The 2019 federal election will be on the 18th of May.
During the first week of May, Aged and Community Services Australia asked political parties to respond to top 5 priorities that require immediate attention prior to the aged care royal commission finishes its enquiry.
ACSA called for the elected government to:
CEO Patricia Sparrow of ACSA said that ACSA was waiting for an answer from all political parties on how they would handle these priorities before the aged care royal commission brought its proposals.
The government said they will increase the scrutiny of aged care with a figure of agreement and regulatory actions, however, the truth is that they have only seen stop gaps, Patricia said.
Whilst some complicated challenges in aged care needed the consideration of the royal commission, there are other urgent and practical solutions that the government could act on now, Ms. Sparrow said.
Sean Rooney, CEO Leading Age Care Services Australia said none of the major party had made a remarkable aged care policy statement, however, both are saying that they were dedicated to improving the aged care system.
Mr. Rooney said that the Prime Minister pledged to provide Australian elderlies with access to care that secures their dignity and recognises the indispensable contribution they put to the nation and society. But due to the royal commission announcement, both parties became silent regarding their pledged to aged care.
The parties silence is disturbing as they’ve not heard about what’s going on for almost 130,000 Australian elderlies on the home care waiting list. 42% of residential care facilities running at a loss and nothing regarding investing in the aged care staff. They deserve real vision and dedication from the next government leaders of Australia and their loved ones have the right to know the parties opinion on aged care before they vote, Mr. Rooney added.
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