Elderly Australians waiting 2+ years for care packages

More than 129,000 elderly Australians languishing, waiting for care.

MEMBER for Blair, Shayne Neumann MP slammed the Federal Government's home care package wait list, which reveals more than 129,000 elderly Australians languishing, waiting for care.

Mr Neumann said that under successive Liberal Governments the waitlist for home care has grown from 88,000 to now more than 129,000 older Australians.

"Locally in Blair, more and more older people are waiting for home care packages, and they're waiting for longer," he said.

"This Government has failed to respond to this ongoing crisis; they need to do more to help people in their homes."

Mr Neumann said the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party has called for action on reducing the wait list since the first release of data revealed too many older Australians were waiting for care.

"Reforms to aged care were meant to give older people in Blair and across Australia the choice to age at home," he said.

"But these figures confirm the Liberals' policy chaos has failed older Australians.

"Scott Morrison again locked aged care out of his Cabinet, and there have now been four different Ministers responsible for this policy area since the Liberals were elected."　

In January the Productivity Commission revealed the median wait time for a home care package has blown out in the last year by more than two months.　

Older Australians are entering residential aged care or even emergency departments instead of receiving their approved home care package.　

Many older Australians are waiting more than 12 months for the package they have been approved for and some are waiting more than two years.