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

I want to thank Minister Rae for visiting my electorate in September to meet with community members and discuss the rollout of the new Aged Care Act, which commenced on 1 November 2025. We know, thanks to the royal commission into aged care, that the previous system was failing older Australians. We took that seriously. That is why this new act places the rights and dignities of older people at its centre, with stronger new penalties for providers who fail to uphold them. And we are backing that up with $4.3 billion for support at home programs, supporting 300,000 additional participants over the next decade.

As Australians age, we know that we will need to the workforce to support them. That is why Labor is delivering four pay rises for 400,000 aged-care workers, with some now up to $28,000 a year better off. I want to close by acknowledging two compassionate advocates from my electorate, Elizabeth Barton from the Aged Care Justice and Hannah Spanswick from ANMF. Every time I meet them, I learn more about the system and its challenges. Thank you, Elizabeth, and thank you, Hannah.

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