Budget 2020: Spend on seniors lifts home services

The federal government will spend $1.6bn on 23,000 more home care packages to support ageing Australians to live longer in their own home.

Along with the new home care packages, the Treasurer also said the budget invested in improving skills in the aged care workforce and providing additional dementia training and support. Picture: istock

The federal government will spend $1.6bn on 23,000 more home care packages to support ageing Australians to live longer in their own home, but will wait until the 2021 budget for a significant overhaul of the system.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told parliament aged care is “one of the greatest challenges we face in delivering essential services to Australians”, but said the government wanted to see the aged care royal commission’s final report in February before making any big spending commitments.

“The government will provide a comprehensive response to the final recommendations following receipt of that report,” Mr Frydenberg said. “This will involve significant additional investment.”

He said along with the new home care packages, the budget also invested in improving skills in the aged care workforce and providing additional dementia training and support.

The new home care packages take the overall number to a projected 185,597 by June 30 next year. They will be provided across all package levels, from the low level packages offering help with gardening and shopping to the higher levels that assist with more intensive personal care.

Supply of the more expensive higher level packages has been a significant issue in the sector, with some older people assessed as eligible for a high level package unable to access a service and forced to move into residential care.

With aged care hit so hard by COVID-19, the government noted in the budget it had provided $1.6bn to support the sector since February, and made a series of further funding commitments in 2020-21 and beyond.

This includes $245m for a COVID-19 Support Payment, which includes a further lump sum payment paid to every residential aged care provider, as well as continuation of the 30 per cent increase to the viability and homeless supplements for eligible residential and home care providers. It also provides $205.1m for the Workforce Retention Bonus Payment for frontline aged care workers.

The aged care costs were front-loaded in the budget, with an 8 per cent growth in assistance to the aged for 2019-20 and 2020-21, compared to 0.6 per cent in real terms through to 2023-24. This is due to the COVID response, and also higher income support recipient numbers and payment rates due to the pandemic.

The budget covered off a range of existing measures, introduced as COVID hit aged care. A further $81m was for any additional surge workforce required to respond to outbreaks, on top of the $101.2m announced in March.

The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre, which was created as the coronavirus second wave ripped through that state’s nursing homes, was provided with almost $10m in funding. And more than $70m was also provided to support older Australians who temporarily relocate from residential aged care facilities to live with family during the pandemic.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has been provided with an additional $26m in the next financial year to support its capacity. And the budget commits a further $10.6m to fund 40 co-ordinators to connect young people to more appropriate residential facilities.

The Aged Care Workforce Council, created to find the tens of thousands of new aged care workers that will be needed in coming decades, also received $10.3m.