Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services, Senator Fifield. Can the minister update the Senate on the government's consultations with the aged-care sector following the decision to cease the dementia and severe behaviours supplement? Can the minister also advise the Senate why the decision was taken to cease the dementia and severe behaviours supplement?

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

I thank Senator Seselja for his question. At the outset I should make clear that the decision to conclude the severe behaviours supplement is not one that the government took lightly. The supplement was introduced by the previous government in August 2013, but as colleagues on this side know and as so often is the case with their decisions, their policies result in cost blow-outs and their policies are very poorly designed.

Just to evidence this, as colleagues may remember, the supplement was budgeted last financial year at $11.7 million. It in fact came out at $110 million—nearly 10 times that which was budgeted. The previous government estimated that 2,000 people would be eligible for the supplement, but as of March 2014 providers were claiming the supplement for more than 25,000 people. If that claiming pattern were continued, projections by the Department of Social Services show that the supplement, rather than costing $52 million over the forward estimates, as the previous government budgeted, would in fact cost $780 million over the forward estimates, and over a 10-year period it would cost $1.5 billion. Therefore, the fact that the supplement was suspended and concluded is fairly and squarely the responsibility of those opposite because of their design.

Nevertheless, the government is committed to working with the sector to find an alternative way to support people with severe behaviour in residential care. The government has been consulting with the sector and there will be a forum held in coming weeks to bring together relevant stakeholders to consider strategies to improve and promote dementia care in residential settings.

Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate what the coalition government is doing to support people with dementia living in residential aged care?

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

I can inform the Senate that people with dementia living in residential aged care are being well supported. It is important to make clear to colleagues that the severe behaviours supplement was never paid directly to people with dementia. It was paid to residential aged-care providers who applied for funding. The supplement was not intended to be a top-up for general dementia care in aged-care settings, nor was it the prime mechanism for funding the care of people with dementia.

Funding continues to be available for providers, including for needs associated with dementia, through subsidies determined using the Aged Care Funding Instrument. It is a requirement of Commonwealth funding that each resident receive care of a quality nature appropriate to their needs, and we do remain committed to a range of other assistance for people with dementia. Particularly I should note the $200 million that this government is providing for dementia research.

Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister also advise the Senate of any alternative policies that have been proposed for dealing with dementia and severe behaviours?

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

Yes, I can advise the Senate. Obviously, this government is taking a responsible and prudent approach. That is why we ceased the dementia supplement. We are working with the sector to look at what possible well-targeted alternatives there are. There is an alternative approach, and that is what those opposite have announced. If you flick to the ALP website, you can see that they are running a petition for the reinstatement of the previous dementia supplement according to its previous design. Those opposite have not learnt from their mistake, they have not learnt from their design failure, they have not learnt from the budget blow-out for which they are responsible. I wonder what Mr Tony Burke, the Shadow Minister for Finance, thought last time he jumped on the ALP website and he looked there. He would have slapped his forehead and thought, 'What has Senator Polley done? What has Mr Neumann done? What have they committed to?'

Senator Polley interjecting—

Senator Polley, did you get the sign-off of the Shadow Minister for Finance for this announcement? I doubt it.