Federal Budget 2019: Aged Care

Federal Budget 2019 Initiatives: Aged Care
A record $21.6 billion has been allocated towards providing higher quality aged care.
Increasing Funding for Aged Care
Effective 1 July 2018

The Government will provide $724.8 million over five years from 2018-19 to fund improvements in residential and home care services, including:

a one-off increase to basic subsidy for residential aged care recipients from 2018-19 and 13,500 additional residential aged care places
10,000 additional home care packages from 2018-19. Home care packages to be provided across the four package levels
an increase to the dementia and the veterans’ home care supplements
funding to strengthen aged care regulation.

Extension of Commonwealth Home Support Programme
Effective 1 July 2020

The Government will provide & 5.9 billion to extend the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) funding arrangements.

Funding for the CHSP was due to cease on 30 June 2020. The new funding will extend the program until 30 June 2022.

The CHSP Contributes to essential home support services, such as meals (Meals on Wheels), personal care, nursing, domestic assistance, home maintenance, and community transport, to assist older people to keep living independently in their own home.

The SIS Act will be updated to enable the number of fund members in new and existing Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) to increase from a maximum of four to six.

Simplification of Aged Care Forms
Effective May 2019

The Government announced it will simplify the means testing forms that need to be completed when entering residential aged care.

Approximately 110,000 residents will no longer have to complete means testing forms if they do not own a home and receive income support such as the Age Pension.

For new residents with straight forward financial affairs, they will complete a short form that is a few pages long.

Those with complex affairs will complete a form with half the questions they previously had to.

Additional Support for Young Carers
Effective July 2019

The Government will expand the Integrated Carer Support Service to increase the availability of carer support, with young carers prioritised to enable continued participation in education and training.

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