Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Inspector-General of Aged Care Bill 2023 and the Inspector-General of Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023. The care and treatment of our nation's seniors has to be one of the most vitally important priorities of our country. One of the most common queries I receive from constituents in my electorate is on aged care. Moving a family member or loved one into aged care is a decision people across our nation are faced with daily, and it is not an easy one. Within the sector, staffing is tight. Wages have been an issue; they've been too low. Aged-care facilities are operating at a loss. With a stream of reforms on the way, active engagement with the sector and the appointment of an inspector-general of aged care is a good move. It's the right move.

The purpose of the Inspector-General of Aged Care Bill 2023 is to establish an independent inspector-general of aged care to monitor, investigate and report on the Commonwealth's administration of the aged-care system, to provide oversight of the Commonwealth's aged-care complaints and management processes and provide a framework for the inspector-general to publicly report to the minister and parliament on the administration of the aged-care system. Ultimately, the bill intends to facilitate a positive change for older Australians and the sector generally, which is something I'm very supportive of.

We know what an incredibly challenging industry and sector it is at the moment, and just how important it is to get this right. It is my hope that the inspector-general can be a key factor in getting that crucial reform right. The primary purpose of the inspector-general is to monitor, investigate and publicly report on systemic issues arising from the range of bodies within the aged-care sector. While the inspector-general does not have the power to impose corrective orders, it will have the ability to make recommendations for policy and sector improvements to enhance the lives of those living and working in aged care.

Our aged-care facilities, particularly our regional aged-care facilities, need all the support they can get. I was interested to hear the comments of the member for North Sydney, and I was reflecting on the commonalities of issues affecting both city aged care and regional aged care. Recently I met with representatives from Three Tree Lodge, an aged-care facility in Lithgow in our electorate. It's fair to say that they were exasperated. They told me, in no uncertain terms, that the aged-care sector is in crisis. Their facility is almost operating at a loss, and many other facilities already are. Three Tree Lodge raised the government's first Quarterly financial snapshot of the aged care sector with me. This report showed that 66 per cent of aged-care homes were operating at a loss for the period of July to September 2022. The report outlined that the net loss before tax per resident per day is $27.90. In addition, 70 per cent of aged-care facilities in rural and remote regions operated at a loss from July to September 2022. Three Tree Lodge attributes these losses to inadequate funding and indexation, workforce pressures and service challenges that mean having to pay higher agency fees, higher travel costs and higher maintenance due to distance and contractors' availability. And, as we've heard in this House previously, there is also the workforce shortage, which continues to cause major difficulties for the sector.

We all know how incredibly important a pay rise is for aged-care workers. I would consider it essential. The drain on aged-care workers during COVID and the resulting rapid change in the sector has been immense, and we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all of our frontline workers who did so well during the pandemic. We wouldn't have been able to get through it without them. I often visit our aged-care facilities and I'm always impressed by the caring, compassionate and kind way staff members approach their work. They are truly unsung community heroes. They deserve their 15 per cent wage increase. They are most definitely worth it, as cost-of-living rises have made it all the more essential. While I note the government has agreed to fund an additional 10 per cent from 1 July 2023, and a further five per cent in 2024, there has been no indication if on-costs will be funded within this—not to mention rapidly rising inflation, meaning that, as it stands, aged-care providers are left with increasing costs from all angles and with limited government support. So I urge the government to step in and fund the full 15 per cent from 1 July.

The need for a collaborate approach for reform within the aged-care sector, specifically in relation to time frames for change, has been made clear to me by Three Tree Lodge. During this period of reform, it's critical that the impact on providers in terms of cost, financially and to individuals within the sector, is adequately managed. The pressure on smaller, community based providers in regional, remote and rural Australia to manage reform at the current pace is seeing these providers question their viability. That's what Three Tree Lodge is doing at the moment. They love what they do, but they're questioning whether they can continue.

The move of an older person into an aged care facility can already be very daunting, and when regional aged-care facilities close the results can be devastating for older Australians and the communities they come from. It's exacerbated by that tyranny of distance that we experience in our regional communities. When our regional aged-care facilities close, residents are forced to move. Sometimes they must move long distances from their homes, away from their support networks and away from the communities they have known and loved. They are taken away from their loved ones, and health outcomes for them can be adversely affected. Because of that tyranny of distance, visiting residents in faraway aged-care facilities is made all the more difficult, particularly for older Australians who may not have the capacity to drive those longer distances. The isolation builds when our regional aged-care facilities close. Local jobs are lost, as are generations of work by the local community groups who built them. Facilities like Maranatha House in Wellington have been built by the community for their community members so that they wouldn't have to leave Wellington to find great aged care.

Regional aged care and, indeed, all aged care must be protected. I ask the government to recognise the vital role it plays around regional Australia and to recognise the importance of our community-run facilities and how difficult they are all finding it at present. I would encourage the government to continue to engage with our aged-care providers, particularly our regional ones, and recognise the many challenges that facilities, like Three Tree Lodge in Lithgow and Maranatha House in Wellington, are facing every single day. Their vital work must continue, and we must give them all of the support that we can. I commend the bill to the House.

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