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Thousands short
Labor breaks 24 / 7 nursing deadline .
By NCA NewsWire
Labor has admitted it will miss its self-imposed deadline to have 24 / 7 registered nurses on-site at every Australian aged care home in a significant about-face on an election promise .
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells has said the sector is “ thousands short ” of the workers and confirmed one-in-20 facilities would not meet the new nursing requirements by the cut-off date of July 1 2023 .
“ We ’ re not kicking down the doors of facilities come July 1 if they have not met the requirement ,” Wells said .
“ We ’ re working closely with them to ensure they get the exemptions and support , as do their residents , that they need .” Labor made a $ 2.5bn commitment to improving aged care last year when it was still in opposition .
Promises included bringing forward some of the royal commission ’ s recommendations into the troubled sector , such as new staffing and care requirements .
The Albanese government enshrined the mandates in law despite the sector raising significant concerns about the lack of nurses available .
Federal data showed last month that the sector would be short of nearly 12,000 registered nurses .
As the July 1 deadline loomed , Wells said on Monday more than 80 per cent of facilities were currently meeting the 24 / 7 requirements .
About 9 per cent were “ nearly there ”, and about 5 per cent — mainly in rural and remote areas — wouldn ’ t get there in time .
Aged care providers are invited to talks with the government about getting an exemption from the deadline , with facilities in very remote areas or those with fewer than 30 beds automatically exempt .
Only those that complete the deadline will get nursing funding from the government .
“ If they can ’ t meet the 24 / 7 mandate , they won ’ t get the payment for meeting the requirement because we ’ re paying for it ,” Wells said . “ It ’ s a carrot rather than a stick .” Wells was interviewed while her young twins Oshy and Dash were sitting on her lap as Monday marked the start of Multiple Birth Awareness Week .
The Albanese government has also committed to having residents of aged care facilities receive at least 200 minutes of care each day by October . ■
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