“Failure is not an option” – Ageing Australia calls on all parties to urgently prioritise aged care

Australia's aged care peak body has made a call to the major parties ahead of the upcoming federal election, demanding the sector's reform remains a national priority, no matter the outcome on May 3.

In a statement, Ageing Australia has highlighted three key areas needing urgent attention:

• addressing the ongoing workforce crisis
• increasing support for providers during transition to the new Aged Care Act
• improving access to care for all Australians.

It reports that there is currently an estimated shortage of of 4,043 registered nurses in aged care, a figure which is projected to grow to 17,550 by 2035. The body said the sector is also dealing with a shortfall of up to 35,000 direct care workers as.

“The number-one priority for aged care providers is improving the lives of older Australians. Unfortunately, we face chronic workforce shortages and challenges attracting and retaining workers, on top of financial sustainability pressures,” CEO Tom Symondson said.

“To address the workforce crisis, we’re calling for streamlined migration, strengthened education and training, and a boost to incentives for regional providers to attract the workers needed.”

Long wait times for Home Care packages to come through also continue to plague the sector, with some individuals waiting for over a year to receive the care they need under the government's home care scheme.

As the waitlist for packages hits 81,000, the Prime Minister has faced questions about whether his government has abandoned the sector.

“We inherited an aged care crisis. It was inherited in every state, every territory, every city, every region of the country,” Mr Albanese said in Perth on Monday.

“There was not enough investment. The aged care workforce was underpaid. The Aged Care Royal Commission, that was established under pressure by the former government, described the state of aged care in its interim report in one word – ‘neglect’.”

Ageing Australia has been a strong advocate for a more flexible transition timeline for the new Aged Care Act since it's passage through parliament in November of last year.

In October, the body shared the results of its State of the Sector survey, revealing that seven in 10 providers has concerns around the speed at which Labor's reform plans were being rolled out, with 80 per cent reporting that they were worried the Act would put even greater pressure on an already strained industry.

Mr Symondson said the sector desperately needs a staged approach to implementation.

“Failure is not an option. The last thing we want to see is an older person receiving a lower level of care on July 1, just because we rushed reforms. The runway is getting shorter by the day,” he said.

“We all want these reforms to succeed but the current timelines are so tight they border on the impossible. For the sake of older Australians we need to get this right. Without more time we risk confusion for older people and providers alike.

“We have the chance to build an aged care sector that all Australians can be proud of, but we need a measured approach to reforms of such magnitude and that means more time to get them right.”