The Morrison government will promise at least $10 billion over four years for aged care in the May federal budget, including allowing more people to stay in their own homes for longer, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
When the final report of the aged care royal commission report was released last month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government’s response would be at the heart of the budget.
Health Minister Greg Hunt, Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck and Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the release of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety final report.
The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age have been told one of the commission’s key recommendations – that people be allowed to stay in their homes longer and receive care there if they choose, rather than moving into a residential facility – will be implemented over time as part of the package.
“It [home care] is clearly what people want,” said a source familiar with discussions held by the government’s expenditure review committee [ERC], who asked for anonymity so they could speak freely about the “very big package”.
The source would not confirm the exact figure as “it isn’t finalised yet”, but said it would exceed $10 billion. “It will be a comprehensive response to the royal commission and it’s a major feature of the budget,” they said.
Last year’s budget allocated $1.6 billion for 23,000 new home care packages and the total number of people receiving home care will, by the end of the current financial year, reach about 195,000.
The new funding will ensure the number of home care packages keeps growing and over time begins to clear the backlog of about 90,000 people on the waiting list for home care support.
FULL STORY
‘Very big package’: $10 billion aged care boost at heart of federal budget (Sydney Morning Herald)
