The Australia Federal Budget 2024 – 25: what it means for aged care

First published: July 2024

Last month, the Federal Budget for 2024 – 25 was released. It is broken down into five main initiatives:

• Easing cost-of-living pressures
• Building more homes for Australians
• Investing in a Future Made in Australia
• Strengthening Medicare and the care economy
• Broadening opportunity and advancing equality

All of these initiatives are underpinned by responsible economic management

Strengthening Medicare and the care economy

Under this section, the budget states that $2.2 billion will be invested into the aged care system, and separately funding will be set aside to be put towards increasing aged care worker wages.

As part of the goal to boast access to essential health services, $90 million will be allocated to boosting health workforce shortages and simplifying the process for international health practitioners to work in Australia.

The Aged Care system

Included in the $2.2 billion investment are objectives to implement the reforms suggested by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety are:

• Providing quality care: the new Aged Care Act, set to commence on 1st July 2025, is focusing on the needs and rights of older Australian as its core value. It is going to continue its already implemented reforms which consist of: 24/7 nurse reporting, keeping to the 200 care minutes (soon to be 215) per resident per day, star rating introductions so each Australian can make informed choices, and increased transparency on how providers manage their money through Dollars to Care.
• Home Care Packages: an investment of $531.4 million to support older Australians to remain in their homes for as long as they are able.
• Improving aged care: $110.9 million of funding over the next four years to increase the regulatory capability of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Once the new Aged Care Act commences, $1.2 million will be dedicated to new digital systems that will allow the delivery of a contemporary IT system, with $37 million already being invested into the My Aged Care Contact Centre, focusing on the reduction of wait times for people accessing information and access to aged care services.
• Higher wages for aged care workers: to increase workforce retention and attraction, necessary investment is being made into the wage bracket for aged care workers. The Fair Work Commission’s decision around the pay rise for aged care workers is being supported, building on the already implemented 15% pay rise. Additional pay rises are to come.

Disability

Alongside the planned reforms and budget for the aged care system comes investment into the disability sector also. $160.7 million will be allocated to better protect the safety of NDIS participants, and $227.6 million will be invested in a new specialised disability employment program. Through this, the government are striving to his its two main objectives regarding disability, which are to build better and more susbtainable services, and improve employment for people with disability.

Be part of the Aged Care future

Aged Care is a rewarding and developing sector, with the aged care reform roadmap striving to make the aged care system one that will provide the highest quality of care services to the elderly population of Australia, maintaining their dignity and respect at all times, whilst enticing and retaining aged care workers to the industry.

To find out what working in aged care could look like for you, contact our industry expert team today: