Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Senators who followed the community affairs committee through estimates will know that I advised the budget estimates committee that there were significant issues with the dementia and severe behaviours supplement. I have also ensured that the aged-care committee, which is an advisory group to government, was advised that there were significant issues.

I might just refresh the memory of colleagues who may not remember from last Thursday—although, I am sure you were hanging on every word and do—that the previous government introduced in August last year the dementia and severe behaviours supplement. They allocated $11.7 million for the last financial year. That actually came in at $110 million. In fact, over the forward estimates, on a no-policy-change basis according to the design of the former government, there would have been not an expenditure of the $52 million that the made budget provision for; in fact, it would have been $780 million. Over a 10-year period, it would have been $1.5 billion. It would not be responsible for the government to do nothing in the face of that. The only responsible thing to do was to conclude that particular supplement.

I must make clear that those opposite, who have been skulking around aged-care facilities and unnecessarily causing concern and distress to residents, are leaving the impression that the dementia and severe behaviours supplement was, in fact, the base and core funding for people with dementia. It is not. In our aged-care system, about half the people who are in residential care have dementia. This was not the core funding for them. This was funding which was intended for people who had severe behaviours related to dementia.