Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) that the former Government made record investments which saw more than 227,000 people access home care packages, including our past two budgets which released an additional 80,000 home care packages to support older Australians;

(b) the Government has released just 9,500 additional packages;

(c) stakeholder concerns about the availability of in-home aged care services and the significant wait times being experienced by elderly Australians seeking to access care; and

(d) many providers now have so many clients on their waiting lists that they have closed the lists altogether, leaving vulnerable Australians without vital supports; and

(2) calls on the Government to immediately address shortfalls for aged care packages to allow Australians to access the support they need, when they need it.

Supporting elderly Australians through aged care supports is one of the key roles of a federal government in Australia. It acknowledges the invaluable contributions that Australians have made in their working lives, as carers, in their personal lives and in building communities. Our safety net in Australia ensures that after years of hard work seniors and older Australians can receive the necessary supports and assistance that they require as they age.

The coalition has a proud history of supporting elderly Australians to live fulfilled lives through providing these programs and supports. The former Liberal government made record investments in the sector which saw more than 227,000 people access home care packages. Our last two budgets released an additional 80,000 home care packages to support older Australians to remain independent where possible and stay home as long as they wish with appropriate supports in place. This is in stark contrast to the current Labor government, which talks a big game on aged care supports but has released just 9,500 additional packages since coming to government before this latest budget. As of December 2023, we had 51,044 people on the home care package waitlist. This new budget provides for an extra 24,100 packages. It's clearly an improvement on the 9½ thousand but not even half of those on the waitlist.

These aren't 'nice to have' packages; these are necessities for older Australians. For many, they are the key to a quality life. Under the current government, this sadly hasn't been the case for many seniors and elderly Australians in my community. Participants in my community who have the Commonwealth home services program packages have not had a smooth transition from the previous council-run service to the new Commonwealth provider. This year alone, my office has been contacted by many constituents who have been told by service providers that their waitlist had closed, with too many people already on them. Those service providers that do have waitlists do not have enough workforce to provide for those on their list. The only way that people can get onto the waitlist is when someone else no longer needs their package, whether that's through moving away, going into aged care or, sadly, passing away. It should never be the case that elderly Australians must wait for fellow Australians to pass away before they can access the care they need and deserve.

I would like to share some examples from across my community in the Yarra Ranges to paint a picture of the circumstances my constituents are facing. I'll begin with John, who is 92, from Lilydale and needs garden maintenance and mowing. John is unable to even get on the waitlist, with all providers saying their waitlists are full. Majorie, who is 99 and from Chirnside Park, needs additional respite hours for her family, who are her full-time carers, as well as a wheelchair, a walker and podiatry services. She recently had her two hours per week cut back to 1½ hours. There's John, who is 80 and from Montrose, who has muscular dystrophy and is no longer able to do his garden maintenance. John requires new assessments but had to wait five weeks for that assessment to happen, wait for the package to be provided and then wait again for services to become available for him. There's Lorraine, who is 89 and from Chirnside Park. She needs assistance with shopping and home and garden maintenance but has been told that 'no-one is available to help at the moment' and to keep checking in with the service provider. This is an elderly woman who needs help to get the basic necessities at the supermarket, and no-one is available.

This doesn't just impact the lives of the clients; it impacts their families and carers, who have no choice but to follow up with these providers and departments. It's simply not good enough. These situations aren't just happening in the Yarra Ranges and Casey; they are happening across the country. The Albanese Labor government is failing to address this shortfall in aged-care packages, and elderly Australians are paying the price every day.

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second this motion and reserve my right to speak.

Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have to agree with some of the opening remarks that the member for Casey just made. I agree that we should absolutely support our older Australians both at home and in residential aged care. People in Australia deserve to age with dignity and deserve to age with respect. But what I would say to the member for Casey is: in the 10 years that the coalition government were in power, why was that not the case? You talk about these record investments in residential aged care and these record investments in home-care packages, but I gotta tell you: when I was working in the hospital and saw these people coming in both from home and from the aged-care sector, we were still seeing staff shortages and we were seeing residents not get the care that they needed or that they deserved.

What does that look like in real terms? I'm talking about large pressure areas, large wounds, on the back of the head and on the back of the hips that went down to bone and were covered in maggots. That's what I'm talking about when I see no investment in aged care. I'm talking about people sitting in their own excrement in their home and in aged-care facilities because there's no staff and no funding in that sector. I'm talking about real people in these real conditions who end up grossly unwell and then require tertiary critical level support.

