The recent policy updates extend enhanced rights to older Australians, focusing on their independence, privacy, safety, and quality of life.

Greg Bartley, the Chief Operating Officer, has expressed significant concern regarding the federal government’s pledge to cut wait times to just three months by July 2027. This commitment was announced with the introduction of the bill to parliament in 2024.

“The sector is prepared to meet this goal, but we need the necessary systems, workforce, and support to make it achievable,” Bartley stated.

In an interview with SBS News, a former state president of Queensland shared her personal experience: “I served as state president of Queensland for six years and managed a branch in Gympie for 13 years,” she recounted.

“After a lifetime of paying taxes, reaching this stage in life, I need assistance for the first time, and it’s not accessible,” she lamented.

Under the revamped system, government coverage will extend to clinical services like nursing and physiotherapy. However, recipients will be required to make co-payments for non-clinical services, with costs adjusted according to their income and assets.

“You pay your taxes all your life. And when you get to this age here, I am needing some help for the first time in my life and we can’t get it,” she said.

Advocacy groups on alert

Under the new system, clinical services such as nursing and physiotherapy will be covered by the government, but recipients will need to make co-payments for non-clinical services, at a rate determined by their income and assets.

“Some people are feeling confused about what this means,” he said.

“The changes are large, and people are trying to take them in,” she said.