-19 testing ; and $ 235 million to distribute PPE and rapid antigen tests from the National Medical Stockpile to at-risk groups and frontline healthcare workers .
Over the next four years , hospital spending will also increase by 6.1 per cent , and aged care costs will rise by 5.5 per cent .
With the world teetering on the brink of a recession , Chalmers has also sought to downplay expectations about the Albanese government ’ s first budget .
The Treasurer has said “ tough decisions ” were made as Labor begins the onerous task of budget repair – finding savings while funding election promises and covering the rising costs of vital public services .
Chalmers tressed that Australia isn ’ t immune from deteriorating global economic conditions despite an unexpected nearly $ 50 billion improvement to the budget deficit because of low unemployment and high commodity prices .
The budget isn ’ t expected to focus on major reforms but instead , lay the foundations for a more substantial May 2023 budget . ■
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