Rather than bold reforms that will safeguard Australians’ aged care services into the future, the taskforce largely recommends tidying up and keeping the status quo. And getting users to pay more.
Australia’s aged care system is undergoing significant change, but is still governed by an act more than 25 years old. Can the government meet its mid-year deadline for the next round of reforms?
In future, Australia will spend much more on aged care. This increased spending needs to be well planned, so access is protected and all older people – regardless of income – get the care they need.
A social insurance model would use compulsory contributions from worker salaries to cover the cost of aged care services. But it’s not a silver bullet to fix our aged-care funding crisis.
One proposal to fund the rising costs of aged care is a Medicare-style levy. However, this seemingly neat solution isn’t the answer to our aged care funding problems. Here’s why.
Aged care is one of the government’s biggest ongoing funding challenges. But for a sustainable system, we need to ensure everyone is paying their fair share. Here’s how to make it more equitable.
This is an important and complex decision. It can affect your income, wealth, means-tested aged care fee, and bequests. Here are some things to consider before you decide.
The federal budget is a step in the right direction, particularly in improving pay rates for aged-care workers. But the medium- to long-term future remains bleak without further, significant reforms.
While demand for subsidised services is high and rising, many parts of the system need improvement. The federal budget can’t solve these problems by placing the entire burden on taxpayers.
The federal government has announced A$850 million for 10,000 additional home-care packages, as part of $1 billion for aged care. Here’s why that’s not nearly enough.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne