Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Thirty thousand Australians have died while waiting for a home-care package for which they have been approved. How many letters has the government sent to dead people telling them they've moved up in the queue and should get a package in the next three months?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The need to provide additional in-home aged-care places is something that this government has acted on in every single update and budget statement since 2018-19. We have more than doubled the number. In fact, it's more than that. There were some 60,000 in-home aged-care places when we came to government, and we will hit 190,000 or thereabouts—just shy of that. That's what we've been doing year in, year out, to increase the number of in-home aged-care places. The reason we're doing that is that we know that the nature of aged care is changing in this country. That is why we commissioned the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and we await their recommendations next year.

In the meantime, we have continued to add additional places: 10,000 in last year's MYEFO; 25,000, I think, in this year's budget. We'll be considering that again as we move towards the MYEFO statement at the end of this year. In-home aged care is an essential part of providing dignified care to Australians all around this country as they age. They want to stay in their homes. They want to stay with their families.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's on direct relevance. While the Prime Minister is referring to home-care packages in general, this question is quite specific to that part of it of people dying while waiting and letters being received after the person has died, telling them they have been moved up in the queue.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say to the Manager of Opposition Business that his point would be stronger if just the last part of the question had been asked, because, as I have said repeatedly, the Prime Minister is entitled to give some context. Certainly I think he's been in order up until now. He obviously needs to address the question, but he can't be compelled to address every single aspect of it when there's more than one question and an introductory statement, if you will. The Prime Minister is in order.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our government will continue to address the needs of in-home aged-care places in this country as the demand continues to increase. As I said, in recent years we have taken every single opportunity to increase the number of places. I would hope those opposite would be aware that when you increase the number of in-home aged-care places you need to ensure that you have the workforce to support those in-home aged-care places. That has been a constant matter raised through the course of the royal commission, and the royal commission has identified those very serious workforce needs to support the additional supply of places into the system. It is no different, in fact, as the Minister for the NDIS will know, to ensuring supply of those additional places in the NDIS; we need the workforce to support that. The government is addressing both of these issues.

This is a terribly serious issue. We have sought to address it with each and every opportunity we have, and we will continue to do that in the interest of providing the best possible aged care to Australians in their homes where they seek to have that support.