Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes the failure of the Government to deliver adequate aged care beds, with only 802 new residential aged care beds despite an annual need for more than 10,000 new beds;

(2) condemns the Government for forcing older Australians to remain in hospital beds with no medical need, leaving them 'effectively homeless' due to a severe shortage of aged care placements, at the expense of other patients needing urgent care;

(3) acknowledges the serious warnings from state health ministers, including from New South Wales and South Australian ministers, that this failure is blocking hospital beds, contributing to bed block in emergency departments, cancelled surgeries, and gridlock across public hospital systems; and

(4) further notes that the Government claims to be investing in aged care but the current approach is clearly failing older Australians, hospital staff and patients, and demonstrates yet another example of the Government announcing big promises without delivering the necessary outcomes.

The Albanese government's lack of investment in residential aged care has been laid bare. Residential aged care supply increased by just 578 beds in 2024-25, less than one-tenth of the 10,600 additional places needed per year to meet demand as projected by the department. The Boxwell & Co analysis confirms that Australia's aged-care supply crisis has reached a critical tipping point, with occupancy levels hitting 94.4 per cent and full capacity projected within three years. Three states—New South Wales, WA and Tasmania—have had no growth at all; in fact, they went backwards. They have had a net decrease in aged-care beds thanks to Labor.

Already, the failure of the Albanese government to open new beds is leaving elderly people stranded in hospitals when they should be recuperating and staying in an aged-care bed. The state and territory leaders held an emergency meeting last week on aged-care beds and hospitals. The Queensland and Tasmanian premiers specifically issued statements calling on the federal government to rescue older Australians left occupying hospital beds instead of being in aged care. The Queensland health minister, Tim Nicholls, said some patients were waiting 250 to 280 days in hospital with one patient staying in hospital for more than 400 days. Elderly South Australians experience the longest wait times nationally, 253 days, for a Commonwealth aged-care bed, leading to equally high rates of hospital bed use. In Western Australia, a shortage of aged-care beds is leaving about 300 older patients stranded in WA hospitals daily, occupying beds necessary for acute care. In Victoria, there are 246 older patients stuck in state hospitals. New South Wales health minister Ryan Park said, 'The number of patients waiting for placements has surged by over 60 per cent in the past year leading to mounting human and system costs and an immediate reduction in available acute beds.'

Urgent action is needed to protect older Australians who are being failed by Labor's incompetence. Only five per cent of the required new aged-care beds were provided last financial year, leaving 238,000 older Australians waiting for home-care support. We shouldn't have elderly Australians languishing in hospital beds with nowhere to go. The Prime Minister promised to put the care into aged care, but instead we have a crisis that is crippling our hospital systems, failing some of the most vulnerable people in our community and forcing the states and territories to deal with the fallout. Elderly Australians across our cities and regions deserve much better than this. Elderly Australians, particularly in regional areas, have been let down with delays to home-care packages. Thanks to coalition pressure, some of those aged-care packages—not all, but at least some of them—were released earlier. It took a lot of advocacy on our part to make that happen.

Our elderly Australians deserve to age in the communities that they built. They deserve dignity. They deserve comfort, like the elderly residents at the aged-care facility called Ottrey Homes in Cobram, on the Murray River in my electorate, which I visited last week. Those elderly Australians built that community of Cobram. They built the shops, the orchards and the dairy companies. They taught at the schools. They worked in the local businesses. As they age, they have the right to age in place and to take deserved advantage of the community and the society that they have helped to create. We've got to make sure that, as a country, we look after these elderly Australians. All of the statistics and all of the facts that I've just outlined indicate that they are not being looked after. The Albanese government has got to stop with the rhetoric, get on with some action and make sure more aged-care beds are made available for elderly Australians so that they're not languishing in hospitals when they should be in aged-care facilities.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for the opportunity to talk about some of the difficulties facing the aged-care system. I don't think it's any surprise that there are challenges out there. After decades of neglect from those opposite, the LNP, we are working hard to rebuild a system that fell apart. I am not the one who came up with the word 'neglect'. The royal commission told us that the system was broken, neglected by the LNP, and Australians agreed. Neglect—let that word hang in the air. The greatest honour that we have is to take care of our old people. When the word 'neglect' is used, thrown around by nothing less than a royal commission, then those who are responsible should hang their heads in shame. It is a disgrace, a national disgrace. Our old people built this country. They provide the culture. They provided opportunity for all of us. Neglect!

