Greater Geelong
Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM has called on the Commonwealth Government to commit
to aged care, as Council considers its response to Commonwealth Government
funding changes.
The Mayor said
that Council had heard the community feedback about aged care reform, and
invited the government to work constructively with the City to create certainty
for clients and staff.
The Mayor said
that certainty could be created by an increase to the Commonwealth Home Support
Programme (CHSP) unit price, and by the Government working collaboratively
around funding arrangements.
With an election campaign currently underway, Mayor Kontelj said it was important for candidates to understand the importance of aged care.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM:
Changes to the Aged Care Act by the Commonwealth Government, which take effect from 1 July have put us in this difficult position.
Council has listened to the community, and we've heard loud and clear about how much they value our in-home community care service.
The changes from the Commonwealth Government have created funding uncertainty, and we would need to invest considerably to continue our operations, including upgrades to our IT systems to ensure compliance.
We have engaged with the relevant federal department in regard to additional funding to support us to continue to provide the service, but to date those discussions have been disappointing.
Without additional funding to support our transition to comply with the reforms, Council will be required to find several millions of dollars per annum out of operations to subsidise the ongoing provision of aged care services.
The
community has told us that they want certainty in the aged care space, and we
agree – that’s why we’re calling on the Commonwealth Government to commit to
aged care by providing the additional funding.
We can’t do
this alone, and we need bipartisan support for certainty in aged care funding
Consultation
about the future of the City’s in-home community care service is ongoing, ahead
of a Council decision which will determine the City’s future role in the
sector.