AGED – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Aged care taps the rich

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Sep-24

The federal government and the Opposition have reached an agreement on an overhaul of the aged care sector that aims to rein in increasing costs and which will see wealthier retirees pay more for the cost of their care, whether in residential care or in their homes. The overhaul puts an increased focus on in-home care, in acknowledgement that people will increasingly use residential care only for the very end of their lives, while there will be no changes to the treatment of the family home under the new means testing regime that will apply under the overhaul. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked Opposition leader Peter Dutton for the bipartisanship the Coalition had shown hroughout the discussions on the aged care overhaul, while Dutton said he wanted to make sure people have dignity as they age.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Wealthy would pay at least $20 a day more in aged care overhaul

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Original article by Natassia Chrysanthos
The Age – Page: Online : 13-Mar-24

Everyday living expenses in aged-care facilities are currently capped at $61 per day. However, it costs aged-care operators about $80 per day to provide these services. Aged-care consultant Grant Corderoy contends that self-funded retirees should pay this $19 gap; he argues that while the costs of aged-care nursing, medication and allied health are fully covered by taxpayers, wealthy residents of aged-care facilities should pay for their everyday living and accommodation costs. Corderoy was a member of the federal government’s aged-care taskforce.

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Cost of Australia’s aged care system to taxpayers could double, experts warn

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

Australia’s aged care system costs taxpayers $27 billion a year, or roughly 1.2 per cent of GDP. However, a report by the University of Technology Sydney’s Ageing Research Collaborative claims its cost could rise to 2.1 per cent of GDP within 40 years. The report notes that additional government funding will be needed, but that more money is not the only solution to addressing the system’s problems. Work needs to be done on increasing the independence of older people in order to reduce demand, while government subsidies for aged care need to be used more effectively.

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UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY