Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question. He is a tireless advocate for aged-care residents—like Margaret at Cabanda Care in Rosewood, where we visited together just last week.

The Albanese government wants all Australian workers, including aged-care workers, to earn more and keep more of what they earn, because we know that strong, sustainable wage growth is part of the solution to cost-of-living challenges, not part of the problem. That is why we have backed aged-care workers in their fight for better wages at the Fair Work Commission. We delivered a 15 per cent increase to award wage minimums for 250,000 workers. That's an $11.3 billion investment in the people who dedicate their working lives to caring for older Australians.

Under the Albanese government, registered nurses are now taking home an additional $196 a week, or $10,000 a year. Personal care workers are now earning an additional $141 a week, or an extra $7,300 a year. That bump in their weekly pay packet is changing the lives of workers, which in turn changes the lives of the people they care for. Paula, a registered nurse in aged care, told me this weekend: 'Thank you for not only improving our wages but for improving the quality of care and the time that we get to spend with our elderly. They appreciate that too.'

And Paula is right. Our investment in aged-care workers is paying dividends for the people they care for. Under the Albanese government, older people are receiving an additional 2.16 million minutes of care per day. There has been a reduction in the number of pressure injuries, a reduction in the number of physical restraints, a reduction in significant unplanned weight loss, a reduction in falls, a reduction in polypharmacy and a reduction in the use of antipsychotics in aged care. We are also seeing improvements in the star ratings data, with fewer one- and two-star rated facilities and more four- and five-star rated facilities.

But we do not just want workers to earn more; we want them to keep more of what they earn. From 1 July, every single taxpayer, including aged-care workers, will receive a tax cut. So not only can a registered nurse like Paula take $10,000 more; under the Albanese government she will now get a tax cut of $1,679 from 1 July under Labor's tax cuts. That is almost double what Paula would have gotten from the coalition.