Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As we all grow older, our lives change in both expected and unexpected ways. There are the stages we see coming such as retirement, watching our children grow and create families of their own, and perhaps downsizing to a smaller home. These are moments that we can emotionally and practically prepare for. However, there are also moments that catch us completely off guard, like the sudden decline in one's health or the unexpected challenges of caring for a loved one who now requires more support than before. These changes, whether gradual or sudden, affect not only individuals but their families as well. Families often find themselves struggling with complex emotions like stress, guilt and worry. There are scheduling difficulties like managing time and medical appointments and then there are the finances and caregiving responsibilities. This is in addition to trying to maintain their own busy schedule.

In the Illawarra, we have faced significant challenges. After a decade of neglect and a lack of investment by those opposite, we have a shortage of aged-care places across Australia. This has put enormous pressure on our aged-care providers and our health system, and none more so than in the Illawarra. Through this neglect, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District have lost over 600 aged-care beds. This has now left a deficit of around 900 beds in the Illawarra Shoalhaven region, which was confirmed by the Department of Health and Aged Care. In Wollongong, we are really feeling the pressure of this deficit as 14 per cent of our population is aged 70 and over, which is higher than both the New South Wales and national averages. During the past winter period, the number of patients in Illawarra Shoalhaven hospitals awaiting placement into an aged-care facility peaked at 156 patients per night. These numbers paint a really stark picture of the crisis we are facing in the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven.

The shortage of aged-care places isn't just a statistic. It has a profound impact on the lives of families across our community. Patients who should be in a supportive aged-care environment are instead in hospitals which are already stretched to capacity. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Margot Mains, Margaret Martin, Megan Foye, Professor Jan Potter and Dr John McKenzie from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District. They have worked tirelessly to help manage this crisis which has placed pressure on our local hospitals. Margot and her team's dedication to providing the best care possible in difficult circumstances is truly commendable.

While hospitals are essential for providing acute medical care, they aren't suitable for the long-term aged-care needs of our elderly. Older adults, especially those with chronic conditions, thrive in specialised aged-care facilities that provide a supportive homelike atmosphere. Extended hospital stays can lead to increased infection risks, social isolation and inadequate rehabilitation. Aged-care homes and home based services are designed to enhance quality of life, ensuring the comfort and ongoing support that older individuals truly need.

I have met with many people who have shared with me the immense challenges that they face in trying to care for their elderly parents. Juggling work, the needs of their children and their own personal lives while searching for suitable aged care can be overwhelming. They speak to me about long wait lists, limited choices locally and the anxiety of not knowing when or if they will find the right care for their loved ones.

I met recently with a woman called Renee. Renee's story about trying to find appropriate care for her father is one that is truly heartbreaking. Renee contacted my office in June. She and her family were severely frustrated with the lack of available beds and respite. Renee's father, James, had advanced dementia and had been cared for by his wife, Jan, for over five years. Sadly, due to the decline in her physical and mental health, Jan was no longer able to provide the care that James desperately needed. Renee and her family faced a wait for a reassessment for James to get the care that he deserved. He was assessed while he was at home, while he was being cared for by Jan, but, as his needs changed and he was admitted to hospital, he was in need of a reassessment. James would be in hospital for the foreseeable future while the family waited for an assessment.

Caring for a patient with advanced dementia, like James, requires specialised support due to the unique and complex nature of the disease. Many staff in our hospitals are not equipped to provide high-quality and specialised dementia care. Dementia affects different people in different ways; each patient has a very unique experience. Medical professionals that understand this and have the appropriate training are able to provide better care.

Despite the family's efforts to find a suitable aged-care facility that had specialised dementia care to meet his needs, James's health continued to decline. While getting treatment for an eye infection, James developed pneumonia. On 20 August 2024, James sadly passed away. Renee's last memories of her father were not ones that she would have hoped for. She wanted somewhere where her father could live out his final days with specialised care in an aged-care setting.

Sadly, Renee and her family are not alone in this situation. Many families in our community are facing similar struggles trying to care for their loved ones. Stories like this truly break my heart. They keep me up at night thinking that too many families in our community are facing this struggle. Addressing the aged-care shortage in our region is crucial for these families and it has been something that I have been working to fix with the Minister for Aged Care and my New South Wales colleague, the Minister for Health and member for Keira. Our community deserve to know that when the time comes they will be able to access the right care for their parents without sacrificing their own wellbeing. Sadly, we don't have a magic wand to wave to make the years of neglect from those opposite and the subsequent problems we are now facing go away. We need to roll up our sleeves, do the hard work and find the much-needed solution.

