The Government must come to an agreement with the Opposition on the Aged Care Taskforce recommendations, or the aged care beds needed for the future will not be built and more care homes will close, says Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) CEO Tom Symondson, a member of the Government's Taskforce.
ACCPA is calling on politicians to end the "political impasse" blocking action on the Taskforce recommendations, which were handed to the Government in December.
"We need urgent action to land these reforms before the next election. That means the new Aged Care Act must be introduced to Parliament in August,” said Tom.
“We’re running out of time.
"For the sake of older Australians and the survival of our sector, we need to urgently progress this."
The Government has been continuing to roll out the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, but with the Royal Commissioners undecided on aged care funding reform, the Taskforce was established by the Labor Government in the May 2023 Budget to explore options for greater equity and sustainability. The Taskforce consulted older people, aged care providers, unions and others over months and made 23 recommendations. But since the report was released to the public in March, there has been no word on the Government's response.
The Taskforce recommendations are central to the new Aged Care Act, a Royal Commission recommendation and due to be implemented in less that 12 month's time.
“A new Act was a fundamental recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and welcomed by our members. It will be a vital piece of aged care reform moving forward," Tom said.
“We need to seize this moment to fix Australia’s aged care system. I encourage all politicians to show the leadership our older people are looking for," Tom said.
