Expected changes to Aged Care under a Labor Government

What does a Labor Government mean for Aged Care?

The 148 recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care were not a big surprise to those of us working in the aged care sector. We're all well aware that the industry is in desperate need of an overhaul if we have any hope of continuing to provide quality service to older Australians.

Prior to the election, Labor unveiled their budget that pledged $2.5 billion for aged care, and it was a welcome promise to a sector desperately in need of additional funding.

So what other promises did they make, and how are they faring so far?

Promises Made in the ALP’s Election Campaign

As part of its election campaign, the Australian Labor Party offered up a five-point plan to deliver much-needed reform to the aged care sector. They promised:?

• A registered nurse available 24/7 in every aged care facility
• An average of 215 minutes of care a day for every Australian living in an aged care facility
• A pay rise for aged care workers
• Better quality food for aged care residents
• Providers reporting publicly on how they were spending their money

Is the new ALP Government Delivering these Promises?

Labor has been in Government for less than a month, so it's early days.

So far, the Ministers for Aged Care, Mark Butler and Anika Wells, have written to Fair Work Australia to request that they be allowed to make submissions relating to its consideration of an increase to the wages of aged care workers. While this unfortunately means that the case is now not expected to conclude until 2023, they will be asking for a 25% rise, which workers will now doubt welcome.

In the meantime, Fair Work will be raising the award on 1 July 2022. The rise has been welcomed by the industry, though there have been legitimate concerns raised about its funding.

The Funding Landscape

The Government has committed to fully funding the outcome of the Fair Work case, but they haven't yet said whether they will also fund the 1 July rise. The acting head of the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), Paul Sadler, has called on them to do so, saying that the industry can't afford to foot the bill and that it could result in services being cut. Minister Wells has said that she met with ACCPA, but was quiet on whether she had provided any answers to that particular question.

Availability of Registered Nurses

Minister Wells gave an interview to ABC news, during which she committed to having a nurse available in every aged care centre 24/7 by 1 July 2023, in line with the Royal Commission recommendations.

In that same interview, Minister Wells admitted that implementing all of the Royal Commission’s recommendations would be the work of more than one parliamentary term. Certainly it will take more than the one month they've had in Government so far. Let's hope they can convert their campaign promises into long-term, meaningful change.

Further Reading and Sources

For more information on Labor's pre-election policies, you can find their five point plan here.

You can find out more information about the award wage rise in this article.

You can also check the Fair Work website here.

If you'd like to learn more about what ACCPA have said about the wage rise, there is an article on the Aged & Community Services Australia website here.

You can read the full ABC interview with Minister Wells here.

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