Do you know how many residential aged-care centres there are north of Cairns? One—the Star of the Sea, on Thursday Island. That's it. It is 2½ days of driving from Cairns to Bamaga. From there you hop on a boat and go to Horn Island, where you hop on another boat to get to Thursday Island. There are a lot of people between Cairns and the Torres Strait who deserve aged care, have deserved aged care and have never received it. In areas where culture breathes and lives, it is important to elders and their community that they live their ageing days on country and that they die on country. Neglect has robbed that from those communities.

There is a massive amount of work to be done. It is something that we are tackling—83,000 aged-care packages into people's homes to keep them longer where they grew up. Everybody knows there has been a problem, but only one side seems interested in fixing it. If those opposite had been interested in fixing it, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. I wouldn't be advocating for residential aged care right across the Cape. We wouldn't have to bring the elders down to the Pinangba Hollingsworth elders centre, where there are wings for each individual community. People could stay close to home, where the Songlines are, where the Dreaming is.

But it's not just Indigenous communities. It's Cooktown. It's Weipa, Mossman, Mareeba—large towns of up to 10,000 or 15,000 people. The old people built these towns. I was sitting at the funeral of an elder in the Torres Strait whose family was telling me how he'd built the school, cut down the trees and then worked his way down the Cape. These are the people we owe everything to—everything—and for 10 years they were left to languish. Now, as a political pointscoring job, we're taking a swing, when work is being done right now to improve the situation and the lives of our elder Australians.

We care and acknowledge what our older Australians have given to us. One day I will have the privilege of looking after my parents. I've got to convince them to move from Victoria to Cairns, but they'll get there—the weather will probably help! That is an honour that I don't shirk, it is an honour that we in this place do not shirk, and it is an honour that we on this side do not shirk. When aged care continues to be rolled out, our programs matter. The word 'neglect' will never, ever be able to be used in conjunction with the way a Labor government treats our elders.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've heard a lot from the Albanese Labor government, whenever there is an issue, that they blame the previous coalition government. Well, the Albanese government has been in power for over 3½ years. When will this government take responsibility for its failures?

The sound that echoes along the busy hallways of our regional hospitals and through stricken aged-care facilities in my electorate is the sound of a ticking time bomb. This government is sitting on an aged-care crisis that is, quite frankly, about to explode—and I don't think Labor even realise it. This bomb sits right in the middle of our aged-care system. On 1 November, when Labor's new Aged Care Act came into effect, they supercharged the problem. There was no proper education campaign. No-one explained what these changes meant. There were just confused elderly Australians opening letters, wondering why they were suddenly paying more than before. We promised older Australians they would be no worse off. That was the guarantee. But that guarantee is gone, and right now the clock is ticking.

Between now and July next year is open season for providers to crank up their costs. In my electorate, this is no exaggeration. The offices in Kadina, Port Pirie and Whyalla are inundated by calls from people with questions about aged care. In fact, we've had to dedicate staff to handle the influx of emails and calls from people in need. It truly is a desperate situation. For every second that Labor waits to act, a pensioner in regional South Australia loses a little more dignity. This is the reality of the aged-care time bomb. It is going to cost lives.

This government loves a one-size-fits-all plan, but a plan made for the city does not work for the bush. My electorate is bigger than the whole of New South Wales. Older constituents must drive or be driven hundreds of kilometres for the most basic care. City solutions do not work in Grey. Imagine finding out that the extra money you spent on fuel must now stretch even further because your provider increased prices. It is truly heartbreaking. This bomb is ticking in hospitals as well. Labor has failed to deliver beds—only 802 new residential aged-care beds, when the system needed 10,000 new beds every year just to keep pace. That is a total and abject failure. Because there are no beds, our elderly are trapped in hospitals when they've no medical need to be there. They are effectively homeless within the health system.

