Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am happy to try to answer that. Somewhere in the minister’s letter I think he says that part of the process for these people—and I stand to be corrected if I have this wrong—would be that they would need to go through an ACAT assessment to get another form of service—for instance, a CAHP, a care at home package. So if this process has decided that they are no longer eligible, for whatever reason, the minister is suggesting in part of this response that they need to go through an ACAT assessment for that purpose—that is, not to stay where they are but to go into an entirely different package, which would be a care at home package through the aged-care system.

I will draw my remarks to a conclusion there. I thank the member for her intervention. As I said, I am not really complaining so much as bringing to the attention of people the fact that we need to be so sensitive and so careful when we are dealing with people in this category. I know for all intents and purposes we all share that view, but occasionally we need to have a reminder that, whatever we need to do to look after these folk, we should do. In the end, I hope that these people have the service that they were getting reinstated or that they can slide across as seamlessly as possible—and with all the help they need—into what is considered to be a more appropriate service, be that as it may. I thank the chamber for its attention.

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