The Federal Government’s formal response to the aged care royal commission, namely its $17.7 billion package, has been described by Catholic Health Australia (CHA) as ‘a landmark moment for older Australians’.
CHA, part of the Australian Aged Care Collaboration (AACC), which represents more than 1000 providers, congratulated the Government on accepting 126 of the royal commission’s 148 recommendations.
“After 20 government reviews in 20 years, this Budget, and the Government’s response to the recommendations, finally addressed many of the challenges facing aged care,” CHA said in a statement.
It said the suite of measures will enable more Australians to be cared for in their home, increase the number of care minutes and provide more training for carers and the incentives for them to stay.
“This is a landmark moment for older Australians,” CHA CEO Pat Garcia said.
“In the last 12 months, aged care has exploded onto the public consciousness because of the COVID pandemic, the findings of the aged care royal commission and the Aged Care Collaboration’s 50,000 petitioners across the country.
“The budget announcement is a welcome recognition of the community’s changing priorities and a legacy defining moment for the Morrison Government.”
Garcia said the aged care sector was ready to work with Government to implement the reforms immediately.
“These are large commitments, and we urge the Government to deliver on the timetable for reform,” he said.
CHA is one of the largest grouping of non-government aged care service providers with 25,000 residential aged care beds and 28,000 home care package consumers.
Its members include Mercy Health, St Vincent’s, Villa Maria Catholic Homes, OzCare, the Southern Cross Care network and Catholic Healthcare.
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