The September 2018 quarter of data reveals there are now more than 126,000 older Australians waiting for their approved home care package.

This includes more than 69,000 older Australians who have no package at all.

As the list grows longer and longer, fresh stories emerge daily of older Australians in Ipswich, the Somerset Region and the Karana Downs region who are waiting years for home care.

Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann MP, said older people in this region deserve better than to be languishing in their homes waiting for the home care package they’ve been approved for.

“The growing waiting list will mean older Australians in Blair will have to wait longer – this is not good enough.

“Since the first release of data, the waiting list for home care has grown from 88,000 older Australians to more than 126,000 nationally.

“The latest data masks the full extent of this crisis, with the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government removing figures that clearly detail the total number of older Australians waiting for care.

Mr Neumann said the Minister already admitted the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government will need to consider other interventions to reduce the list, but with older Australians waiting years for care this action needs to be happening now.
“Labor has been calling the extraordinary growth in the number of older Australians waiting for home care a crisis for a long time.

“The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government should not be waiting for the Royal Commission into Aged Care to fix this crisis. Action on the home care package waitlist must happen now,” Mr Neumann said.