Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This government inherited an aged-care sector in crisis, an aged-care sector that had faced neglect for almost a decade under the Liberals and Nationals. There were 23 reports, inquiries, and studies and, of course, a royal commission. The recommendations were almost entirely not implemented. The Albanese government's budget starts the process of restoring safety, dignity and quality in aged care. This budget reflects the Albanese government's priority to change aged care for the better and deliver the care that older Australians deserve.

The Albanese Labor government has now addressed 37 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and the budget delivers on 22 of our election commitments. With a total investment of $3.9 billion, we will lift the standard of care for residents of aged-care homes by putting nurses back into nursing homes on site 24/7. We will deliver more carers with more time to care through mandated care minutes and we will work with the Maggie Beer Foundation so that residents have access to better, tastier and more nutritious food. We will deliver increased transparency and accountability in the sector, making sure that public funds go exactly where they're supposed to—on care. We've also committed to funding the pay rise for our valuable and dedicated aged-care workers who, for too long, haven't seen their work valued for what it is—highly skilled and incredibly important.

Our reforms signal our steadfast commitment to meet the challenges facing the aged-care sector. The former government wouldn't, or couldn't, address many of these challenges. Older Australians, their families and the dedicated workers that care for them deserve an aged-care system that delivers safe, high-quality care and a workplace to be proud of, and this budget starts that journey. This budget will help build a stronger aged-care workforce, improve food standards for residents and introduce tougher penalties and transparency measures to protect recipients of aged care from abuse, neglect and exploitation. From 1 July 2023, aged-care residents will benefit from the requirement for aged-care homes to have a registered nurse on site 24/7, reducing unnecessary trips to the hospital. There will also be an increase to the mandatory care time requirements in residential aged-care homes, starting with 200 care minutes, including 40 registered nurse minutes, from 1 October 2023 and 215 care minutes, including 44 registered nurse minutes, from 1 October 2024. The budget includes $2.5 billion to fund these changes to bring in the minimum staffing standards.

An investment of $3.6 million will establish a new national registration scheme for personal care workers to professionalise the workforce. The budget includes $9.9 million to establish an aged-care complaints commissioner to ensure that complaints are properly and thoroughly dealt with and ensure that older Australians and their families have their voices heard. Funding of $38.7 million will establish an inspector-general of aged care to target systemic issues, provide independent oversight of the aged-care system and make recommendations directly to government. The $68.5 million strengthening regional stewardship measure will expand the department's local presence to better lead and respond to aged-care issues on the ground in regional and rural Australia. These regional stewards will be the eyes and ears for aged care, improving the transparency and accountability of the sector in the regions they serve and helping to ensure that older Australians are able to access the aged-care services they need in the communities they live in.

Older First Nations people, older Australians from diverse communities, older people living with dementia and older Australians in regional areas will benefit from $26.1 million of targeted funding for individual aged-care homes. This funding will support the increase to access to culturally safe care that acknowledges the diverse needs of older Australians. Initiatives to progress the in-home aged-care reforms will also be funded in the amount of $23.1 million, including additional consultation and a large-scale trial of a new assessment tool. The Commonwealth Home Support Program will be extended to provide continuity of care for over 800,000 older people who access the program.

My questions to the Minister for Aged Care are: How do the aged-care measures included in the October budget directly benefit older Australians in care? What benefit should older Australians and the wider health system see from the government's measure to introduce 24/7 nurses?

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