Faith in aged care reform falls

A NEW aged care funding model will be a “game changer” for the sector, Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck says, and will lead to the government giving workers a long overdue pay rise.

But a year since the aged care royal commission handed down its scathing final report, leaders in the sector fear the reform process is at risk of running off the rails as the pandemic exacerbates dire labour shortages and funding woes.

Labor agrees, arguing that the state of the system is a “national disgrace”.

But Senator Colbeck said the government had committed $18.3bn to the “most comprehensive response to a royal commission in history”.

He said the new funding model – to start on October 1 – would replace the existing “not fit for purpose” scheme by calculating the money required by providers based on individual resident needs. With wages making up 70 per cent of care costs, and the independent workplace umpire likely to recommend a pay rise within months, Senator Colbeck said more support was on the way.

Only a third of aged care providers have confidence in the reform process, according to an Australian Aged Care Collaboration survey.