Labor denies call for more aged care packages

Labor has refused calls from the crossbench and the aged care sector to immediately release 20,000 extra home care packages, as elderly Australians wait up to 15 months for care they have already been deemed eligible for.

Aged care is an area that will require more trained staff in the future.

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Labor has refused calls from the crossbench and the aged care sector to immediately release 20,000 extra home care packages, as elderly Australians wait up to 15 months for care they have already been deemed eligible for.

The government’s decision to delay the release of tens of thousands of additional packages from July to November has sparked outrage from all sides of politics, with Anthony Albanese facing having the move scrutinised by a Senate committee later this year.

David Pocock, Zali Steggall, Jacqui Lambie and other crossbenchers wrote a letter to Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae last month, recognising the need to delay some elements of the multibillion-dollar aged care reforms but demanded 20,000 care packages be released in the meantime.

Mr Rae on Wednesday evening formally rejected the calls.

“We made the difficult decision to defer the start date of the Act until 1 November, so that providers, clients and staff working in the sector are ready for the transition,” Mr Rae said in a letter to crossbenchers, seen by The Australian. “We recognise that the deferral of the Act has implications for those who are receiving or eligible to receive home care, and that the consequence of deferral is that new funding for Support at Home packages will commence rolling out at a later time.

“We will continue to monitor the impact of the deferral.”

Senator Pocock slammed Labor’s decision to ignore the calls for additional packages to be put online immediately.

“Australians are dying waiting to receive home care packages and we’re hearing report after report about bedblock,” he said on X. “The (crossbench) asked the government to bring forward 20,000 packages to help with the 87,000 backlog and the minister said no.”

Senator Pocock, the Coalition and other crossbenchers are preparing to vote for an inquiry to investigate handling of the policy.

It is less clear whether the Greens will support the inquiry, having this week sided with Labor on other matters. But Greens spokeswoman for older people Penny Allman-Payne said in a statement on Thursday she was concerned there was “a world of pain coming to aged care from this November unless Labor urgently gets serious about care”.