Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler, announced a 10-year plan to reshape aged care, beginning 1 July 2012.

The Gillard Labor Government will deliver the $3.7 billion Living Longer Living Better plan to deliver more choice, easier access and better care for older Australians and their families.

To make it easier for older Australians to stay in their home while they receive care, the Government will:

 

  • Increase the number of Home Care Packages- from 59,876 to 99,669.
  • Provide tailored care packages to people receiving home care, and new funding for dementia care.
  • Cap costs, so that full pensioners pay no more than the basic fee.

 

To make sure more people get to keep their family home, and to prevent anyone being forced to sell their home in an emergency fire sale, the Gillard Government will:

 

  • Provide more choice about how to pay for care. Instead of a bond which can cost up to $2.6 million and bears no resemblance to the actual cost of accommodation, you will be able to pay through a lump sum or a periodic payment, or a combination of both.
  • Give families time to make a decision about how to pay, by introducing a cooling-off period.
  • Cap care costs, with nobody paying more than $25,000 a year and no more than $60,000 over a lifetime.

 

The amount older Australians pay for aged care services will be capped and underpinned by tightened means testing, meaning older Australians will not be forced into a fire sale of the family home in order to get access to aged care.

This will not affect the million people already in the system.


To ensure there are immediate improvements as well, the government will also:

 

  • Increase residential aged care places from 191,522 to 221,103
  • Fund $1.2 billion to improve the aged care workforce through a Workforce Compact.
  • Provide more funding for dementia care in aged care, and more support for services.
  • Establish a single gateway to all aged care services, to make them easier to access and navigate.
  • Set stricter standards, with greater oversight of aged care.