Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator McAllister. As at 31 March 2025, 87,597 older Australians were waiting for the home care they'd been assessed as needing. Experts have suggested that figure now has risen to over 100,000, but on Friday the department refused to release the most recent data despite having been repeatedly asked for it. Minister, how many Australians have been assessed as needing home-care packages and are currently waiting for a home-care package on the national priority list?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ruston for the question. We are a Labor government and we, in some essential way, understand how important home care can be for older Australians and their families. Older Australians tell us that they want to spend as much time at home as they possibly can, and we know that their families want that too. That is precisely what our reforms are designed to deliver.

There is a lot of work to do. There is a lot of work to do because the record of the previous government was very, very bad. Indeed, it was a record that was characterised notoriously as 'neglect'. Everybody remembers that. It was a situation characterised by neglect.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a point of order on direct relevance. I merely asked the minister to advise the chamber of how many older Australians are waiting to receive their home-care packages. She has gone nowhere near answering that question.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Ruston. I will direct the minister to your question. Your question also talked about numbers at the beginning, so it wasn't a direct question. But I'm happy to direct the minister—

Senator Ruston, you're not in a debate with me. Minister McAllister, I'll draw you back to the question.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the senator knows, this was canvassed in the hearing on Friday, and I understand that senators were informed that, as of 31 March, the national priority system data showed 87,597 people waiting for an approved home-care package.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Ruston?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, it's on direct relevance. I actually acknowledged that in my question. I was merely asking the minister to tell us how many more people have joined that priority list since the date of 31 March 2025.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the minister is being relevant to your question, Senator Ruston. Minister McAllister, please continue.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Senator Ruston knows, the purpose of the aged-care reforms, which we were grateful to receive bipartisan support for, is in part to address questions of a waiting list. It is also to make sure that aged care is delivered with the quality assurance and the standards that older Australians and their families expect. It's an important reform, and we are proud to deliver it.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ruston, first supplementary.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, on 27 August 2025, when asked about the delays to supporting the rollout of homecare packages, the aged-care minister said, of the aged-care sector, that 'they weren't ready'. However, as part of the Senate inquiry on aged-care service delivery, all providers gave evidence that they were ready, including a UnitingCare Australia representative, who said, 'We have capacity to take them on right now.' Your government is withholding essential support on the basis of sector readiness. The sector says they are ready. Who is right, the sector or the minister?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  Senators will understand that we consulted widely before deciding to make a brief deferral of the commencement of this important reform, and that is so that the sector can get ready. I understand the interest of—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Ruston?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order on direct relevance: I was not asking the minister about the Aged Care Act; I was asking her about homecare packages.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ruston, the minister is being relevant to your question. Minister McAllister, please continue.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Senator Ruston will know, because it has been canvassed publicly, and I imagine it was canvassed on Friday as well, each and every week new packages are released.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, in terms of misleading the Senate: the senator should know that what she just said is not correct.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ruston, that is not a point of order. I'm going to call the minister again—

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! Senators, I am in charge of the Senate. I have said that that was out of order, and I will call the minister back to continue her answer.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I've indicated here previously, each and every week packages are released; further packages are released. I understand the point Senator Ruston is making, and she sought to draw this out on Friday. The important thing here is that, whether it is a new package or a redistributed package, it is an older Australian coming off the waiting list and getting the care that they need. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ruston, second supplementary.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, it was revealed on Friday that 121,596 older Australians are currently waiting to be assessed for homecare support and that they could be waiting for up to 15 months just to be assessed. This is on top of the more than 87,000 older Australians on the national priority list who don't have homecare packages. Minister, will you admit that at least 200,000 older Australians are being denied access to homecare support because of the inaction of your government? Minister, considering this evidence, what is the real reason that you are delaying essential new packages? (Time expired)

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We acknowledge that wait times for aged-care assessments are longer than we would like. We don't pretend that this is good enough or that this is the final resting place for this issue, because record numbers of Australians are seeking and receiving homecare services. Last year alone more than 521,000 home support and comprehensive assessments were completed. Only some people who are waiting for an assessment will end up on the national priority system, and the assessment waitlist of course contains those seeking lower-level care, along with crossover and duplication of numbers on the national priority system.

As an important example, more than 99 per cent of people who are waiting for a homecare package at their approved level are already receiving home care through a lower-level HCP package or are approved for CHSP services and so are already receiving a level of care. (Time expired)