I'd now like to share, not for the first time in this parliament, a harrowing story of a constituent in Grey who has been totally let down by Labor and this aged-care crisis. This is a confronting tale. This story comes from Virginia in Kadina, whose partner, James, was diagnosed with dementia last year and has been stuck in Wallaroo hospital since January—since January! He cannot return home. His condition has become violent and he is a flight risk. Police have had to retrieve him from the main street four times. James was bounced between Maitland, the Lyell McEwen and respite care, only to be returned to a hospital bed because there are no secure memory support units available on the Yorke Peninsula. The system is failing them. Virginia has been pressured by hospital staff to provide daily care because they are too thinly stretched. She was even terrified by a recent discharge request, fearing he would be sent home where neither of them would be safe. Her only hope is to wait for a bed in Gawler, which would force her to uproot her entire life. James is being forgotten, and Virginia is being left behind.

This government must stop neglecting older Australians. The problem is absolutely real. Time is running out, and the pressure is critical. If the government do not act, if they do not cap these prices, if they do not deliver the beds and if they do not clear the waitlist backlog, this crisis will explode. The consequences for Labor won't just be political; they will have lives on their hands. Stop the clock, fix the mess, and give our elderly the dignity they deserve before it is too late.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Gilmore has an ageing population. In fact, compared to other electorates, Gilmore has one of the highest numbers of age pensioners, so I am acutely aware of the many issues facing our older residents.

Almost daily, my office receives emails and calls from older constituents or their family members, seeking support for their aged-care needs, whether that's arranging lawnmowing, meals, help around their home or access to health services, or assisting with the transition to residential care. I know that for too long older residents in Gilmore and right around Australia have been left waiting for the care they deserve.

Under the previous government the system wasn't fit for purpose, and that's exactly why we're rebuilding our aged-care system from the ground up. We want to ensure older people in our communities get the care they need, when and where they need it. Every Australian deserves dignity, respect and quality care as they age.

Saturday 1 November was a historic day for aged-care reform in this country with the start of the new Aged Care Act. I'm so proud to be part of a Labor government that is turning things around. With our overhauled Aged Care Act now in place and the new Support at Home program providing a higher level of care for people in their homes, this is great news for our most vulnerable citizens. A higher level of care available at home means that more older Australians will be able to get the support they need without going into a clinical setting. Importantly, it means they'll be able to stay at home as they recover, without bouncing back into hospital.

While the Commonwealth has responsibility for the aged care system, we're working closely with the states and territories, who manage our hospitals, because we know too many older people are spending far too long in hospital when they should be in a more appropriate care environment. This has been an ongoing issue in our aged-care system, and the pressures are being felt particularly in regional areas like Gilmore, where hospital beds are sometimes the only care options for our elderly. We know that every day an older Australian spends in hospital, when they should be in a more appropriate care environment, puts pressure on their wellbeing and, of course, on our hospital system. We don't want people stuck in hospital beds when they could be receiving the care they need in the comfort of their own homes, surrounded by loved ones, or in dedicated short-term or permanent aged care.

The royal commission told us Australia's aged care system was unacceptable and unsustainable, broken and neglected by those opposite for nine years. After almost a decade of inaction, the Albanese Labor government has taken major steps to bring about real change that will change lives now and for generations to come. We are delivering safer, fairer and more transparent care for older Australians that puts their rights and their quality of life at its heart. Our additional Support at Home places mean our older residents—our parents, grandparents, family members and neighbours—can get back to the people and places they call home. It means they can stay independent for as long as possible. Our new Aged Care Act is a major step forward that ensures people can stay connected to their families and friends, remain involved in their communities and enjoy enriched lives in their twilight years.

In my electorate I love visiting the many seniors groups that are buzzing with life and that keep our older residents engaged, entertained and connected. As local people age, social support and connection become even more important, especially in regional multicultural communities that can be more heavily impacted by social isolation. I'm pleased to continue supporting seniors groups like those run by the Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra, which received a $332,000 funding boost under the Commonwealth Home Support Program. Participants enjoy activities, games, dancing and singing, community outings and a home cooked meal for lunch. Importantly, this group has become a trusted entry point for people who might help with home-care packages and other aged-care services.

