Senate committee to investigate aged care funding
A report on the adequacy of aged care funding will be released next April.
The Senate’s Economics Committee is due to hand down a report on funding levels in aged care next April.
The inquiry will examine the extent to which current subsidies are meeting the expectations of consumers.
The inquiry was proposed by Gary Humphries, an Opposition Senator from the ACT.
“The care of older Australians is being placed at risk because the government is not guaranteeing an adequate income stream past the 2009 Budget and many aged care facilities are rightfully concerned about this,” Senator Humphries said.
Senator Humphries was joined by the Opposition’s spokesperson on Ageing, Margaret May, who said the aged care sector is at the cross-roads.
Mrs May said the low take-up of provisional allocations in several states demonstrated that there was a lack of confidence among providers.
“It is seriously under-funded and there is an urgent need for complete reform of the industry,” she said.
“Band aid solutions are not the answer.”