When Anthony Albanese's Labor Government came to power in 2022, they did so, in part, on the promise of fixing Australia's aged care system.
In the wake of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and a Coalition Government that had been in power for over a decade and was blamed for many of the aged care system's woes, Labor saw it as a weak spot with former Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck constantly lambasted for his performances.
In his 2022 Budget Reply speech, given about six weeks before the Federal election, Albanese outlined Labor's plan to 'Fix the Aged Care Crisis', and laid down his party's objectives for aged care with a five-point plan.
Below are Albanese's election promises, and where those commitments stand today.
1. "Every aged care facility will be required to have a registered, qualified nurse on site, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Albanese promised.
Labor's 24/7 Registered Nurse (RN) requirement came into effect on 1 July 2023. As of March 2024, 89.5% of aged care homes have 24/7 RN coverage.
2. "We will mandate that every Australian living in aged care receives a minimum of 215 minutes of care per day, as recommended by the Royal Commission."
200 Mandated Care Minute came into effect on 1 October 2023 and will increase to 215 Care Minutes from 1 October 2024. As of December 2023, only 52.3% of aged care homes met the Care Minute targets.
3. "We’ll support the workers’ call for better pay at the Fair Work Commission. And a Labor Government will fund the outcome of this case."
The Albanese Government was forced by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to fully fund the FWC's 15% interim pay rise for aged care workers from 30 June 2023, costing $11.3 billion over four years, after initially seeking to stagger the pay rise into two parts.
The Government again wants to stagger the Stage 3 pay rise over two years. The FWC's response to the Government's latest pay proposal is awaited.
4. "A Labor Government will work with the sector to develop and implement mandatory nutrition standards for aged care homes to ensure every resident gets good food."
The current Government has made more detailed food and nutrition reporting mandatory in the Quarterly Financial Report. The Government also introduced the Dollars for Care program, which allows consumers to see how much individual aged care homes are spending on food.
The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (Strengthened Quality Standards) have a dedicated Food and Nutrition Standards, which requires operators to provide meals that are "nutritious, appetising and safe" and that meet the "nutritional needs" of residents.
However, it does not contain "mandatory nutrition standards" and the Quality Standards only come into effect with the new Aged Care Act, which was due to commence from 1 July 2024. That date is now looking unlikely, as the Government has said it may announce a change to the commencement date before the Bill is introduced to Parliament.
5. Under "integrity and accountability", Albanese pledged:
- "We will work with multicultural communities to support culturally appropriate care, because we know that many older people revert to the language of their birth in their later years."
The Strengthened Quality Standards refer to aged care consumers living free from "discrimination" and support for "identity, culture and diversity". Many aged care providers that took up the Government's new Aged Care Labour Agreements, introduced in May 2023, were multicultural organisations.
- "We will give the Aged Care Safety Commissioner new powers."
The Exposure Draft Aged Care Act (released in December 2023) included new powers for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner to take enforcement action for Code of Conduct breaches. As mentioned above, uncertainty remains around when the new Aged Care Act will commence.
- "And we will make residential care providers report – in public and in detail – what they are spending money on."
The Government has increased transparency through the Dollars for Care program and additional reporting in the Quarterly Financial Report.
