Aged care needs urgent reform
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found older Australians care has been neglected and a system in crisis.
The Royal Commission called for immediate reform across the sector to give older Australians and their families confidence that aged care providers will care for them and support their families.
I was recently joined by Clare O’Neil MP, Shadow Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, in a forum to hear first hand the experiences of workers, providers and those people and their families using the system. Disturbingly, there were many accounts of experiences here in Bean that reflect what was found in the Royal Commission.
Little has been done, and the government rarely even utters the words aged care. The Liberal government has failed to meet its responsibilities to treat older Australians with dignity and respect.
A Labor government will:
• Take responsibility for the aged care crisis facing older Australians including addressing short staffing.
• Introduce a legally enforceable care time guarantee that would give older Australians the safety, dignity, and respect they deserve.
• Create jobs with time to care that ensure continuity of care and a secure workforce.
• Provide a decent wage and recognition for all workers in aged care.
• Ensure workers have a voice in their workplaces.
Labor will deliver real reform that holds providers to the promises they make. Looking after our older Australians, who have done so much to help make Australia what it is today, is of the highest importance for an Albanese Government.
I recently released an updated version of the Bean Retirees and Seniors Information Booklet with 70 pages of information to help you make the most of your retirement.