So I agree that we need to support our elderly Australians, but that was not the case and I'm not going to be lectured by the opposition on home-care wait times. When they were last in government, they allowed these home-care package waitlists to increase to almost three years for some package levels. They saw 129,000 elderly Australians on that waitlist—double what it is now—and they only acted and started to do something about it when they realised it was a problem.

A government member: Right before the election.

Right before the election—absolutely right. That is the definition of a coalition government: reactive. They're never proactive. They don't see the benefit in making sure that our society remains healthy and our people can age with dignity.

So we can stop it with the lecturing and focus on what the Albanese Labor government is doing in this space to make it better for older Australians. We know that older Australians want to stay at home for longer. The Albanese Labor government is ensuring that older Australians can access a home-care package more quickly, and from next year we will deliver the game changing Support at Home program, because we believe that older Australians should have the opportunity to age where they want to, and for many Australians that's in their own home. In the 2024-25 federal budget handed down by Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, the government is investing $531.4 million to fund an extra 24,100 home-care packages by 30 June 2025. This investment is expected to bring wait times down to an average of six months from assessment. It's going to support older Australians to stay in their homes for longer and bring the number of people supported by home-care packages to a record 300,000. People assessed as having urgent care needs—urgent care needs, Member for Casey—approved as a high priority are typically being assigned their home-care packages within one month. These are some of the reforms that we are making in the aged-care space. We are making sure that we are putting the money where it needs to go to make sure that elderly Australians can age at home.

I have to say the Albanese Labor government listen to older Australians—and the aged-care sector too, because people do work in it—and we are committed to delivering ambitious reforms to in-home aged care that will serve the needs of all older people in Australia now and into the future. The new Support at Home program is on track to start on 1 July 2025, and more details will be released in due course. This new program will give older Australians better access to care, better control and faster access when it is introduced.

So, looking at our aged-care reforms and the money that we're investing in aged care, and looking also at health care—affordable medicine, urgent care and general practice—we see that all of these things are helping our older Australians and making sure that we have a happy and healthy society.

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very happy to rise to support this motion brought by the member for Casey, and I thank him for bringing the importance of home-care packages and the current significant underfunding in home-care packages to this place.

I commend a lot of the words of the member for Robertson. He said that this government is committed to ambitious reforms. I am sure that this government is committed to ambitious reforms, but a commitment to ambitious reforms has to date not resulted in nearly enough home-care packages for Australians who desperately need them. The member also said that these reforms were intended to commence in July 2025. We're currently in June 2024, so I'm not sure if that was some sort of error or whether it does mean that these reforms will not commence for at least another 12 months.

I am sure that most members of this place go around and see aged-care facilities. One of the nicer parts of the job is going out and giving flowers to people who have turned 100, for example, and things of that nature. It is good that there is an aged-care sector that has changed significantly over the years and that now we are moving a lot more towards wanting to accommodate the many older Australians who want to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. This is particularly important as we age. Older Australians must have the right to age in place for as long as possible with as much dignity as possible, and any assistance that can be given should be given.

We have a package in place. We have home-care packages in place. But I must say that it is one of the most asked-about issues, if I can put it that way, that come into my office. Trying to navigate the My Aged Care system is extraordinarily clunky and very, very difficult at the moment. Frequently we find, whether it is the aged person themselves or their family members trying to navigate that system, they often require some additional assistance. What we have seen is waiting lists for home-care packages blow out. We know that this next generation of older Australians do want to stay in their own homes for longer but Labor's budget has only provided an additional 24,100 home-care packages. It also follows a revelation that there have so far only been 9½ thousand additional home-care packages released by this government. This compares to the 50,000 older Australians who we know are on the waitlist right now. A child in infants school can do that maths and know there is a considerable shortage in our current home-care packages. Over the last few years of the former coalition government, there were an additional 80,000 home-care packages provided, so this Labor government's budget has failed to even deal with the current demand for home care, let alone to prepare for the next generation.

Recent data has shown some of the most vulnerable older Australians are waiting as long as an entire year to get access to a home-care package. We heard specific examples from the member for Casey that he has heard about from people within his own electorate. What we have seen nationally is wait times for level 3 packages have now blown out to between nine and 12 months. Wait times for level 4 packages have now risen to between six and nine months. This is clearly unacceptable.

