HOME CARE PACKAGE DATA STILL SITTING ON THE MINISTER’S DESK

The latest round of data that determines the waitlist for home care packages is still sitting on the Minister’s desk.

This means the public release of the data is now more than a month late.

What is the Minister for Aged Care hiding?

Why isn’t the Minister being honest with older Australians and immediately releasing the latest round of data on the waitlist for home care packages?

 

The Department of Health has previously committed to release the data two months after the period that the data covers.

 

Of great concern to Labor is the last package of data revealed almost 105,000 older Australians were waiting for a home care package, with the average wait time for a high level package blowing out to more than a year.

 

The demand for home care packages grew by 20,000 older Australians in the last six months of 2017 alone.

 

There are distressed sons, daughters and carers supporting older Australians who are waiting for an approved home care package.  

 

Older Australians, their loved ones and carers need some certainty as to how long they will continue to wait. 

 

This is intolerable and unacceptable.

 

The Turnbull Government has promised the world to older Australians waiting on the queue for a home care package.

 

If the Turnbull Government is confident its ‘Baby Boomer’ Budget will deliver for these Australians, it should release the latest data on home care packages immediately.

 

Sadly the Minister for Aged Care has already admitted the Government will need to consider other interventions to reduce the list, but with older Australians waiting years for care this action needs to be happening now.

 

The Government needs to apologise for overpromising and under delivering for older Australians.