Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to talk today to a petition entitled 'Bring back Nurses, Physios And Allied health in aged care homes. Stop taking our jobs'. This petition on Change.org has reached over 20,000 signatures. Support for allied health care is something that I've focused on in my time as the Greens aged-care spokesperson. I recognise that Labor has taken important and significant steps to improve and support the aged-care sector, and we welcome that. However, there is so much more that needs to be done. In the same way that we have done with climate, we have shown the value of having Greens in parliament, pushing the government to go further and faster to deliver what's really needed. A critical area in aged care is support for allied health care. Sadly, we have heard too many stories of people missing out, as funding models have changed and providers have cut jobs, hurting residents. One of the stories shared on the petition read:

My Dad had care from physios when he was in an aged care centre 10 years ago. Every resident should have the benefit of physiotherapy to help with their mobility. I'm certain that Australians expect a high level of care, not limited hours for ENs and others, and we all want the recommendations of the report introduced and adhered to.

The Greens believe that the government should start by providing additional funding for the sector. There has been some additional funding, but more is needed. People who need physios should be able to access physio support. We are still short of the required benchmark that the sector is calling for. We need to see additional funding. We need to see mandated minimum levels of care and reporting about how much physio and other allied health services residents in aged-care homes and in-home care are receiving. We need to see an end to restrictive practices. Overall, we need to see better support for residents through allied health and other methods.