Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells is proving once again that the Albanese Government is “ambitious for aged care”, revealing that the Federal Government’s new Aged Care Taskforce could deliver its outcomes by December – in time for the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) later this year.
During the Health and Aged Care portfolio’s post-Budget webinar on Wednesday, the Minister acknowledged that the continued funding of Australia’s aged care system was a key concern for stakeholders – and pointed to the Taskforce as the solution.
“So many people have said to me, we love all this injection of money into the sector,” she stated.
“How are we going to pay for it? I’ve been asking, as you know, many of you who’ve met with me in the months leading up to this, I’ve been saying, let’s have a national conversation. Many of you have been responsive and proactive with your thoughts about how we should fund aged care to make a sustainable into the future. This taskforce is how we’re going to get it done.”
The Minister added that the Taskforce is designed to be stood up quickly – and they will be seeking input from both providers and the wider community within weeks.
“[The Taskforce is] to address, I think, the big unanswered question of the Royal Commission, which is how do we fund aged care sustainably when we need to lift the standard?” stated Minister Wells.
“What we want to do is resolve how do we get more funding into the sector that needs more funding. A lot of people have views about how we should do that.
“I want to have that national conversation. But I think we need to make sure everybody has a seat at the table and that we make that decision together rather than having me as the Minister impose upon you how we’re going to pay for it. So now is the time.”
“We will do more work on this in the weeks to come. There will be terms of reference, there will be time limits to it. I sincerely invite you if you have thoughts about how we should sustainably fund aged care, now is the time to come forward with your ideas.”
Watch this space then.
