“Aged care reform measures announced today are so far removed from the Productivity’s Commission recommendations that the Commission might as well not have bothered”, said CPSA Policy Coordinator Paul Versteege.

“CPSA welcomes the Government’s decision to continue with the transfer of residential aged care places to community aged care. It is very clear that people needing care dread going into a nursing home so whatever can be done to give them care at home is a good thing.

“While the Productivity Commission’s funding recommendations have been dumped, Labor has now introduced Howard’s residential aged care bonds the way Howard envisaged it. Bonds will now be demanded for all types of care by every nursing home. This particularly affects couples of whom one needs to go into a nursing home. The only consolation is that there is now a better chance of staying out of nursing homes because of the planned increase in community aged care packages.

“The aged care announcement today marks a missed opportunity to start a transition from institutionalised care in Residential Aged Care Facilities to the building of apartments and townhouses clustered around a dementia wing and hospice. The Dutch experience suggests that older people would be queuing up to buy into them and very keen to sell their family home to move into something where the vast majority of them could stay until they died and which would be a valuable asset of their estate”, said Versteege.

Media Contact: Paul Versteege, Policy Coordinator
Mobile: 0409 814 181