The government looks set to announce a step-change in aged care funding. That’s a good thing — but the lack of discussion about where the money comes from is not.
While the details will be left to budget night, and Greg Hunt’s special briefing for journalists within the budget lock-up tomorrow, the government appears to have decided that it will be the taxpayers who will bear the burden of a massive increase in aged care spending that will form the core part of the government’s response to the recent royal commission.
After initial speculation of an extra $2.5 billion a year, the government on the weekend dropped that it would be committing more than $4 billion-plus a year extra to the sector, primarily to address the desperate need for a larger and better paid aged care workforce.
If true, it would represent the first time this government has actually tried to lift wages in any industry, rather than forcing them down or holding them flat. All power to them — it’s crucial to a better, more efficient and more caring aged care sector.
Read more about the government’s aged care plans…
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