Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

The government has not made a decision to privatise aged-care assessments. It's disappointing that claims to that effect are misleading the community and the parliament. The government made a commitment in the 2018-19 budget to streamline the assessment process of aged care in line with the 2017 Tune review recommendation that the government integrate regional assessment services with aged-care assessment teams. The royal commission, in the interim report, stated:

The Government has announced that it will implement this recommendation and will integrate the two assessment workforces from 2020. The Royal Commission considers that this integration needs to be progressed urgently.

The government rejects the false claims by Labor about consultation. In fact, there have been several rounds of consultation with states following the Tune review recommendation. The government remains committed to creating a better experience for senior Australians entering the aged-care sector, and our position remains unchanged. We are committed to ensuring that Australians seeking to enter aged care receive the timely, consistent and high-quality needs assessment that they deserve.

Question agreed to.