Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I went to Cabanda Care, an aged-care facility in Rosewood, where I paid a visit to a constituent of mine, Alan Chriscoli. Alan is 73 years of age and an upstanding member of the Ipswich and Rosewood communities. He arrived in Australia from England as a young man and went on to serve his new country as a member of the Australian Army. Following this, he started a local painting business and developed a reputation as a hardworking, skilled tradesman, completing projects right across the Ipswich region, including on some of Ipswich's most iconic buildings. To this day Alan volunteers twice a week at the Rosewood Community Centre, something he's done for the past 10 years. He plays a significant role in his local Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services and is an active member of his local church.

Regrettably, due to a decades-old injury, he has no movement in his legs and he struggles to use his hands, both of which make life extremely difficult for Alan. He uses a wheelchair to get around. In January this year Alan finally sought help from the My Aged Care website and was immediately assessed as being eligible for a level 4 Home Care Package, the highest level of service available—and when I say 'immediately', that was his word. Despite this, Alan is currently only on a level 2 package, which limits him to a few short sessions with a carer a few times a week. This is woefully inadequate for his needs. I've written to the Minister for Aged Care about Alan's case, and I urge the minister to intervene and lend a hand to someone who really deserves it and who has contributed much to our community and to our country.

Alan is not alone. We know that right now there are countless Australians who are facing waits of up to 12 months for home care packages they need, on top of excessive delays for assessment. There isn't an MP in this country who hasn't been contacted by someone on a waiting list, I'm sure. The situation is dire for older Australians in need. The report from the Aged Care Financing Authority in 2015 shows level 4 package occupancy rates above 90 per cent. It has gotten worse. In the 2016 report that rate increased to above 92 per cent. The government needs to urgently outline how it intends to meet the continuously growing demand for these places and address the appalling blowouts in time with ACAT assessments that other constituents of mine have told me about. The budget failed to provide relief for those stuck waiting for the assessment and the care they need.

Thanks to the government's inaction, more and more people will be forced into residential aged-care facilities or will have to try and make do with inadequate levels of care. We cannot ignore this problem. On behalf of Alan and everyone else in Ipswich and Somerset who aren't receiving the care they should be receiving, I implore the government to do much better for older Australians.