Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

We on this side, in the Morrison government, won't be lectured by those on the other side about aged care. As senior Australians know, Labor can't be trusted when it comes to aged care. Despite their plan at the last election for $387 billion in new taxes, including their retirees tax, Labor provided no additional funding in their costings for home-care places or any additional funding for aged-care quality, the workforce or mainstream residential care. This shows Labor's hypocrisy on aged care. All Labor can say on aged care is that they will reveal their policies closer to the election. Clearly, Labor are waiting for somebody else to do their work for them. Labor's deceit shows that they don't understand the aged-care sector. They are more interested in cheap politics than genuine solutions for these important issues for Australians. But I am pleased to have the opportunity, on this private member's business today, to highlight how the Morrison government is positively supporting our aged-care sector through the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is committed to supporting and building a strong and dedicated aged-care workforce that delivers high-quality aged care to all senior Australians. Several workforce measures to support a strong and dedicated aged-care workforce have been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures have ensured that aged-care recipients continue to receive care during these difficult times. They include emergency support where a residential aged-care facility doesn't have the capacity or the capability to continue service delivery due to COVID-19; remote locums to support aged-care providers in remote Australia if they are unable to source staff—Aspen Medical has been engaged to provide this support; and access to surge workforce capacity, through the online platform Mable, to help providers if they are unable to fill critical skills because of staff having to self-isolate due to infection. The COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program is also reimbursing approved aged-care providers for eligible expenditure incurred through managing the direct impacts of COVID-19. Aged-care providers have been able to temporarily offer more hours to international students to ensure the care of senior and vulnerable Australians as part of the campaign to combat the impact of coronavirus.

There is also the $234.9 million retention bonus for direct care workers working in aged care. The government is providing $234.9 million to eligible workers in residential aged care and home care during COVID-19 to help retain them in the workforce at this critical time. This payment is specifically to encourage direct care workers providing clinical care and personal care to continue to work on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full-time direct care workers in residential care facilities, including personal care workers, registered nurses, enrolled nurses and allied health will receive a retention bonus of up to $800 per quarter, paid for two quarters pro rata, if they work over the applicable time periods.

Eligible home-care workers include workers providing clinical care, personal care, cleaning, in-the-home support activities, such as meal preparation, social support and services such as shopping, community access and transport. They will receive town $600 per quarter, paid for two quarters pro rata, if they work over the applicable time periods. Employers—that is, aged-care providers and agencies who provide aged-care staff—will need to apply for a grant to receive the payment on behalf of their workers. The grant rounds open today.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been several heroes, from our healthcare workers to those essential workers in supermarkets. I would like to acknowledge those very many in Moncrieff who have been looking after our senior and much-loved Australians. It has been so heartwarming to see our community lend a helping hand to our senior citizens who have needed to self-isolate for their own safety. Whether that be picking up groceries or medication for your neighbour or making a phone call just to check in, thank you to all of those who have gone above and beyond to check in on our senior citizens. We've faced an extraordinary health challenge, and the hard work and sacrifice of our frontline health aged-care workers have protected some of those we love the most. Working in aged care is never an easy task, but it has been particularly challenging during this time. You've all done a spectacular job of guarding our precious citizens. Through your hard work, you have saved lives every hour of every single day, and I thank you for your dedication to the aged, senior citizens in Moncrieff, on the Central Gold Coast. You have kept those in residential aged care protected and safe.

I would like to comment on how the government has provided more than $850 million worth of measures to support senior Australians in aged care and the sector more broadly.

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