Federal Budget 2019: $700 million aged care funding boost won’t relieve long waiting lists

The Federal Government will boost aged care funding by more than $700 million, but some services are still set to suffer.

Senior Australians will benefit from more than $700 million of extra funding for aged care, but the money won’t go anywhere near ending long waiting lists for some services.

The Budget’s aged care package, totalling $724.8 million over five years, includes more than a dozen measures to improve access to care and quality of care.

Its headline investment is an extra $282 million to fund 10,000 new home care packages, which help people who want to stay at home for longer by paying them thousands of dollars a year for in-home services.

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Aged care is set to get a $700 million boost, but the money won’t go anywhere near ending long waiting lists for some service. Picture: Supplied

The government said this brought the number of extra home care packages announced in the past 18 months to 40,000.

However, tens of thousands of retirees are still stuck on waiting lists for home care packages, with some waiting a year.

The Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, said the rapid growth of home care had prompted the government to “strengthen compliance to tackle the risk of poor quality service and fraud”.

“The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission — Australia’s new cop on the aged care beat — will have a key role, including increasing home care audits,” he said.

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Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt said the goverment would tackle poor quality service and fraud as the home care sector boomed. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

The Budget’s second big-ticket aged care measure is a one-off $320 million subsidy boost for residential aged care.

“The Government is making an additional 13,500 residential care places available from 2018-19 — the largest number ever in a single funding round,” the Budget papers say.

“In addition, the Government is providing $60 million for residential care infrastructure.”

Other initiatives include:

• An increase to the dementia and veterans’ home care supplements, worth $35.7 million;

• More money to improve administration of home care packages;

• An extra $38.4 million to strengthen aged care regulation;

• Introducing mandatory reporting around issues such as pressure sores, use of physical restraint, weight loss, falls and fractures in residential care.

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Mr Wyatt said the Commonwealth Home Support Program would be extended to June 2022.

“This will give certainty to around 1500 organisations, such as meals-on-wheels, supporting almost one million older Australians as they age and start to require assistance while still living in their own home,” he said.