What’s good and bad for you: the experts’ budget opinion

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA)
“The Federal Budget has done nothing to address the accommodation crisis in aged care.

“Despite the ageing of our population the nation building agenda comprising funding for roads, rail, ports, universities, hospitals and technology has not been extended to aged care”.

“We welcome the increase in pension payments for older Australians. Unfortunately the extra cash will not go a long way towards providing optimum care at a place and time of their choosing”.

Council of the Ageing (COTA) Over 50s
“The budget has not dealt with reform on aged care in line with growing recommendations from Government’s own advisers including the Productivity Commission and the Health and Hospitals Reform Commission. We will need urgent action in the coming months to make the aged care system sustainable in the next decade”.
 
National Seniors Australia
“The pension rise is a very good outcome. It delivers relief for the most vulnerable – single age pensioners – at a time which was always going to be difficult. The big surprise was the pension eligibility age but we always thought that had to be done for sustainability”. 

Aged Care Association of Australia (ACAA)
“Aged care reform still on the backburner. The budget though welcome in these very difficult times, is unlikely to solve the underlying capital needs of the industry”.

Anglicare
“A hard budget for the hardest hit. There has been little or no provision to fund the recommendations from the report of the recent inquiry into better support for carers. An annual payment of $600 is less than two dollars a day”.

Catholic Health Australia
“Older Australians and residents of aged care facilities could feel the effects of a failure to invest in a funding model that will ensure the viability of aged care into the future”.