AGED CARE CRISIS DEEPENS

The release of the latest data on the Turnbull Government’s home care packages has revealed 108,000 older Australians are languishing waiting for home care. 

 This includes more than 88,000 older Australians waiting with high needs, many with dementia.

 

It is now abundantly clear why the Turnbull Government deliberately delayed the release of this data for months - more older Australians continue to wait for the home care they need.

 

As the list grows longer and longer, fresh stories emerge daily of older Australians waiting years for home care.

 

The Prime Minister can find $17 billion for the big banks but has failed to deliver one new dollar of funding for aged care. 

 

Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘baby boomer’ Budget has been further exposed as a cruel hoax on older Australians. 

 

With the waiting list growing by almost 4,000 older Australians in just three months, the 3,500 new home care packages a year committed in the Budget won’t come close to keeping pace with demand. 

 

The Turnbull Government must come clean on when the 14,000 packages announced in the Budget will be released. 

 

It should also immediately commit to releasing the June quarter of data when it is due later this month. 

 

Since the first release of data, the waiting list for home care has grown from 88,000 older Australians to 108,000. 

 

The Minister 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.

 

Serious questions remain about whether these numbers are even an accurate picture of the number of older Australians waiting for care after being delayed for so long.

 

The Turnbull Government needs to apologise for over promising and under delivering for older Australians.