Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

While he's still here, I just pass on my best wishes to the member for Leichhardt in his future endeavours. I'm sure there will be some great opportunities in front of you Warren, so all the best. It's been fun working with you.

I've spoken before in support of the government's reforms to the difficult area of aged care. During our nine long years in opposition, I was a frequent speaker on the former coalition government's failure to act on the issues in aged care that were outlined in the royal commission's interim report, which was bluntly titled Neglect. The royal commission's reports detail substandard care ranging from food and medication management to skincare. Respondents spoke of the mismanagement of health conditions such as dementia, and they also spoke about abuse, including physical and sexual abuse and quite arbitrary restrictive practices.

This is just a small snapshot of why the royal commission's report had 148 recommendations. It was clear to everyone that the aged-care sector needed a dramatic overhaul to improve the quality of participant care. That report told us that, as a country, we had really let our older Australians down. As a nation, to do so is unforgivable, especially considering what that generation did for Australia.

In the years since the Neglect report was tabled, 136 recommendations have been addressed. I just want to remind everyone that 94 of these recommendations have been implemented by the Albanese government. One of the first acts of the 47th parliament in 2022 was passing aged-care legislation that responded to the royal commission. As a government we understand that we must have an aged-care system that upholds the rights of older Australians receiving aged-care services. Our system must be ambitious and it must be infused with kindness and dignity.

Thus I'm here today to speak in support of the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024, and I commend the minister for the important work that she is doing. This bill will support the operation of the Aged Care Bill 2024, which will commence from 1 July next year and deliver a rights based aged-care system. This legislation is a once-in-a-generation reform that will shape the way we support people to live independently and with dignity as they age. As the Minister for Aged Care said when she was introducing this bill, the government recognise that everyone will need support to understand what the new changes in this bill will mean for them, what they will need to do and when they will need to do it. That means that the government will support older people, providers and workers to prepare for the changes arising from the new act by providing clarity on what is new, what is changing and what is staying the same. The government is preparing an aged care transition taskforce to help providers manage implementation challenges, including ICT, education and compliance. Eligible providers will also be able to apply for up to $10,000 to assist with the cost of any IT changes needed to prepare for 1 July next year.

This bill will place high-quality, safe and compassionate care and services for older people at the centre of the system. The bill includes provisions that will ensure that individuals can move as seamlessly as possible from the 1997 act, the Commonwealth Home Support Program and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program to the new act. This bill also includes provisions which will deem approved providers to be registered providers under the new act. It will smooth the transition process for providers and ensure that they can continue to provide services to older people uninterrupted.

The bill also includes technical provisions to clarify how provider obligations, governance arrangements, regulatory powers, information management and decision reviews will transition to the new act. It also implements a crucial lawmaking power to allow transition to be managed in a carefully considered way. The scale of this reform means we need to be able to act quickly during transition to address challenges and unforeseen impacts.

This bill repeals the Aged Care Act 1997, the Aged Care Quality And Safety Commission Act 2018 and the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997. From its commencement, it will make the Aged Care Act 2024 the Commonwealth's primary aged-care legislation and pave the way for the future of aged care—and probably put a few lawyers out of work! These reforms build on the work that the government has already done to improve the quality of aged care and to increase the wages of our aged-care workers. We know from the royal commission that workers in this industry were systematically underpaid and undervalued. The low wages and poor employment conditions meant that it was hard for the sector to attract and keep well-skilled people. It also led to unacceptable staffing levels, which in turn led to cases of substandard care. We all know from our elderly friends and family how important it is to have continuity of care.

One of the Albanese government's approaches to aged care has been to recognise the value of aged-care workers, which will hopefully help with retention, and we have done so not just by kind words but by investing $15 billion in pay rises to these workers. This aged-care bill also prioritises the training of well-skilled workers to deliver high-quality care, including specialised dementia care, a tsunami that is difficult to face. It also introduces new worker-screening measures, which is an important step towards professionalising the workforce through positive registration.

I've met many dedicated and professional aged-care workers when visiting aged care homes in my electorate and also last year when they were caring for my father. It's important to remember that the workers in this industry care for our aged parents and relatives. They provide the professional support that families cannot. They are there when we cannot be. They provide a unique level of care, and all of us who have had a parent or relative in aged care are filled with immense gratitude for the care these workers provide.

This legislation is also going to deliver a rights based aged-care system, with a new program that will support older people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible. We know that older Australians want freedom, support and, importantly, the choice to stay in their home and in the community they know and love. I know from my own father's circumstances that he wanted to stay in his home, but unfortunately the medical situation was such that we had to move him, and to this day I still think that that move broke his heart and led to a premature death. Nevertheless, across our country right now there are families having those difficult discussions about when or if their loved ones should be moving to an aged-care facility. The reality is that in some cases moving to an aged-care facility can exacerbate the situation and result in the person's health deteriorating, like in the case of my father, Brian Perrett. That is a dilemma that many families face. Not one person wants to see their family member decline because they need to be in a centre where they can access more care. Not one family wants to experience that for their loved one.

Our $4.3 billion investment in Support at Home will deliver better and more tailored support for more people, with eight levels of ongoing care instead of the current four. It will also cut wait times to receive those in-home aged-care services, giving more chances to keep people ageing in place. It will also mean that those in need of walkers and wheelchairs should gain faster access to this technology. There will also be an increase to the maximum level of support. That will rise from $61,000 to $78,000. In addition Support at Home will provide palliative care support to make sure that older people can spend their final weeks in their home surrounded by their family, friends and neighbours.

We went to the 2022 election promising to lift the standard in aged care, and I believe that we are delivering on this commitment. We've made aged care more transparent with star ratings for residential care. This has helped older people and their families be empowered to make more informed decisions about the care facility that they're entering or already living in. The statement of rights outlines what older people can and should expect from aged care. This bill will ensure that all older Australians in the aged-care system will continue to receive high-quality care, and I particularly thank all those who help provide that care.

As the Minister for Aged Care said:

The passage of the aged-care bill and its consequential provisions has the potential to provide a new and enduring foundation for the Australian aged-care system from 1 July 2025 and for years to come.

There has been an incredible body of work done by the minister and others, and I thank them for what they have done and how they will make so many Australians' lives easier. We owe it to older Australians and all who rely on aged care now to get this done. We owe it to the growing number of people who will rely on the system in the future. It is how we judge ourselves as a nation. Let's make sure that it's a system that has at its core freedom, kindness and dignity. I commend the bill to the House.

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