Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care and Seniors) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. As I said, it is always saddening to hear of any older Australian who dies either in care or waiting for care. It's the best reason for why our current reforms are so very important. This is about ensuring that older people all across our community can get the care that they need, whether it be in home care, as will be delivered through our Support at Home program, or through residential care under our improved quality and standards framework. I remind the parliament again that this decision was made on the basis of very comprehensive advice that came from the sector, from older people and from those that care for them.

Perhaps, again, it would be helpful if I reminded the parliament of some of the reflections that were made at the time that this decision was made. This is from Silverchain, one of the very large home-care providers, from their media release:

As the third largest Home Care Package provider in Australia, Silverchain welcomes the Federal Government's decision to delay the implementation of the new Aged Care Act and the Support at Home program until 1 November 2025.

The chief executive went on to say:

This is an incredibly ambitious program of reform, and courageous leadership is needed to deliver care differently. We welcome today's—

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