We need to celebrate and respect our vibrant seniors and ensure their needs are met as they transition from supported living at home to aged care. There's more to do, but we're building a new aged-care system that will stand up to the challenges our nation will face as our population ages.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have had the great privilege of representing my community for nearly a decade in this place, and in that time I have seen changes to aged care. I was here before the royal commission. I was here during the royal commission. Of course, I am fortunately still here representing my community now post-royal commission, post this new act, and I can stand here and say that aged care in Australia is worse today for older Australians than what it was five years ago and what it was eight to 10 years ago along every single area where older Australians touch into the system. If we're looking at CHSP, Commonwealth Home Support Program, no new funding's been put in that, and you can't get CHSP—you just can't get it. Places have closed their books. Forget it. The government will give you a code and say, 'Ring up. Ring these places,' and people in my community ring up and tell me, 'They're not even taking my name.' That's the CHSP. That's the low-level support.

Then we look at the new program with respect to home care, and we see that if you are a part pensioner or if you are a self-funded retiree under Support at Home, you're paying anywhere between 50 and 80 per cent of the cost for simple basic help around the home. It's 50 per cent co-charged for a shower if you're a self-funded retiree. It's up to 80 per cent for help with meals and shopping. That's the new system. Then there are the people that are paying those costs if they're not grandfathered. There are 116,000 people who are waiting for an assessment nationally. It has never been so bad. There are 120,000 people who have been assessed who are waiting for a package, and that is why we have so many people in our hospital beds. We have so many older Australians who are desperate for home help, haven't received that home help, then injure themselves, have an infection and end up in our hospital systems. In South Australia, 245 patients, as of 18 November, were in our South Australian metropolitan hospitals while they were waiting for a residential aged-care place.

Let's talk about residential aged-care places. The government in 2024-25 funded a net 578 additional operational residential aged-care places across the nation. Yet there were more than 10,000 places, according to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, needed per year. So we have all these people stuck in the hospital system because they can't get support at home. There is no support at home for them, and they can't get a residential aged-care place either. And so they are paying, in many cases, a very high bed fee per day and they are in there, in many cases, for months and months on end. And they don't want to be there.

Across our nation, we have more than 3,700 patients in that very experience, who are probably going to be spending Christmas in a hospital bed instead of being properly supported at home or, indeed, in a residential bed in an aged-care facility. I talk with older people in my community, particularly those who are trying desperately to support their partners with dementia. They need to get them into residential aged care, but they can't, because there are no places, because the government hasn't funded the places. In fact, if you look back at the last couple of budgets, you will see that they've cut funding for residential aged care. And so we have a system right now where we have state Labor ministers getting up and complaining to the federal government about this situation. They've been left with older Australians in hospital care when really they should have been properly cared for at home or they should have been properly cared for in residential care. So, while people can have all the talking points in the world in this place, I can tell you it's worse today than it was nearly a decade ago. That is the fact. That is the reality for older Australians. So, when you say you're going to put the care back into aged care, do it. Don't just say you're going to do it; actually do it, because you're not doing it right now.

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a blessing to get old, to age, to have lots of birthdays, to be surrounded by children and grandchildren, like Norma Boyce, who lives at the Estia aged-care facility in Myrtle Bank in my electorate of Sturt and who I recently visited to celebrate her 100th birthday—or like Elodie, who lives at the aged-care facility in Rostrevor, who I was also lucky enough to see on her 101st birthday. You might even be as lucky as my nanna, who made it to the grand age of 90 and who, when she passed, was surrounded by not only her six children and 14 grandchildren but also 10 great-grandchildren. Not everyone gets that opportunity, so to get old is a blessing, and elderly Australians still have a contribution to make as they age. They still have value.

