Australian Government's record aged care place allocations

Older Australians and their families continue to benefit from the record allocations of new aged care places by the Australian Government, a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released today shows.

The Federal Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop, said the report, Residential Aged Care in Australia 2003-04, demonstrated the strong increase in the number and ratio of aged care places subsidised by the Australian Government.

"The ageing of our population will mean more older Australians will be seeking aged care services, delivered in residential aged care homes, or in their own home," Ms Bishop said.

"That’s why the Australian Government has made aged care a priority and since 1996 has allocated more than 68,600 new aged care places.

"Last month the Government invited applications for more than 11,000 new aged care places to be allocated this year alone. These places are part of an estimated 26,600 new aged care places to be allocated by the Australian Government over the next three years.

"With these new places the Australian Government will have allocated more than 95,200 new aged care places between coming to office in 1996 and 2007-08. In contrast, the Auditor General found the former Labor Government left a 10,000 aged care place shortage across Australia when it left office."

The new report also highlighted the significant growth during 2003-04 in the number of Community Aged Care Packages and Extended Aged Care at Home packages, which deliver care at home. It notes that "there is continuing strong emphasis on the provision and evaluation of innovative and flexible care to help people stay in their own homes". There are now around 34,000 Australians receiving care at home through these packages, compared with just 4,000 under the former Labor Government.

"The Australian Government recognises the desire of a growing number of older Australians who wish to remain at home as they age," Ms Bishop said.

The Australian Government is helping them to do so by increasing the proportion of community aged care packages allocated each year, and with its significant new investments announced in the 2005 Federal Budget:

• $320 million to make dementia an Australian Government National Health Priority, including 2,000 new dementia-specific Extended Aged Care at Home packages to provide high level at-home care for people living with dementia; and
• $208 million in extra respite funding, to provide temporary accommodation and support for older Australians, enabling their carers to take a break from their caring role, particularly targeting working carers and carers living in rural and regional Australia.

"This funding is helping us to realise our vision for a world class system of aged care that provided high quality, affordable and accessible services to meet the individual needs and choices of older Australians."

Ms Bishop said older Australians continued to experience delays in accessing the new places allocated and funded by the Australian Government because of State/Territory and local government regulations.

"More than 70 per cent of delays to making residential aged care places available to older Australians are due to state and local government planning regulations and land availability," Ms Bishop said.

"I call on all State, Territory and local governments to focus on cut planning red tape and reduce the delays which are stopping older Australians from accessing the residential care places allocated and subsidised by the Australian Government."