Aged Care

Mr RAE (Hawke—Minister for Aged Care and Seniors) (14:23): I thank the member for Gilmore for her question. She is a tireless advocate for older people in her community. Australians have been waiting a long time for aged care to be done properly, and this Labor government is getting on with the job of delivering an aged-care system we can all be proud of. Our implementation of the new Aged Care Act is now less than two months away. Yesterday, Minister Butler and I announced the critical step that locks in our new Aged Care Act and the accompanying Support at Home program.

The SPEAKER: The member for Gippsland is warned.

Mr RAE: That means certainty for older Australians who are waiting for care, certainty for families who want their loved ones cared for and certainty for providers and workers who can now plan with confidence. These reforms are about reshaping aged care so it delivers more care sooner and closer to home. It's why we're fast-tracking 20,000 additional homecare packages in the eight weeks leading up to 1 November, before the new system begins. Once Support at Home is underway, we will roll out a further 63,000 packages by June 2026. I want to acknowledge the constructive engagement—

The SPEAKER: The minister is going to pause. Member for Cowper, that's unacceptable. You're going to leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Cowper then left the chamber.

The SPEAKER: We are just going to listen to the minister. All that noise is not helpful to anyone. I'm just going to ask the minister to return to the question and be directly relevant.

Mr RAE: I want to acknowledge the constructive engagement of colleagues across the parliament, including Senator Ruston, whose contributions have helped ensure that these changes will endure for generations. Since yesterday's announcement, the sector has responded very enthusiastically. UnitingCare says:

Older Australians deserve care that is timely, person-centred, and respectful of their rights. Today's announcement brings us a step closer to that vision.

OPAN says:

This is good news especially in advance of the new Aged Care Act commencing on 1 November.

National Seniors Australia say:

… older Australians waiting for care, and their families, will welcome today's news …

But the new Aged Care Act is not the beginning of our reforms. We've already mandated 24/7 registered nursing, delivering more care minutes for older Australians. We've put a registered nurse on site in aged care more than 99 per cent of the time, delivering more direct care for over 250,000 older people in aged-care homes. We've delivered more than 6.8 million additional minutes of care every single day, compared to under the last government, and invested $17.7 billion to increase the wages of aged-care workers. Every older Australian should be able to live with dignity and independence, supported by the care they need. That's what our reforms are designed to deliver, and the passage of this legislation is the latest milestone in our relentless pursuit of aged-care transformation.