On a local level, we have worked together and introduced a range of short-term, medium-term and longer term initiatives to take the pressure off the healthcare system and ensure that the elderly in our community receive the care that they need. The Albanese and Minns Labor governments have worked together to provide significant additional support for aged care in our region including joint funding for 35 new transition care places through to June 2025 to help transition older people out of hospital and back into their homes. They are also introducing the New South Wales Aged Care Outreach Service, a special flying squad of doctors, nurses and specialists who visit aged-care homes across the Illawarra. We've also got funding to the Acute to Residential Care Transition Service program, run by Dementia Support Australia, which assists people living with dementia and their families in transitioning from hospital to residential care. We've also supported an eight-place specialist dementia care program at HammondCare Horsley. We've also opened the Wollongong Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Corrimal to provide urgent care and reduce unnecessary hospital presentations. We've also secured $16.5 million in federal funding, through the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program, for the Illawarra Retirement Trust. This funding will enable the opening of 48 additional much-needed beds—18 of which will be part of the memory support wing, helping people with dementia—as well as refurbishing 50 two-bedroom suites. All of this will be completed late next year.

On top of this, the Albanese Labor government knows the importance of aged care and how instrumental all staff working in this sector are. That's why we've committed to providing a much-needed wage increase to retain the skilled aged-care workforce and to providing fee-free TAFE courses to attract more people to the industry. During the recent local government elections, I called for an aged-care planning review, and the new Wollongong council lord mayor, Tania Brown, has committed to an aged-care planning review to help address this pressing issue.

These measures are already making a difference, but there is still much work to be done to address the ongoing aged-care shortage in our region, and this bill is set to do that for the long term. The introduction of the Aged Care Bill 2024 marks a landmark, once-in-a-generation reform that will shape the way we support people to live independently and with dignity as they age. I want to take this opportunity to commend the minister for her hard work to make the aged-care system better and fairer. These changes are bold, they are brave and they are a turning point in how we care for our aging population. They will ensure that older Australians receive high-quality care that is designed around their individual needs. They set out to improve their quality of life, whether they are receiving services at home, in the committee or within residential aged-care facilities. The legislation introduces a new era of transparency, accountability and respect, aimed at restoring trust in the aged-care system

One of the many key changes that this bill is set to bring about is the introduction of the Support at Home program, scheduled to commence on 1 July next year. This program will replace existing home-care systems, allowing older Australians to receive more tailored support that promotes their independence and enables them to remain in their homes for as long as possible. For many Australians, aging at home is the preferred option, allowing them to stay in familiar surroundings with the care and support that they need. This means around 1.4 million Australians will benefit from the new Support at Home program by 2035, helping them to remain independent in their homes and communities for longer.

In addition to Support at Home, the bill responds to the recommendations of the royal commission by focusing on key areas of reform. This legislation is also going to deliver a rights based aged-care system; a new regulatory framework and a strong regulator; new quality standards; and fair co-contributions to make the Australian aged-care system sustainable into the future. The reforms respond to the recommendations of the Aged Care Taskforce, which brought together older Australians, experts, residential aged-care providers and workforce representatives. The government's response to the Aged Care Taskforce will ensure that the aged-care system is adequately resourced to meet future demand. This includes making sure that funding is allocated in a way that is fair and equitable, ensuring that all Australians, regardless of where they live or their finances, have access to quality aged care.

The government will now fully fund all clinical care, while participants make contributions towards services that they have paid for or been responsible for their entire lives, such as gardening, cleaning and personal care. The 'no worse off' principle will ensure participants are no worse off because of the reforms. This will ensure that participants will make the same contributions, or lower, that they would have under a home-care package arrangement.

In residential care, residents who can afford it will now make contributions towards the hotelling supplement and non-clinical care based on a means test. These measures will ensure residential aged-care providers can attract the necessary investment to keep current facilities operational, enhance quality and build new homes. A lifetime contribution cap for care costs will be implemented across the aged-care system, ensuring no-one will contribute more than $130,000 to their care costs regardless of their means or duration of care.

The Aged Care Bill also recognises the vital role aged-care workers play in delivering high-quality services. By establishing an enforceable code of conduct for aged-care providers, the bill ensures staff are held to the highest standards of professionalism and care. This code will provide protection for older Australians while giving providers clear guidelines on how to meet their obligations. It is a step towards creating a culture of respect and accountability within the aged-care sector.

In addition to this, the new regulatory framework will give the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission greater powers to take enforcement action when providers fail to meet the required standards. This will ensure that aged-care facilities are not only compliant with regulations but actively delivering the best possible quality care. This bill is not just about fixing the problems of the past; it is about building a system that respects and cares for older Australians in the way they deserve.

For the Illawarra, these reforms are crucial. We need more beds, better services and a system that delivers the care and dignity that our older people are entitled to. Through increased capacity, improved quality standards and greater support for both workers and providers, the Illawarra and all of Australia will be better equipped to care for our ageing population. Together, we can make a real change to so many Australian lives through this once-in-a-generation opportunity, ensuring that no older Australian is left waiting for the care they need and that they can live their later years with the dignity and respect they deserve.

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