Ross Hart (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—At the request of Ms Collins, I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) there are almost 300 older Australians who have waited more than two years for their approved home care package, without any care;

(b) a further 636 older Australians have waited more than a year for care and they currently have no care at all and there are thousands more getting less care than they need;

(c) the latest waiting list for home care packages indicates that more than 100,000 older Australians are waiting for the package they have been approved for; and

(d) the latest figures show that the waiting list grew by more than 20,000 between 1 July and December 2017 and it is likely to continue growing without funding for the release of more packages;

(2) recognises the Government's response in its budget of 14,000 home care packages is woefully inadequate;

(3) condemns the Government for the aged care crisis it has made on its watch; and

(4) calls on the Government to immediately invest in fixing the home care package waiting list and properly address this growing crisis.

I rise today to support the motion moved by the member for Franklin, and I join her in condemning the government for the aged-care crisis that it has created on its watch. Older Australians are languishing in limbo, waiting for approved home care packages—packages which should be assessed according to their needs.

The figures are disturbing as to what they reveal. Almost 300 older Australians have waited for more than two years for their approved package. A further 636 older Australians have waited for more than one year for care. More than 100,000 older Australians are waiting for the packages that they have been approved for, even if their needs are greater. The last package of data revealed that almost 105,000 older Australians were waiting for a home care package, with the average wait time for a high-level package blowing out to more than a year. The situation may be worse than this, but the minister's department has delayed releasing important data on the numbers waiting for home care packages.

Each person waiting for a home care package is a person who is not able to receive the support they need or deserve. Not only are thousands left without desperately needed care; they and their families are placed under pressure trying to ensure that their loved ones have acceptable care, whilst simultaneously attempting to navigate a complicated, dysfunctional system. There are other flow-on effects as a result of this crisis. Older Australians who should have otherwise had access to a home care package are instead forced to visit emergency rooms in our public hospitals, having a real impact upon health departments and budgets at a state level. There is also the potential for overburdening residential care with residents that should and could be otherwise managed at home with a home care package under policies which are designed to ensure that people stay longer at home in familiar environments, close to loved ones and with the care that they need.

We've seen in the recent federal budget the government's purported response to the home care crisis. Indeed, whilst heralding a very good budget for health, and for aged care in particular, the Minister for Health and this minister, the Minister for Aged Care, have both misrepresented this government's commitment to solving the aged-care crisis. That commitment is illusory and inadequate. Their commitment of 14,000 home care packages is woefully inadequate in the face of the thousands waiting for approved packages and thousands more on waiting lists. Indeed, this is nothing but a cruel hoax for older Australians—slashing residential care to try and fix the home care crisis whilst making a mess of both residential care and home care packages. This Liberal government is robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it won't even come close to meeting the demand for home care, when the waiting list grew by 20,000 in the last six months of 2017 alone. The situation can and will get worse without further attention.

Australians who need home care assistance will be forced to look at residential care if they are unable to look after themselves in their home environment. But they will find, because of this government's refusal to provide additional real funding, that residential care will be difficult to find. We are faced with the real prospect of an emerging generation of elderly people who want to remain at home, safe in a familiar environment, but are unable to safely enjoy that home environment without a home care package. There are real risks of accidents, including dangerous falls, and a risk that domestic activities that should be possible with a small amount of home care assistance will be more difficult, leading to greater stress and anxiety—stress and anxiety which should be avoided by providing funding for more home care packages.

I indicated earlier that the system is chronically underfunded, complex and dysfunctional. One constituent of mine despairs at the state of the My Aged Care website, saying that it should be a research tool for older Australians, not an advertising platform for providers. In fact, this constituent pointed out to me that, despite the fact that she lives in a seaside village in north-east Tasmania and finally received an aged-care package after an extended wait, the My Aged Care website reports that she has in excess of 80 service providers available to her, people that purportedly may provide home care services to her—more service providers than are available to a potential consumer in Hobart or indeed Canberra. The reality, however, is that there are few providers available to her, despite what the My Aged Care website reports. (Time expired)

See this speech in context