Budget heaps pressure on broken care system – older Aussies pay the price
The Retirement Living Council (RLC) has warned the Federal Budget could drive more older Australians into an already overwhelmed public health and aged care system, creating a "perfect storm" of longer waits, higher costs and weaker financial security.
New Commonwealth figures show older Australians are waiting an average of 364 days for ongoing Support at Home services, 396 days for ongoing residential aged care, and 434 days for short-term residential care. Almost 3,300 people also remain in public hospital beds despite being medically ready for discharge because there is nowhere appropriate for them to go.
RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said the Budget failed to grasp the scale of the ageing challenge.
"You cannot keep squeezing older Australians financially and delaying access to support, then expect the public system to cope," Mr Gannon said.
"The Budget relieves one pressure point while creating others. It makes it harder to build passive income through investments and increases costs through private health changes - all while the care system is already buckling."
Mr Gannon said winding back private health insurance rebates for Australians over 65 would push more people out of private cover and into the public system.
"When people can no longer afford private health insurance, they don't stop needing care - they simply shift into the public queue," Mr Gannon said.
Mr Gannon said the combined impact of higher healthcare costs, weaker retirement income settings and delayed aged care access was a dangerous policy collision.
"We already have thousands of older Australians stuck in hospital beds because they cannot access the care or support they need elsewhere, and wait times for Support at Home and aged care placements are blowing out," Mr Gannon said.
The RLC said the figures underscore the need to invest in preventative ageing policy - including housing, retirement living and earlier intervention - to keep people well and reduce avoidable demand on hospitals and aged care.
Mr Gannon said retirement living communities help older Australians stay healthier, connected and independent for longer, reducing avoidable hospital admissions and demand across the health system.
"Retirement living is no longer adjacent to the care system - it is increasingly part of the frontline response. But governments cannot keep increasing pressure upstream and assume the downstream system will absorb it," he said.
"With 79 per cent of retirement villages offering some form of federally regulated care on-site, the sector is evolving to meet the realities of an ageing population," he said.
