AUSTRALIA | Tom Symondson, CEO of Ageing Australia, said there were areas untouched for aged care in the Government's budget announcement.
Ageing Australia has recognised the Government’s commitment to invest AUD 2.6 billion to support future pay rises for registered and enrolled aged care nurses in the federal budget, but highlighted that more work will need to be done to prepare for sweeping reforms.
The future wage increases are on top of the 15 percent increase for registered and enrolled nurses in 2023.
“As the Government has acknowledged in the past, our sector can only afford these types of increases if they receive Government funding,” Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson said.
“We know that the previous increases are working. We’re hearing reports from across the sector that it’s becoming easier to attract and keep aged care workers, so this is another important step in that journey.”
Ageing Australia will continue to advocate during the upcoming federal election for increased funds after providers missed out on Government investment to transition to the new Aged Care Act, particularly for critical upgrades to ICT systems.
“The cost to providers of delivering these reforms is immense, with some already spending millions of dollars. Individual grants of AUD 10,000 clearly aren’t enough,” Symondson added.
“That’s why we called for AUD 600 million in the Budget to build the ICT infrastructure and systems we need, along with AUD 188 million to help the sector, including some 450,000 aged care workers, to get ready for this once in a generation reform.”
Providers have also called for more transition time, with the runway shortening ahead of the 1 July deadline.
“We still don’t have all the information we need from government departments, including all of the rules for the new Act, so much of the work can’t be completed,” he said.
“Without more time to implement such sweeping reforms, we run the very real risk that we’re going to get to 1 July without everything in place. This will have very real consequences for older people and we’re concerned that there could be disruption to services, and confusion and uncertainty for older Australians and providers alike. That’s why we’re called for a staged approach to implementation.”
Symondson said Ageing Australia was not calling for a delay to the start date of the Act, and in particular its charter of rights for older Australians. Instead, Ageing Australia would like a staged approach to implementation of some of the reform programs.
“We all want these reforms to succeed, but to deliver them, providers need certainty on what is required and enough time to achieve it,” Symondson said.
“The administrative and technical challenges of this reform cannot be underestimated. Providers are committed to ambitious reform, but it takes time and should not be rushed.”
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