Media Centre

ACQ strives to be the media’s preferred commentator on aged care issues within the State.

While faced with the challenges of communicating the complexities of the aged care industry to the everyday person, ACQ consistently delivers a united voice in the media for its members.

The following media resources produced by the Association aim to improve the industry’s standing within the Queensland community and encourage more sensitive and thoughtful discussion of negative issues regarding aged care in the media.

Future of Ageing: Older Australians to pay for their own retirement

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Superannuation-style saving plans may be the ‘pension’ of the future as the number of older Australians is expected to double by 2050.National Seniors Australia chief executive Michael O’Neill said higher taxes alone would not be able to fund aged care and advocated a superannuation-style approach.

“I suspect longer term, there will be a need for greater exploration of people… providing contributions themselves rather than just relying on taxation increases,” Mr O’Neill said.

“Given the shift in population size that is occurring, it will be inevitable that people are expected to, if they have the capacity, to fund more of their own aged care.”

Current figures forecast that the number of Australians aged over 85 will quadruple by 2050. During the same period, the proportion of working-age Australians for everyone aged over 65 was expected to fall from five at present to 2.7.

CCOA Campaign Bulleting Update

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Attached is a copy of the most recent CCOA Campaign Bulletin which has been prepared to update members on the work to date and to advise next steps including the plan to continue the email campaign as a Christmas card distribution. Grand Christmas Bulletin September 2010

Members-Aged care at what cost?

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Australia was only marginally closer to resolving the immediate and longer term pressures confronting the aged care industry, and older people, a week out from the federal election, the Campaign for Care of Older Australians (CCOA) said today.

CCOA Chair Greg Mundy said CCOA’s aged care debate was positive, with the Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Senator Rachel Siewert each acknowledging our ageing population would present new hurdles.

“Their joint commitment to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into aged care was welcome but the major parties’ policies do not go far enough and won’t meet the needs of an ageing population.

“There is no sign that the ALP is prepared to introduce interim measures to address current shortfalls in funding and services. The Coalition’s promise to increase care subsidies goes only someway towards reducing the dearth of funding and neither major party has offered a full solution to the issue of capital investment.

“Funding is an issue we can’t ignore, no matter how unpalatable it might be for governments and the public.

“With an ageing population we can no longer afford to put off the hard questions if we are serious about their future well-being and comfort.

”We are all ageing which means we have a collective responsibility to ensure we have a system that works; a system that offers more choice, improved access and sustainability; a system we want for our families and ourselves.”

Video highlights of the CCOA debate will be available on Friday at www.thegrandplan.com.au Members of the aged care industry are encouraged to vote on each party’s policy using the survey on the website.

Visitors to the website can view CCOA’s new vision for caring for older Australians, send a post card to an older person who has played a grand role in their lives and automatically send a letter to their local MP.

CCOA comprises the peak bodies and national service providers of residential and community based aged care services.

Members-Aged care building deferrals to put more pressure on hospitals and families

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Half of Australia’s aged care providers are deferring building works in the wake of government indecision surrounding capital financing, according to an Aged Care Industry Council (ACIC) survey.

ACIC is the peak council of Australia's aged care providers, comprising the two key representative bodies, Aged Care Association Australia (ACAA) and Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA).

Releasing the 2010 online building survey, ACCA CEO Rod Young said 51 per cent of the 220 respondents indicated they had deferred building work in the past 12 months.

"Of those 41.7 per cent were new works and 58 per cent renovations and extensions with more than half being deferred indefinitely," he said.

"This means there simply won’t be enough places in residential care for older Australians who will be forced to stay longer in hospital or cared for at home by their children.

"Neither of these alternatives is acceptable if older people are to have appropriate care and support when they need it most."

ACSA CEO Greg Mundy said: "We can't afford to stand still in aged care. The whole process of building, including financing and planning approval, takes time. Continual delays will exacerbate what is already a looming problem in some areas where there are long waiting lists for residential care.

"Governments plan and budget for all other infrastructure needs but they have failed to provide workable capital raising policies in aged care."

Thirty-one per cent of respondents blamed the inability to service borrowings as a reason for deferring building works and 21.8 per cent cited the cost of finance.

Mr Young and Mr Mundy said zero interest loans or one-off grants were only partial solutions at best in an under-funded industry.

"New facilities won’t materialize if providers can’t afford to build them.

"This election campaign is an opportunity for all parties to demonstrate their commitment to our ageing population and signal how they intend to address the very real problem of capital investment in aged care."

Media contact: Chris Hornsey 0419 513 432

Members-Greens aged care policy offers action and vision

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The Campaign for Care of Older Australians (CCOA) welcomes the Greens aged care policy as a strategic approach to caring for older Australians now and in the future.

"Senator Siewert has outlined reforms which recognize the need for both immediate action to address current pressures and longer term reform to improve consumer choice and the sustainability of aged care services," CCOA said.

"The proposed reforms start to come to grips with an over regulated and under-funded system which is selling older Australians short.

"The Greens recognize that early intervention for the increasing numbers of people with dementia, and the promotion of healthy and active lifestyles for older people are essential components of a streamlined approach to community care in the future.

"Plugging funding gaps impacting on the delivery of services are critical as are measures to lift wages for aged care workers including nurses.

"Real investment, which must include increased access to capital, will also mean there are the people, places and services to prevent inappropriate hospitalization of older people unable to access the care they need.

"We applaud the Greens proposal to install a Minister for Older Australians as a senior member of government supported by an office to oversee properly integrated services and systems.

"More choice and improved access to quality services, including enhanced community care, funded by public and private contributions where appropriate, must be the new face of Australia’s aged care system.

"The Greens commitment to independent benchmarking of the real cost of care and the development of a system based on care entitlement funding for a range of services not limited by availability, is particularly welcome and we urge a similar undertaking from all parties."

CCOA comprises the peak bodies and national service providers of residential and community based aged care services.

CCOA’s new vision for caring for older Australians is available at www.thegrandplan.com.au

Media contact: Chris Hornsey 0419 513 432

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