It is really disappointing to see the Albanese Labor government that has spoken quite a lot about aged care is still leaving some of the most vulnerable older Australians waiting for up to a year to get access to home-care package. This is not good enough. The wait times need to come down. There needs to be action to help our most vulnerable older Australians to stay in place for as long as they can to give them the dignity they all deserve in their old age.

Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In April I was not doorknocking in Concord and knocked on the door of a woman in her eighties. She lives on her own and she described how her neighbours helped to create a sense of community and support around her. Her neighbour across the road comes over to mow her lawn, the neighbour to the side of her comes over regularly for a cup of tea, and the kids down the street stop by on their way to and from school. One night she was out at bingo. The neighbours dropped by but didn't see her. They tried calling her and couldn't get through so they started calling her family to alert them that she might be missing. When she finished at bingo and checked her phone, she found a bunch of missed calls and messages from concerned family and neighbours. She loves living on the street but now she makes it a point to let her neighbours know when she is popping out or going away on a trip so they don't get alarmed.

I tell that story because it is an example of how neighbours can help build a sense of community around our older Australians. Not all of us get to live on that amazing street in Concord. Older Australians sometimes need extra help so they can stay living independently longer. Research shows the longer older people live in the community, the higher their quality of life and the lower the cost to government—win, win, win. It is also what older Australians want. They want to stay living at home longer independently. So it is pretty galling to see the member for Casey put forward this private member's motion, trying to spruik the Morrison government achievements for older Australians. He, like me, was not here during the Morrison government years, so let me remind him of what those opposite actually did with home-care packages.

Here is what we learned from the royal commission into aged care. Under those opposite, older Australians needing high level home care were left waiting almost three years for a package. In one 12-month period, 16,000 older Australians died waiting for a package to be delivered. In the same period, a further 13,000 older Australians who had been approved for a high-level home-care package were shifted into an aged-care facility against their wishes. And in 2021, there were almost 100,000 elderly people on the waiting list for a home-care package. Those things I just pointed to are not things that I would necessarily go around spruiking, but, okay, Member for Casey!

Here is a snapshot of how representatives in the aged-care sector described the home-care system under the Morrison government. Council on the Ageing Chief Executive Ian Yates said that the system wasn't working. John McCallum, the CEO of consumer group National Seniors, called the home-care waiting list a running sore and a critical failure. The aged-care royal commission's interim report was scathing, describing the lengthy queue as cruel and discriminatory. These are still not things I'd necessarily be spruiking, Member for Casey. But you are right: the Morrison government did release 80,000 home-care packages over two budgets. It's just a shame they waited until the entire home-care-package system was on the brink of failure before trying to do anything to save it.

We, on this side of the House, are trying to fix the system that we inherited from those opposite. We are introducing a new Support at Home program designed to consolidate and streamline the current home-care packages, short-term restorative care and respite care, so that older Australians are not left waiting and waiting to get their packages. We are providing 24,000 additional home-care packages, with the aim of supporting more people to get support at home. This investment is expected to bring wait times down to an average of six months from assessment. Just remember: their wait times ballooned out to three years. That was totally unacceptable. We are doing everything we can to support older Australians to be able to age in place.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Casey's motion. Week after week, I'm contacted by elderly residents or their family members, and those residents are struggling to get a home-care package. They've been assessed and they're just waiting. And those wait times have blown out. For the life of me, I can't work out why this is not front-page news.

If we go back to February 2023, the wait time was between one month and three months, across all levels of home-care packages. This is what I think most Australians would think is a reasonable timeframe. Now, if you are assessed as needing a level 3 package, the wait list—and the new data came out last week—is between 12 and 15 months for a level 3, and up to nine months for a level 4, the highest level package.

To my thinking, if you are assessed as needing a level 3 or 4 package, you need it immediately. You don't need it in nine months or 15 months. This, I believe, is a national shame. I think it's a failure of the minister and it's a failure of the government.

So the question is: why is this happening? The answer, to me, is very clear, and it's in the motion. It's because last year, in the budget, there were only 9½ thousand new home-care packages, and in this year 's budget we've seen an allocation of 24½ thousand. This is why we've had this blowout.

Let me tell you about some of the stories. I had two constituents, elderly women in their late 90s, who were assessed as having 'medium' priority, despite one suffering two falls and being confined to a chair during that time. Her family was told she would have to wait months for her priority to be reassessed. I fail to see how she was not given high priority from the get-go. How is that reasonable? I had another elderly constituent who was approved for a level 4 home-care package in 23 September. Despite being terminally ill, she was also allocated only 'medium' priority. After contacting my office and asking for assistance, she was advised that the timeline of one to three months was only a guideline and, sadly, we believe this person passed away without accessing any care. Another elderly constituent was approved for a level 3 package in August last year. Nine months later, that package has not come to fruition.

