Weekend Edition: Age Care Crisis Only Partially Fixed
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Why is Australia’s aging population creating a funding crisis for aged care?
An aging population, but also an increasingly wealthy older population. There are some estimates that claim that over 65 they have more than doubled their wealth in the last 20 years. So surely that is good news for the aged care industry. Now the government wants those who can afford to pay to pay more. That's good news. But what about the changes needed in building new facilities where they are needed and getting them staffed by trained care workers? Is the issue now Now, less to do with money and more to do with the doing. That's this week. The morning call from NAB with Phil Dobby. The weekend edition. Well here's some scary numbers. In twenty twenty-two to twenty three, twenty-six point six percent of the population in Australia was aged sixty five and over, as a proportion of those of traditional working age, and that is expected to increase to thirty eight point two percent by twenty sixty-two to sixty-three.
At the same time, the number of people aged over eighty is expected to triple to more than three and a half million. Now it's still a few years away, but even so It is a perennial problem, more old people, not enough working people to pay for their upkeep, and maybe they don't need to, because with the uh latest older people, uh in many cases they've got a healthy super fund to keep themselves going. Now a year ago the government published the final report of the aged care task force. It highlighted that there was a funding gap and a skills gap for the aged care sector, and it was said fixing the skills gap Which I would have thought would be the trickiest problem to overcome, was outside the scope of the task force.
Uh now we've got the new AIDS care act, which becomes law from the first of July. Many of the changes are common sense, including a continued safety net for those with low means and more contributions from those who can afford it with those healthy super funds, whether it's in cash or in assets. None of that's rocket science perhaps. And uh also making a Age care fees fairer and more easy to understand. I'm sure all of that is going to be welcome. But was it encouraging enough of a change to fix an issue that is going to become more prevalent as we get older as a nation? Well let's ask Russell Bricknell, he's CEO of Juniper Agare in Western Australia. They too themselves are quite old, seventy-five this year, not Russell, but the business.
So how is the business faring, Russell? I mean, is the climate getting tougher? I mean supposedly, as I've said, you know, we've got older people.
is on a an improving angle at the moment, albeit We don't know how long that's gonna last. Since two thousand and sixteen through to about eighteen months ago Uh the sector went through I think the toughest economic times I've ever seen and I've been in it since two thousand and one.
How does the new Aged Care Act change fees and contributions for wealthier seniors?
Um, we were uh n chewing up reserves just to remain viable as providers. We had funding cuts from the Commonwealth Government in twenty sixteen that uh rolled through and really started to hit in late twenty eighteen and then twenty twenty was COVID. Uh and we were we've been in survival mode ever since. Uh the federal government It's changed funding models and increased funding at the beginning of twenty three and we've seen our first operating surplus in our organisation in ten years last financial year. So it gives you a sense of where we think we're going. Hm. So to get
your first return after ten years, I mean there's plenty of places where you've put your money, where you're going to get a return, uh faster than putting it into your sector.
Oh, absolutely. And I think there has been this really naive view from the Commonwealth Government of all persuasions that aged care is something that we fund on a uh break even basis and she'll be right, not realising that there's an asset base you've got to fund through that process. So
just how much of a government subsidy is there? So I'm looking at your website and you've got all your prices, you're very transparent. So for example, a call out for home support, not uh a nursing home as such, but if you had someone to come out for a day an hour a day, uh that would cost eighty three dollars an hour, more if you need a registered nurse.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is Australia’s aging population creating a funding crisis for aged care?
0:01–2:40
2
How does the new Aged Care Act change fees and contributions for wealthier seniors?
2:40–5:36
3
What did Russell Bricknell say about the current financial health of Juniper Aged Care?
5:36–8:54
4
How much of a resident’s home‑care cost is covered by government subsidies?
8:54–11:16
5
Why are commercial operators struggling to build new facilities in regional areas?
11:16–13:34
6
What is the projected shortfall in residential aged‑care beds over the next decade?
13:34–15:42
7
How can the sector attract capital for new builds without relying on high returns?
15:42–18:51
8
What planning and workforce reforms are needed to avoid a future aged‑care crisis?
18:51–21:20