Norma and Elodie are still sharp. My nanna had very strong opinions on the performance of the Adelaide Crows, on politics, on her community. More candles on the birthday cake does not mean fewer opinions, contributions or views or less value. In Australia, being old should not mean being forgotten or overlooked or provided with anything less than exceptional care. Being an older member of the community should not mean you don't have a choice in how you live your life, where you live your life or what support you need to continue to live your life to its fullest. Every day that an older Australian spends in hospital when they should be discharged home or in another, more appropriate care environment is not okay. Every day that an older Australian waits for the service they need to enable them to continue to live their lives the way they want to is not okay. A higher level of care available at home means that more older Australians will be able to get the support they need without going into a clinical setting. Importantly, they'll be able to stay at home as they recover from the health challenges that they face without having to return to hospital. Now, all of these reforms do not happen in one weekend. A major milestone was 1 November 2025, but there is much more to do in order to ensure that every older Australian can live their life with dignity and respect while receiving quality, targeted care. The Albanese Labor government will continue that work to ensure that that goal is achieved.

There are also other groups who are involved in the rebuild of the aged-care system, and I would like to pay tribute to them. The government may set the reform agenda, but those on the ground execute it—primarily the dedicated, compassionate staff who work in aged care, like Megan McNaughton at Bupa Campbelltown, in my electorate of Sturt, whose patience, good humour and empathy are on display every single day. Every day Megan and her team, some of whom have been working in aged care for over 20 years, provide patient, dedicated and empathetic care to residents and their families in often challenging, complex and sometimes sad circumstances. Megan, thank you. Please keep doing what you're doing. You and your team are so valued, by me and by this government, for what you do for others.

The other cohort I would like to acknowledge and thank are those who work tirelessly to ensure that the legalities, policies and guidelines associated with the government's reform agenda are digested, simplified and then conveyed to relevant stakeholders and users. To the legal professionals and advisers—including one of my constituents, Rebecca—I also say thank you. Thank you for your tireless work in going through guidelines, regulations, legislation and policies to try and help your clients—the aged-care providers and the users of aged-care services—understand how the system works and how they can best navigate it. I know that this has not always been easy for you, and that sometimes it has been overwhelming, so I thank you for your contribution to working with the government to reform the aged-care sector so we can all work together to ensure that older Australians receive the dignified care they deserve, where they want to receive it.

David Batt (Hinkler, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Nicholls, noting the government's failure to deliver adequate aged-care beds, with an annual shortfall of more than 9,000 beds.

I serve the community with the second-highest number of people aged over 65 in Australia. I also represent the community with the highest number of people living with long-term health conditions. In my electorate of Hinkler, the aged-care crisis is real. Resort-style living for over 50s is booming, and this simply emphasises the desperate need for real action now to address a critical shortfall of aged-care beds. The demand for beds is dangerously high, and it is rising. Aged-care facilities that have applied for extra beds are being knocked back. Dementia patients are taking up public hospital beds while waiting for permanent aged-care spaces. Hinkler is losing our elderly, who are being forced to relocate out of their hometowns, away from family, away from friends and away from their community, because they can't find a local aged-care bed.

The Queensland health minister, Tim Nicholls, announced only last week that people waiting in public hospitals for more appropriate care are costing Queensland $2.5 million every day. That's money that's not being diverted into emergency departments or other surgeries. Petronella Davis is in Bundaberg Base Hospital waiting for an aged-care bed. Her husband, George, thought retirement would be the best time of his life—as it should be—but 80-year-old George spends every single day travelling 100 kilometres to sit by his wife's side in hospital. Petronella is not in need of a hospital bed. At 79 years old, Petronella has rapidly progressive dementia and is no longer able to be cared for in her home. Mrs Davis is a stranded patient, one of around a thousand people in Queensland taking up a public hospital bed while waiting for a more permanent care solution.

Forest View Care, in the country town of Childers, has 30 beds. Childers is in the heart of my electorate of Hinkler and is Petronella and George's hometown. In October, I wrote a letter of support for Forest View as it appealed the department's decision to refuse funding for new beds. Forest View General Manager Andrew Ainscough had unsuccessfully applied to the government four times for an additional 44 beds. Andrew says it's never been harder to find care for patients, and he is searching for answers to why they continue to be knocked back when the need is so great.

In Childers, Andrew says there are currently 472 people on their waitlist alone. Andrew, who has almost 30 years of experience in nursing, tells me that this is the hardest it's been to find adequate care for our community. He is over it. He is angry. He's desperate. This is dire. Put the money into beds. We must reward the services who are trying to make lives better and enable them to help more.

