Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Hansard source

There is no mechanism for us to control or manage costs within the Aged Care Act at the moment. We have sent a clear message to providers that we don't expect that this should result in an increase in costs. For those that are at risk, we have a process in place to support them through that process. I'm sending a very clear message through this debate right now. I don't expect that there should be an increase in costs. The providers can hear that message from me now. To respond specifically to your question, nobody has provided me with that assurance directly, but it is a point of discussion that's obviously been part of the debate. That's one of the reasons that we asked the Aged Care Financing Authority to get a good sense of what the potential impact of this measure might be with respect to the sector, because we wanted to understand it as well as possible. This is a very important move in the context of our reform of the delivery of care at home.