The minister is very well aware of the long waiting list for aged care at home. The minister, out of every person in this place, should know the importance of a home-care package. I play it with a straight bat. I'm not part of the government, and I'm not part of the opposition. I look at the data, and I look at what my constituents are bringing to me. We were in a better place two years ago with respect to the waitlist for home care than we are today. We have, as of December last year, more than 51,000 elderly Australians waiting, and that figure is six months old. We don't have an updated figure. So the 24,000 packages allocated in this year's budget are not going to even halve the number of people on the waitlist.

Why is the government not addressing this? I think it's because we don't have the media pressure that we had that forced the previous government to have a royal commission into aged care. We needed it, and the report was titled Neglect. But, three years on, people think we had a royal commission and that the problem is fixed. We don't have the media pushing this along, along with some of us members of parliament. We need every Australian who is in this scenario or whose family is in this scenario to contact their MP and to contact the media. We need to have an angry community about this because it is not fair.

I desperately ask the media: if you're listening to this, if you flicked over to the Federation Chamber wondering what's happening in here, these are stories that you need to share with the Australian community. We should all be outraged. How can this be? A person in their 90s is waiting at home tonight, possibly chairbound or bedbound, and not getting care. We are a better nation than this. I would urge the government: you said you were going to put the care back in aged care so, for goodness sake, start doing it.

Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Two weeks ago, the Treasurer announced a further investment of $531 million into home-care packages, providing an additional 24,000 home-care packages, bringing the number of people that will be supported by home care to a record 300,000. The member for Casey's assertion that the Albanese government has funded only 9½ thousand home-care packages is incorrect. The premise that we are not doing enough is misguided and couldn't be further from the truth. It is incorrect. When the Liberal government was in power, waitlists were double what they are now. The system was broken. However, the Albanese government has been working hard to fix the system that we inherited, because Labor cares about older Australians. We are continuing to consult with older people, their families and aged-care providers and workers across the sector to ensure the system meets older people's needs and improves the standard of aged care. The new Aged Care Act will focus on providing dignity and respect to older Australians. It is based on meeting the rights of older people and putting older people at the centre of aged care.

The new act responds to the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the taskforce report. The investment will continue the work we have delivered to date to reduce home-care waiting times and support more Australians to access in-home aged care and live where they want to live. Older Australians will also benefit from a newly established support at home program. This program will be implemented thanks to the investment of $174 million for ICT infrastructure and includes a single assessment system. This system will make access to aged care simpler and more streamlined for older Australians. In addition to this, $111 million has been invested over four years into the new aged-care regulatory framework. A stronger regulatory framework will protect older people accessing aged-care services and ensure high-quality, timely and safe care.

To provide quality and timely services to the elderly, we are committed to growing the workforce to meet the demands of Australia's ageing population. The government has committed to investing $88 million over four years to continue to attract and retain the aged-care workforce. In addition to this, the provision of free-fee TAFE gives those that wish to work in the sector the opportunity to access qualifications and secure jobs for free. This is further supported by an increase in wages for aged-care workers. In 2022, the Labor government introduced a 15 per cent pay rise, and that has been implemented. Improving staffing solutions will create better conditions for the aged-care workforce and grow the home-care workforce in regional, rural and remote areas.

The Albanese Labor government cares about older Australians and the people that work in the sector. The comprehensive measures and funding announced by this government will ensure that those that need access to timely, quality services and care will receive them when they need them.

Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the member for Casey's motion today. Australia's elderly population is growing, so we need solutions to care for our parents and our grandparents who have given so much to our country over their lifetimes. Home care is an important arm of our aged-care framework, yet this government does not seem to recognise the need and desire of many of our elderly to receive in-home care.

Under the previous coalition government, we saw over 227,000 Australians access new home-care packages. In our final two budgets, 80,000 packages were released. This ate into the list, but of course more had to be done. In contrast, in Labor's first two budgets, we only saw 9,500 additional packages made available. Since this motion was lodged and we've had the budget delivered, we've seen a few more in the third budget but nowhere near enough to meet the need that is out there. It's left many waiting far too long on waiting lists to receive the care that they need.

