Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a substantial $9.9 billion investment in aged care, allocating $5.6 billion for sector reforms and $4.3 billion for home support, starting July 1, 2025.
“We will deliver historic aged care reforms to ensure the viability and quality of our aged care system,” Albanese stated, emphasising that the reforms would have “a need-based approach for the generation that cared for us.”
He also thanked the Liberal-National Coalition for their bipartisan support on the proposed bill.
The new home care initiative, Support at Home, will launch in July 2025, aiming to help Australians maintain independence at home before transitioning to aged care if needed.
The program will provide clinical care, such as nursing, and assistance with daily tasks like cleaning. A lifetime contribution cap of $130,000 will apply to non-clinical care costs. Additionally, the aged care agreement will ensure that individuals already in aged care facilities are not disadvantaged.
Albanese highlighted that the new bill will reintroduce nurses into nursing homes.
“There will be some 3.9 million minutes of additional care for residents every single day as a result of the reforms. There are around 1.4 million Australians who will benefit from a new Support at Home program by 2035,” he said.
Anita Wales, minister for aged care also addressed Parliament, stating that Support at Home will significantly enhance in-home aged care services.
“The program will reduce wait times and increase levels of ongoing care from four to eight,” Wales said.
“It will also expedite access to assistive technology like walkers and wheelchairs, and increase the maximum support available from $61,000 to $78,000. Additionally, it will offer a temporary boost through enhanced transitional assistance and provide temporary access to palliative care.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers praised the reform as both a major improvement in care and a structural reform to the budget.
He said that while aged care spending will continue to grow, it will do so at a more sustainable rate.
“Now, the net impact of the changes that the minister has announced today is a $930 million spend over four years and a $12.6 billion save over the course of the next 10 years. Now, aged care spending will continue to grow, but at an average of 5.2 percent, not 5.7 percent,” he said.
Albanese thanked both the opposition and his ministers, remarking “Reforms like this don’t happen every day. They are once in a generation and this is very significant.”
He also added that while it is positive that more Australians are living longer, “older Australians also worry about going into aged care, and I know that their kids and grandkids do too.”
“Older Australians built this country, and they deserve to have dignity and respect in retirement,” he said.
