After two days of sustained questioning in Parliament the Coalition has forced the Albanese Labor Government to belatedly release tens of thousands of home care packages for older Australians who have been left waiting for far too long.
Labor promised 83,000 new packages from 1 July 2025, but instead decided to withhold support – despite the sector and the Department being ready to deliver them. Because of Labor's delays not a single new home care package has been released this financial year.
As a result, the priority waitlist has blown out to more than 108,000, a 400 per cent increase in just two years, whilst wait times have tripled. Tragically, almost 5,000 older Australians died in the past year while waiting for care.
Thanks to a coordinated pressure campaign from the Coalition, led by Shadow Health and Aged Care Minister, Senator Anne Ruston, in the Parliament today the Government has caved to pressure and will agree to the immediate release of 20,000 home care packages. This is despite the Government voting against this requirement in the Senate earlier today.
This is a win for older Australians in desperate need of assistance. We expect the Government’s decision to now support the release of a further 20,000 home care packages by the end of the year, and the full 83,000 promised by the end of this financial year.
Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley said the Coalition has dealt the Albanese Government a devastating blow in the name of securing older Australians the support they need and deserve.
“Labor faced a choice today, listen to the Coalition and release these packages early, or vote against the Coalition and deny vulnerable Australians the support they desperately need. We forced this arrogant Labor Government to listen to older Australians and to the Coalition.
“But be under no illusion this is not a deal, this is a defeat. Labor has been forced into a humiliating backdown.
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae must all now explain to Australians why it took the Coalition holding their feet to the fire in the Senate to release this much needed support. This should have happened months ago.”
Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care, Senator Anne Ruston said that the Coalition has stood up for older Australians across the country, who the Albanese Government had abandoned.
“This situation should never have happened. The money was in the Budget. The capacity was there. Only Labor stood in the way,” Senator Ruston said.
“It is a black mark on this Government that they were purposely withholding support from hundreds of thousands of older Australians who desperately needed it. Quite frankly, people were dying while they waited.
“This is a crisis of the Government’s own making. We are proud to have forced the Government into providing an additional 83,000 packages this financial year, but there is still more work to be done.”
The Coalition will continue to fight for older Australians, with one clear goal: no one should have to wait for the care they have been assessed as needing.
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