Home Care packages 200000 short of need

Ageing Australia alarmed by the number of Australians waiting for crucial care

Ageing Australia is calling for a raft of new home care packages, after revelations more than 200,000 older Australians are waiting for care. The new figure was revealed in a Senate Inquiry into aged care service delivery, today.

“We are alarmed to discover that the number of older Australians waiting for crucial aged care in their own homes is far higher than previously thought,” said Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson. “Providers have told us time and again that they have the capacity to care for many more older people, but this simply isn’t possible without more home care packages. We must urgently address the growing waiting list, both those awaiting a package and the substantial number of people who are waiting to get an assessment. We’ve been calling for the immediate release of 20,000 home care packages before 1 November.  We’ve also been calling for a frontloading of the 83,000 packages to be released from 1 November, so that we can start clearing the waiting list as soon as possible. Older Australians need to know that when they seek care, it will be available to them.”