Hinkler is home to a high percentage of people in the prime of their life and moving into their golden years. So the demand for medical services is being stretched, and we are struggling to find enough support. Aged-care facilities are full. Wait times are up to three years. I support the concept of allowing people to stay at home longer, but with that you need affordable and reliable support mechanisms. This is clearly not happening, and the current system isn't working. The government must change and adapt. Locals and pioneers of my region are the reasons we live in a great place, and they shouldn't be told to move away just because we can't find them a bed.

This government is forcing older Australians to remain in hospital beds when they have no medical need to be there, leaving them effectively homeless due to a severe shortage of aged-care placements. This is at the expense of other patients needing urgent care. The warnings from state health ministers couldn't be clearer. These Labor government failures are blocking hospital beds, contributing to bed block in emergency departments, cancelled surgeries and gridlock across public hospital systems.

While the government claims to be investing, the current approach is clearly failing older Australians, hospital staff and patients and demonstrates yet another example of the government announcing big promises without delivering. The federal government is failing stranded Australians. The current model for aged care is not working.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You may be a little taken aback by a paediatrician talking about aged care, but it is something that has been very close to my heart for a long period of time—in fact, long before politics. My mother-in-law was the matron of our local nursing home, the Campbelltown nursing home of Kilbride, for many, many years—over 20 years, in fact. My children grew up being taken to the nursing home to be cared for by their grandmother until we could pick them up after our work et cetera, so I've had a long involvement with aged care. Of course, upon entering politics, I've had involvement with all my local aged-care providers, all of whom I'm pretty impressed with. I'm very grateful for the efforts of the staff in local nursing homes around our area, of which there are many.

One of the surest facts of life, of course, is that we all age. We live in an ageing country, and aged-care needs have increased over the last couple of decades. To develop proper aged-care policy takes time and takes really hard work. I was part of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport when we started an investigation into aged care in 2016, when I was first elected. This ultimately led to the royal commission. What we found was disgraceful; it was dreadful. There'd been years and years of neglect under coalition governments. We saw dreadful care—in fact, no care in many areas.

That's why, as a party in opposition, we worked hard on developing aged-care policy. Our new Aged Care Act, which came into effect on 1 November, marked a really significant turning point for aged care in Australia. This, alongside our new $4.3 billion Support at Home program, will provide a high level of care for people in their homes and shows how we know what people need from in-home aged care and that we care about people in aged care.

Whether it's the aged-care residents themselves or their families or the staff and carers who provide these services, everyone requires our government to commit to improving outcomes for all those involved. I've met with hundreds of constituents who are either aged-care residents themselves or have family involved in this important sector. One thing has been certain: people want and need change.

For too long, older Australians were left waiting for the care they deserve. They were waiting for assessments. They were waiting to get people to provide support for them in their homes. And then later they were waiting for aged-care positions. The royal commission told us that the system was broken and neglected by those opposite, and Australians all agreed.

According to the royal commission, in exposing the failures of those opposite, the system they left behind was unacceptable and unsustainable. They had nine years to fix it and they didn't. That's why the Albanese Labor government has acted. Instead of applying patchwork policies here and there, like the coalition opted to do for so many years, we're instead reforming it from the ground up. This takes time. It means stronger accountability, legally enshrined rights for older Australians, mandatory care minutes and major investments in workforce and infrastructure.

In our 2024-25 budget, we allocated $111 million to strengthening the regulatory capacity of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. We are also well underway in allocating an additional 83,000 supported home places this financial year to help with wait times and get older Australians back to the people and places they love. I know that there is a problem with people waiting in our acute hospital beds for aged-care placements. There are some also waiting for NDIS placements, that is true, but we as a government are working on policies that will gradually, over time, reduce those numbers waiting for beds, reduce those numbers waiting for support and provide high quality care that older Australians need.

We're working closely with state governments around the country to address the unique issues they face in their health systems when it comes to aged care. Our government is working to reduce the risk that aged-care providers will only profit from federal funding, by attributing increased funding to stronger standards and protections. We are doing what it takes to make our aged care system sustainable for the long-term, for the future. I want our aged residents to get the best care possible, and I am very proud to be part of a government that is providing the best care we can for older Australians.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.