Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion put forward by the member for Corangamite. Our older Australians worked hard their entire lives to ensure the generations that succeeded them benefited from their contribution to their communities and our nation. We have a duty to look after and care for them in their later years.

I am proud to support a government that began delivering on its election commitment to bring back security, dignity, quality and humanity into aged care the day after the 47th Parliament was sworn in. A decade of negligence towards our older Australians by the former coalition government led to the crisis in aged care. It resulted in a royal commission that should not have been needed, for a sector that should not have been left to decay, for people who should not have been neglected. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety showed us that we had to do better, and the Albanese Labor government's monumental legislation focused on delivering this promise.

I would particularly like to draw attention to the Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022, which will implement several urgent aged-care reforms that complement the government's response to the aged-care royal commission. From July next year, the bill will lift care and quality standards by introducing a new responsibility for approved providers to ensure that a registered nurse is present on duty at each residential facility every single minute. This will reduce the numerous stressful, expensive and unnecessary emergency room trips and ensure that our older Australians living in residential care facilities have access to the nursing they deserve. A constituent mechanism will provide the framework for tightly targeted and time based exemptions only applicable in certain circumstances, such as smaller facilities in regional and remote areas. It will recognise the difficulties faced in rural and remote areas while ensuring providers do not utilise the framework to bypass the delivery of quality aged care. The government has established several programs to attract staff and support the retention needed to meet this new responsibility. This includes scholarships, support for clinical placements and new nurses, and nurse retention payments of up to $6,000 annually.

The bill will also put into effect the government's assurance to cap the amount chargeable as administration and management fees to those receiving home-care packages. This reform will enable the government to maximise the funding available to over 210,000 Australians receiving home care, with up to 50 per cent going towards administration and management.

Many of my family members work in aged care, and I grew up hearing stories about how little recognition they receive despite the incredibly challenging nature of their work. Their crucial importance to the health of every Australian was laid bare during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Albanese Labor government has prioritised the lives and livelihoods of working people since the beginning of its term, and it is not different with those in the aged care sector. Early this month, the government advocated a real pay rise for aged-care workers to the Fair Work Commission and committed to bearing the total costs of the increase. This is because the current government believe that everyone must receive the recognition and support they need and deserve.

It is essential to remember that the government's reforms are only the beginning of its work to solve the aged-care crisis. Significant consultation with a range of stakeholders is underway to inform robust and evidence based policymaking that will be enshrined in delegated legislation. This will be supplemented by new transparency and accountability measures in the bill, which will help older Australians, their families and policymakers make informed decisions about providing care. With this bill, the Albanese Labor government is taking the right steps in ensuring we leave no stone unturned and no person behind.

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