Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Hansard source

It's not an issue that has been raised with me as a concern. I note that the opposition were also raising concerns about the continued rollout of home-care packages, and the rollout we've committed to has continued despite the COVID-19 circumstance; in fact, it's ahead of schedule at this point in time. We also acknowledge and recognise the need for growth in home-care packages, which is why we've invested so heavily in that space over the last 18 months. But that particular issue hasn't been raised with me. I will seek some advice around the average time taken to take up a package, which will probably give me an indicator of that. I note that, in some of the previous reports that I've received, the time to take up a residential home-care place has extended and that I think goes not to the availability of residential places but to the time people are using to make a decision. I'll see if I can get some information for you and come back to you with respect to the time taken to take up a home-care package.