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Announcing the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety in 2018 following a series of revelations of neglect and abuse in the sector, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said \u201cincidences of older people being hurt by failures of care simply cannot be explained or excused\u201d.<\/p>\n
The commission\u2019s final report, publicly released in early 2021, stated Australia\u2019s aged care system had \u201ca shocking tale of neglect \u2026 under prolonged stress and has reached crisis point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Morrison responded to the report with a $452 million package to reform the sector. A series of other funding announcements have followed, including $7.7 billion for home care, $8.1 billion for residential aged care services and sustainability, $1.5 billion for quality and safety and $1.8 billion for workforce and governance.<\/p>\n
Addressing the rally, Victorian secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Lisa Fitzpatrick recited at least 10 slogans the union had used over the past 25 years during campaigns pushing for better wages and conditions in the sector.
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\u201cMore than a year since the final report from the Royal Commission and nothing has changed,\u201d federal ANMF secretary Annie Butler added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a system that has more than 50 per cent of nursing home residents who are malnourished\u2026 more than 30 per cent of residents who on a daily basis do not get their care needs met because there just aren\u2019t enough staff \u2026 just this year, more than 1200 residents in nursing homes have died from COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ANMF is representing aged care nurses in the FWC pushing for a 25 per cent wage increase.<\/p>\n
Labor has committed to fund whatever increase the commission decides should it win government.<\/p>\n
The Coalition will also back wage increases, but has not committed to directly funding them through government subsidies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LABOR and unions are stepping up their campaign for better quality in aged care, holding a rally in Marshall last week calling for key recommendations from the damning Royal Commission into the sector to be implemented, particularly around staffing and resident care. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese made comprehensive reform of aged care the centrepiece of […]<\/p>\n