Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset, can I acknowledge that aged care has been an area that has essentially been of a bipartisan nature, and can I also acknowledge the recent public comments by the shadow minister, Mr Neumann, and also his private comments that this is an area where he is willing and would like to work in a cooperative manner. I think that is a good thing.

You will recall that in July last year there were significant changes that came into effect in the aged-care system, legislated by the previous government and implemented by this government. They included new means-testing arrangements so that those who had the capacity to make a contribution could do so. We are also significantly increasing the number of home care packages because people want to have support at home to live there longer, and we also are encouraging greater consumer information through the My Aged Care gateway. This is all designed to make sure that we have a good service system accessible to our ageing population.