I've had many discussions with people from the Redlands who have been affected by this shortfall. They haven't received the support and help that they deserve because of Labor's inaction on this front. They've sat through shocking wait times, meaning for months or even years they've not received the care that they need. I want to share with the Chamber a few examples.

Peter from Ormiston is 81 years old and has vascular dementia. He was accepted for a level 3 home-care package in November and he was told that there would be a four- to six-month wait for services. This was then blown out to nine to 12 months. When my office contacted My Aged Care regarding this matter, it was informed that the wait time was now 12 to 15 months. It's unacceptable that Peter, at 81 years of age, must wait for up to 15 months. John from Russell Island has been waiting since November for help. He wrote to me:

My Aged Care is a failure largely due to a lack of sufficiently trained staff and the lack of current information as to service providers who can help.

Practitioners advised us that they do not service the Bay Islands. My Aged Care staff have been reduced to a group of "box tickers" and users of standard letters.

Their responses are not driven by thought or recognition of the suitability of the advice being provided.

But, of course, those working in this space can only do what they can under the conditions that are provided to them by the government. John wrote:

I am waiting for an assessment interview, before a Package of Service can be assigned, I've already been waiting more than a month.

Then there's Darlene from Coochiemudlo Island. Her husband has Alzheimer's disease. He is on a level 2 home-care package but needs more help. If he goes to a level 3 package, he'll be waiting 12 to 15 months to receive that help. Another constituent of mine from Ormiston was on the waiting list for an aged care package at 97 years of age he unfortunately did not receive any help before his passing.

Those who are assessed and are able to receive a package often have the challenge of not being able to find adequate services. Kay from Victoria Point wrote to me and said:

Elaine from Russell Island wrote to me:

A nation can be judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable. Our senior Australians deserve support to live comfortably in their own home if possible. These Australians who've reached out to me are just a small percentage of Australians who are despairing at the state of our aged-care system. They are struggling to live the lives that they deserve because of unacceptable delays and inadequate care that prevents them from enjoying life within their own home. Labor must do better on this front. Aged-care providers do a wonderful job to help as many senior Australians as they can. I join the member for Casey in calling on the government to immediately address the evident shortfalls of aged-care packages.

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

I acknowledge that the member for Casey was not a member of the previous government; however, it is a bold move to propose any motion based on the record of the previous government. And yet here we are again, this time on aged care. So let's look at the record of those opposite on aged care. Having overseen aged care at a time when there was a scathing royal commission, such that even the interim report was called Neglect, to now trump their performance is quite breathtaking hubris. So what did the royal commission say about the Home Care Package system under their watch?

It is particularly challenging when an older person is deemed eligible for a Home Care Package, because they must first wait in the national prioritisation queue before a package of services is 'assigned', and then they must find a service provider to deliver their care. That can all take a very long time, especially for those who have higher care and support needs. Once someone is assessed as needing the highest level of care, a Level 4 Home Care Package, they can wait for a year and often longer for the Package to become a reality.

That was for a level 4 package. We now know that for some of the lower level packages under those opposite the waits could be up to three years. The waitlist under those opposite blew out to 129,000 people, double what it is now.

Now, under this government, people assessed as high-priority are typically receiving their package within a month. That's three years under them compared to one month under us. Returning to the royal commission's report:

Such waiting times would be unacceptable in any other system, but are common in home care today.

Of course, by 'today' they're referring to the time of writing the interim report. There is:

… no mechanism to follow up with people who are on waiting lists to give them updates, including about whether they have progressed up the waiting list or how long it will be before a Package is available. In the interim, there is a clear and present danger of declining function, inappropriate hospitalisation, carer burnout and premature institutionalisation because necessary services are not provided. We—

being the royal commission—

have been alarmed to find that many people die while waiting for a Home Care Package. Others prematurely move into residential care.

By any measure, this is a cruel and discriminatory system, which places great strain on older Australians and their relatives. It is unfair. Older people should receive the home care services they need to live safely at home … It is shocking that the express wishes of older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, with the supports they need, is downplayed with an expectation that they will manage. It is unsafe practice. It is neglect.

That was the verdict of the royal commission on aged care regarding aged-care services under their watch. At the time we were elected they had implemented very few of the recommendations from the royal commission. This government has been focused on implementing all the recommendations. And make no bones about it: it's difficult, it takes time and it takes money. The previous government acted on aged care and funded extra packages only after they had allowed the system and older Australians to get to breaking point.

