Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told ABC Radio National that the Government wants the new Aged Care Act to go to Parliament this year, and repeated the Government's ongoing commitment to achieving bipartisan support on the proposed reforms.
"These are important rules that we've put in place and we're hoping that the new Aged Care Act can be introduced to Parliament as soon as possible," he told host Sabra Lane, adding, "We want it to happen this year."
"We've been having good faith negotiations with people across the parliament on these issues because it's so important as our population ages," he said, outlining the reforms the Government has introduced since it came to power nearly 2.5 years ago, such as 24/7 RNs and mandatory care minutes.
The PM did not touch directly on the Government's long-awaited response to the Aged Care Taskforce, which presented its Final Report to Government last December, now nine months ago. The Report was released in March but the Government says it is continuing to negotiate with the Opposition on bipartisan support for its funding reforms.
"Running out of aged care places"
Senior Partner StewartBrown
Grant Corderoy, Senior Partner with aged care accountants StewartBrown and a key member of the Taskforce, said the Government can implement the recommendations of the Aged Care Taskforce before the new Aged Care Act comes into effect by updating existing regulations.
But he said the new Act is urgently needed to ensure the aged care beds needed for the ageing population are built.
It's predicted that Australia will need almost 200,000 new aged care beds within 20 years to meet growing demand.
"If we don't get the new Act, many larger providers will hold back from developing new beds," Grant said. "We are running out of aged care places."
The lack of aged care beds, which is already being felt across the country, will result in more older Australians being stuck in hospital while they wait for beds to become available, Grant said.
Older Australians and peak bodies representing the needs of older people, including Council on the Ageing, Older Persons Advocacy Network, National Seniors and Dementia Australia, met in Canberra over the weekend, and urged the Government to act on the proposed reforms to ensure the rights of older people and the provision of safe and quality care.
You can read the Prime Minister's comments here.
