Featured articles from our Aged Care Today magazine authored by our Ageing Australia team and specialists within the aged care sector.
On average, there is now a nurse onsite 98 per cent of the time, or 23 and a half hours a day in aged care homes across the country.
Thank you for responding so well to our 24/7 nursing initiative and boosting care.
In the past year there has been a reduction in the number of pressure injuries, physical restraints, significant unplanned weight loss, falls, polypharmacy and the use of anti-psychotics in aged care.
That’s what 24/7 nursing has always been about. Fewer falls. Fewer pressure injuries. Fewer avoidable hospital admissions.
We need to have more older people feeling safe and respected in aged care and that’s what we are seeing.
We’re also seeing improvements in the star ratings data, with fewer 1- and 2-star ratings and more 4- and 5-star ratings.
This is important as we address the findings in the Taskforce Report, which the Albanese Government released on March 12.
I want to thank the Aged & Community Care Providers Association CEO Tom Symondson for his excellent work throughout the Taskforce’s deliberations.
The Taskforce’s mission was simple: how can we get greater funding into a system crying out for it?
A significant demographic shift is upon us, and we must be innovative to address this challenge.
In the next 40 years, the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double and the number aged 85 and over will more than triple.
The number of centenarians is expected to increase six-fold.
Over the next four decades, Australia’s population aged 80 and over will grow to 3.5 million people.
Our workforce is also under pressure, with people aged 15 to 64 years predicted to decline as a proportion of total population.
The Taskforce Report is the next step in our mission to deliver dignity to older Australians.
While it is not a Government report, the Government can confirm it will not impose any increased taxes or a new levy to fund aged care costs or change to means testing treatment of the family home for aged care.
We’re currently working through the Taskforce Report, engaging constructively with our parliamentary colleagues to deliver long-lasting, meaningful reforms.
The principles that guide the Albanese Government’s response to the Taskforce Report are to deliver benefits not just those in and entering the system now, but Australians who rely on the system as they age in decades to come.
We need to do that in partnership with you and so again, I want to thank all of you for the progress being made.
The Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Aged Care
Reach out to your state or territory manager
Australia’s leading aged services magazine distributed quarterly featuring informative articles from service providers, suppliers, innovators and thought leaders across aged the aged care sector.
To submit story suggestions, please contact the editor.
For magazine advertising rates, please view our media kit.
Ageing Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, sea, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to Elders past and present.