Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyons for his question and note his very strong interest in aged care. Given that Australians now have the world’s second longest life expectancy after the Japanese, I am sure that most members of this chamber would agree that our longevity is to be celebrated. Indeed, it is one of the major challenges facing Australia in the 21st century. That is why the Australian government is investing more than $40 billion in aged and community care over the next four years. A record $28.6 billion of that is going directly to our nation’s nursing homes. In short, no Australian government has invested more in aged and community care than the Rudd Labor government.

This government is committed to working in partnership with older Australians, aged-care providers, unions and consumer groups to improve quality in residential aged care. Members will be aware that the new aged-care funding system came into effect on 20 March, and indeed it had bipartisan support. At that time we said we would examine the new system after we had an appropriate sample size. Access Economics have now analysed 33,000 claims. Their initial analysis found that on average the subsidy rates were higher than they would have been under the previous model. In fact, the returns, on average, were almost three per cent higher. We will honour our commitment to monitor and review the funding model after 18 months.

Those on the other side of the chamber are always talking down the aged-care sector—always. But the fact is that we have a healthy and confident aged-care sector with a very strong future. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on building approvals in aged care present a very optimistic picture. Building approvals in the aged-care sector are reaching record levels, with substantial investment. For the June 2008 quarter there was investment of $302 million in projects compared with $250 million for the same period last year. That is a 20.8 per cent increase in aged-care building approvals. This construction activity is underpinned by the strong growth in the aged-care sector last year. The just released independent Bentleys MRI/James Underwood & Associates National Residential Aged Care Survey found that earnings had increased in all three areas of residential services—high care, low care and merged services. It found that returns were positive, regardless of their resident mix or type of service.

The overwhelming majority of aged-care providers in Australia are providing top-quality care for our nation’s elderly. In every state and territory I have seen world-class facilities and they are backed by hardworking, dedicated staff. The government are committed to tackling the challenges of the 21st century, including our ageing population.

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