So, that was the situation of neglect that the Albanese Labor government inherited, and we've been working to implement all the recommendations. One important thing we've done is provide a wage rise for aged-care workers. We want people to think of aged care as the valuable, skilled, long-term, rewarding career option that it is. We want to attract and retain the best workers. The additional $200 a week that aged-care workers now earn is a significant step towards achieving this. This is a significant way to address the delays in being able to access services by having more workers in the sector, having workers who are higher skilled, and keeping them.

In the upcoming budget we're funding an additional 24,100 home care packages, bringing the number of people being supported by aged-care packages to a record 300,000. This is expected to bring the wait times down to an average of six months. We're also reforming the assessment system with a single streamlined assessment and a new evidence based assessment tool backed up by ICT infrastructure.

This government is getting on with the job of fixing the aged-care system that was left behind by those opposite—one characterised by the royal commission as 'neglect'. This private member's bill is an exercise in trying to rewrite history.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Casey for moving this important motion. Home care packages are an essential feature of our aged-care system. They allow people to stay at home longer and to live independently by providing nursing support and assistance with household tasks like cooking, cleaning and gardening. The Wangaratta Chronicle recently shared Betty Toppin's story. Betty is a 90-year-old woman who's received home care support for more than five years, in addition to medical support for her diabetes. Betty told the local paper, 'The cleaner comes and cleans the unit, she vacuums—she does all that work—and she does a lovely job.' There are many stories like Betty's, and I know home care packages make a life-changing difference for people across north-east Victoria. That's why I've stood in this place many times highlighting the need for substantial Commonwealth investment in home care.

So I very much welcome the government's announcement of $531.4 million for an extra 24,100 home care packages in the recent budget. I'm concerned, however, that despite this significant investment there will be very little immediate effect in my electorate of Indi. While home care packages can make a monumental difference for people like Betty as they age, more and more people in my electorate are struggling to access the home care they need. Firstly, the process of getting an assessment for a package can be subject to complications and delays. Once a person has been approved for a home care package, they face being put on a waitlist to access these supports. Concerningly, many providers across my electorate have closed their waitlists because of existing backlogs.

Secondly, a lack of regional providers means that nurses, cleaners or gardeners are often travelling long distances over many hours to visit clients, which chews up budgets or sees providers simply stopping offering services in some towns. In the Murrindindi shire, in the southern part of my electorate, delays have worsened in recent years. Despite the best efforts of home care package providers, there are simply not enough trained and suitable workers to give residents the support at home that they deserve.

I understand that workforce shortages can't be fixed overnight, which is why this government needs to continue doing everything it can to get more workers into the regions. These shortages mean that people feel like they will never get the care they need and will be forced to move into residential aged care sooner than is necessary. That's why, as a regional Independent, I consistently advocate for policies that will encourage more nurses, more support workers and more allied health professionals to move to our regions.

Put simply, we will not fix existing delays with funding alone. We need to address the underlying causes of shortages in regional areas. We need to consider place based solutions that recognise the unique circumstances of regional, rural and remote Australia. We need to invest more in our regional universities and TAFEs so we can train the nurses and personal care workers of the future. This is why I welcomed the announcement of paid placements for students studying for nursing and social work degrees, and it's why I also support regional university study hubs for towns like Alexandra in the Murrindindi shire. A study hub would be a game changer for young Australians wanting to stay, study and work in the region in aged care. We also need to pay workers in this crucial sector a decent wage, which is why I've supported the government's $11 billion commitment to funding wage rises in aged care. Extending funding for initiatives like the Home Care Workforce Support Program will help get more workers into areas where they are needed, and I was glad to see this funding extended in the budget.

Home-care packages are so important for people in my electorate and right across Australia. They preserve people's ability and right to live at home independently, even as some day-to-day tasks get harder. But the system is struggling with workforce shortages and service gaps, particularly in regional areas. More funding alone won't fix that problem. It's an all-of-government approach on this one. The government needs to push forward with its plan to grow the aged-care workforce so that all Australians can age with dignity; it needs to address the fundamental issues that rural and regional Australia faces with housing for workers to live in to come and provide the services that we need in rural and regional Australia; and it needs to continue to address the flexibility that we require with any government program to make sure that it works in rural, regional and remote Australia. So—while, yes, I'm happy to see investment in this budget for home-care packages—I want to see a whole-of-system approach that will address the issues specifically in electorates such as mine.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.