Profit-driven maternity closures undermine access to essential services
February 21, 2025Aged Care needs greater protections for people in financial hardship
February 24, 2025
Executive summary
The urgent need for workforce solutions
Background
Workforce shortages in the health, aged care, and disability sectors are severely affecting service efficiency and effectiveness. These sectors are competing for the same workforce, both domestically and internationally. The shortages stem from poor workforce planning since the abolition of Health Workforce Australia in 2014, leading to ineffective use of health workforce data and uncoordinated state and territory initiatives. Additionally, attracting and retaining healthcare professionals is challenging due to high housing costs and wage stagnation, causing dissatisfaction and high turnover rates.
Recommendations
- Expand Jobs and Skills Australia’s focus and resourcing for the health and aged care sector
- In the longer-term, restore national leadership to health workforce planning through the reestablishment of Health Workforce Australia
- Design and implement a National Skills and Capability Framework & Matrix to establish a basis for workforce planning across health, aged and disability care sectors
- Subsidise rent for nurses by introducing additional salary packaging allowances when renting within a certain proximity to work
- Re-introduce exemptions of the fortnightly working hour cap for international students studying to receive a qualification in aged care
Regional, rural and remote
Background
Access to aged care remains a challenge in regional, rural and remote areas. With an ageing population experiencing more complex care needs, and insufficient capital investment to meet demand or support refurbishment due to the sector’s financial stress, the supply of aged care services will remain constrained in these areas. This means that older people are unable to access appropriate, quality aged care in these locations. In addition, while the pricing of aged care services does consider costs in rural and remote areas, the current model does not adequately address costs in rural mining towns like Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie.
Recommendations
- Expand the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program and include staff accommodation in future grant rounds
- Explore and provide alternatives to the Modified Monash Model (MMM), reflecting the increased costs of providing services in rural and remote mining
Adequately invest in Aged Care Act transition and Support at Home
Background
CHA is committed to working with Government to ensure the Support at Home (SaH) program expands the quality and availability of aged care services delivered in the home. This is critical to meeting the care needs of older Australians in the coming decades. While the intent of the reform is welcome, there are some critical barriers to the Governments’ objective of supporting older people to remain at home.
Recommendations
- Fund Support at Home to the extent that it meets demand for care delivered at home by increasing the number of packages available
- Allow up to 15 per cent of SaH packages to be used for care management to effectively deliver services to high-acuity older Australians
- Government subsidise aged care transition costs
- Monitor pricing from 1 July 2026 and consider if price caps from 1 July 2026 are appropriate
The urgent need for safety nets in aged care
Background
Comprehensive safety nets should be designed and implemented to ensure that all older Australians can access quality care, whether they live in major cities, regional towns or rural areas. Specific provisions need to be in place to support the viability and sustainability of aged care providers to ensure that high quality aged care is available in sufficient quantities across all locations to meet future demand. CHA is supportive of fair contributions to aged care costs for those who can afford it, while ensuring a safety net for others. CHA has some concerns with the proposed hardship provisions for Support at Home that need to be addressed through the Budget process so that older people with reduced means to be able to access the care they deserve in their old age. Means-tested contributions are necessary for high-quality care and should be considerate of groups of older Australians that might miss out if hardship provisions are inadequate or hard to access, especially with current cost of living pressures.
Recommendations
- Accelerate the review of the accommodation supplement to safeguard supported residents and ensure it aligns with actual costs
- Implement additional safeguards to strengthen safety nets for older people experiencing financial hardship
Address the issue of older people falling through the cracks at the health and aged care interface
Background
The interface between health and aged care services is complex and fragmented. Each system has its own operating context, governance structures, entry and discharge processes, and service providers. It is important that stakeholders across the health and aged care systems each play a distinct role in ensuring that both systems meet the care needs of older Australians. There needs to be equal accountability between all stakeholders to progress an integrated care and service delivery approach for older people. Collaboration across health and aged care systems must occur to ensure older people can receive quality care, at the right time and in the right place.
Recommendation
• Commonwealth and state governments develop an implementation strategy to resolve the issue of delayed discharge of long-stay older people from hospital.
