Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today on behalf of the seniors on the northern Gold Coast who have done the right thing all their lives but now cannot get the aged-care support that they've been assessed as needing. Labor talks a big game about dignity for older Australians, but, when it comes to delivery, too many seniors are left waiting, left confused and left without help.

Just last week I met with David, a community liaison manager for an aged-care provider based at the northern end of the Gold Coast. David told me that My Aged Care is still giving out codes to people needing help but that there is nobody available to deliver those services. In his words, people get the codes and feel happy that help is on its way, but that hope is short lived because they are then left without real support. He said he spends a fair bit of his time in people's homes, advocating for them and calling My Aged Care to seek reassessment for a Support at Home package, but the process is long and painful.

David raised the case of one woman he met in July 2025 who was approved for a level 4 care package, the highest level of care. Yet, by January 2026, she still had not received the funding and, sadly, is now on end-of-life care. That is not a system that's working as it should. That is a system that's failing vulnerable Australians at the moment they need it the most. He also told me the system is taking nine to 12 months to process applicants, with no guarantee that funding will actually be there at the end. The official data shows that, as at 31 October 2025, estimated wait times for medium-priority approvals were nine to 12 months for level 2 and level 3 packages and six to nine months for level 4, with 107,281 people still waiting at their approved level.

In the same week, I met with Lorraine from Biggera Waters. Lorraine wants to stay in her own home. That is not an unreasonable ask. That's exactly what this aged-care system should do. But, because of the changes that have been made, she cannot access the funds she needs to modify the steps in her home in order to stay there safely. That makes no sense at all. The home modifications should be able to help older Australians stay safe and independent at home. I was also contacted by Wendy of Steiglitz on behalf of her mother, Merle. This family's ordeal has now stretched to over six years, beginning back in 2018. They have faced assessment delays, administrative errors, funding delays and, after funding was finally released, separate equipment application processes.

Unfortunately, these are not the hallmarks of a successful aged-care system, and I would call on the minister to review where this is all going so wrong.