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The Albanese government has agreed to release tens of thousands of aged care home packages in a dramatic backflip after weeks of pressure from the opposition, crossbench and sector advocates, who accused Labor of leaving elderly Australians to languish on waiting lists.
Opposition senators declared the reversal a “win for older Australians,” saying they had forced the government to honor its promise of 83,000 home care packages.
“This backflip by the government on home care for aged care … is a win for elderly Australians,” Senator Anne Ruston said. “We stood up for older Australians, we pushed back against the government and we have forced the government into backflipping.”
Long Waits and Broken Promises
The Coalition said the government had not released a single new package in the current financial year, despite committing to 83,000 places. Ruston demanded that at least 40,000 be made available by the end of the year.
“Whilst it has come at the last minute, we are pleased that we actually have been able to deliver this for the 83,000 older Australians who have been left in limbo,” Ruston said. “They were intended to be left in limbo until at least 1 November by the inaction of this government.”
Figures revealed in Senate hearings showed the backlog was even worse than previously admitted. The government had spoken of 87,000 Australians waiting for packages. The latest figure was closer to 109,000. Another 121,000 are still waiting for initial assessment.
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Human Toll
Ruston highlighted testimony from families who had waited in vain. She recalled the case of Margaret, whose husband died just three days after being told he finally had a package, 18 months after applying.
“Today is a small victory on behalf of those tens, if not hundreds of thousands of older Australians who are waiting for care,” Ruston said. “But there is much, much more work still to be done.”
Ruston also cited an 87-year-old South Australian constituent told she would have to wait a year for support. “When you’re 97, 12 months is a very, very long time,” she said.
Confusion in the Senate
The breakthrough followed a day of mixed signals in Parliament. Labor senators voted against a motion to release 20,000 packages immediately, only for Health Minister Mark Butler to later announce the government would act.
“I was somewhat surprised when the minister stood up and said he’d agreed to these 20,000 packages being released right now, given that his party, only a matter of an hour or so ago, actually voted against the release,” Ruston said. “Clearly a bit of a backflip has occurred just in the last few hours.”
Workforce Capacity Disputed
The government has previously argued that workforce shortages made it impossible to expand home care quickly. Opposition senators dismissed that claim, saying providers and advocates had assured them they could deliver.
“The sector have told us repeatedly … including advocates and providers, that they can deliver these packages,” Ruston said. “Now today, apparently the government has actually come to the same realisation that the rest of us have been aware of for quite some time.”
Crossbench and Greens Join Forces
The reversal was achieved with the support of crossbench senators and the Greens, who backed Coalition amendments demanding immediate action. Independent Senator David Pocock was singled out for his role.
“We were delighted that the crossbench and the Greens have actually seen the common sense and the humanity of the decision that was made today,” Ruston said. “Of course, we will be constructive where we can and critical where we have to be.”
She said the government had underestimated the willingness of non-government MPs to cooperate when lives were at stake. “I don’t know how this government could have stood there for so many days and so many weeks saying, ‘We’re not going to deliver aged care packages for older Australians who, quite frankly, are dying waiting for their aged care packages,’ and think that that was a reasonable and humane thing to be doing.”
Funding Already in Place
The opposition stressed that releasing the packages required no new funding, since the money had already been allocated in the budget.
“This government provisioned for all 83,000 packages that we’ve forced them into releasing today,” Ruston said. “So all of the packages that we have demanded that the government release are promises that they’ve made that they have already funded.”
Ongoing Challenges
Despite the breakthrough, the scale of unmet demand remains stark. More than 100,000 older Australians are on the official waiting list, with tens of thousands more seeking assessment.
Ruston said the government’s “inaction and complacency” had taken a severe toll. “Today is only a small victory,” she said. “There is still much, much more to be done for the older Australians who are waiting for care.”
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