Aged Care Policy in Australia

This article discusses the current aged care policy in Australia, including the challenges and opportunities it presents. It examines issues such as policy and program development, shifts from residential to community care, and the role of service users in policy development. The economic implications of the policy are also discussed.

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Introduction
This policy is primarily dealing with the long-term arrangements for caring the older people with
chronic illnesses, frailty and/or disability who require assistance in performing their daily tasks.
The income security policy has been reformed with the aim of minimizing pension based on
taxation in the future, promotion of health, and increasing concern by intersecting the long-term
care with policies of health and housing. The current Australian aged care policy for has
relatively been limited and is not based on a broader view of the shifts which occur in the
economic and social circumstances to the transition of demography from a young society to an
aging one (Smailes, Griffin and Argent 2014, p.229). The level of interest and debate has been
increased based on a discussion about the aging society is however apparent in recent
professional publications, seminars, and government inquiries.
Discussion
The aged care policy examines five key issues about directions in aged care and program
development (Barrett, Davidson, Prabhu and Vargo 2015, p.135) namely policy and program
development(that is relocating from residential to community care), the changing definitions of
entitlement and dependency has developed the needs-based care packages moving to higher user
contributions and involvement of service.
Shifts from residential to community care have involved a reduction in supply and demand of
residential care as well as the restructuring of providers and provision for aged care. Recently,
changes in Australia’s aged care reform strategy have been a reduction in both supply and
demand for nursing home care (Vabø and Szebehely 2012, p.121). This has been addressed
through national planning mechanisms which set an upper limit on funded provision levels. For

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example, 40 beds plus per a thousand who are aged 70 years plus. The establishment of geriatric
assessment teams across the country to gatekeep access on the basis of both specified levels of
care need and relative need; additional funding for the expansion of community-based care
service types and levels and specific recognition and support to maintain and extend the
caregiving a capacity of family caregivers.
Moreover, there have been major changes in the provision and provides both residential and
community care. In Australia, both nonprofit organizations mainly church-based and private for-
profit businesses have been the substantial providers of residential care. This has changed over
the last decade (Baldwin, Chenoweth and Rama2015, p.128). Many traditional non- profits
residential care providers have also become involved in community care as new organizations
such as aboriginal, ethnic and other community groups and private businesses. In Victoria, more
local government have built hostels and nursing homes supporting the community organization
to do so. However, this shift has faced critiques among reductions in state financial
responsibility, regional or locational inequities (more to care “by” rather than care “in” the
community) in the mix of issues of concern by different perspectives developed. Among
themselves is the preference of community care, the “care” gap addressed through innovation
and change (Koren 2010, p.312).
Development of needs-based care packages represents an individualized and coordinated
approach to provide care services in the most appropriate and cost-effective forms and ways to
need the needs of highly dependent people for the purpose of delaying or substituting for
institutional care (Banzon2018, p.190). They generally involve case management and the
capacity to organize and purchase services up to set financial limits with an intention to improve

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choice flexibility and availability in care services. These long-term care systems have been
utilized in most countries where the basic home care services are not well developed,
inaccessible due to regional inequities, are fragmented across a large rely on providers. This has
been implemented through community options programs, aged care packages for the community,
and the assessment team transition care projects. Needs-based care packages, combining care
management, individualized care plans and the purchase of additional services for people with
high needs, seem to be well entrenched in principle Australia’s aged care system at this point.
They are still “small” but growing in number and being aged discretionally by the
commonwealth to achieve quite specific goals in a very dynamic care system (Bee, Brooks,
Fraser and Lovell 2015, p.1834).
Possible shifts to users paying higher proportions of service cost (Faruqui, Harris and Hledik
2010, p.6222): This has involved long term care financing where literature available to date
suggests that any policy changes in financing Australian aged care services would not include
higher user contribution in the short term. However, there is interest in increasing contribution
from working life to caring cost in later life. The current evidence from overseas doesn’t suggest
a strong role for private insurance of long-term care. The demand and supply side; gamers are
considerable erode development has been very limited even in countries that do not have the
universal provisions of the kind available in Australia. While increased user charges are not yet
an explicit policy direction in Australian aged care services, it is a direct outcome of higher
targeting and the inability subsidized services to expand to meet the increased demand in many
areas. Attempts to increase equity in “setting” both within and across service types is evident
although not yet achieved. A strong commitment to low fees “pensioners” and utilization of the
department of social security means testing has remained a fairly firm principle in the decade of

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labor party control of federal policy. With the state of services in Victoria, a change in
government would alter the view on user charges with higher expectations of individual and
family contributions (Wakefield, Loken and Hornik 2010, p.1261).
Role of service users in policy and program development: The literature on aged policy and
long-term care addresses the role of users in too many ways, the place of older people and cares
as organized interest groups in pluralist democracies and their influence on the broad political
agenda as well as their place in actions around specific pieces of legislation. In Australia. At least
it is apparent that much of this action has been relatively narrow and focused on income security
issues with a growing constituency amongst the better off elderly. Again, the way in which
recent policy and program charges have responded to and connected with the concerns of users.
Several strategies to increase empowerment are organizational principles and structures such as
professionalism based on training which encourages an expert and autonomous view power
differential with clients based on knowledge, control over resources and social class. However,
there are critiques among the upward pressure increasing interest in the system rather than the
elderly. Service users with very little or no part to play in the initiation and discussion of the new
policies (Ferlie, Fitzgerald, McGivern, Dopson and Bennett 2011, p.307).
Different meanings of dependency and entitlement: Dependency is commonly discussed in
functional or financial terms and in relation with providers of the required support, the state,
taxpayers and the family. They have been many changes which have both increased and reduced
physical causes of functional dependency. For example, Alzheimer’s disease has been increasing
that relates to longevity- fractured hips and cataracts, causing poor mobility in the elderly can be
minimized by better preventing strategic and advanced technology surgery which reduces

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mobility. The dependency is framed in demographic and intergenerational terms expressed as a
ratio of the costs of people supporting those who are not in the workforce by those in the
workforce. This kind of measurement tends on perpetuate some of the myths absent
“dependency” ignoring the substantial economic, emotional and practical contributions made by
older people towards young generations. Targeting, on the other hand, has been a central feature
in the Australian aged care reforms strategy and has substantially changed entitlement (Atalay
and Barrett 2015, p.71). The increasing use of assessment tools and attempts to distribute care
resources more equitably have meant in practice a shift to a more healthy and functional
orientation to need and neglect of needs that are linked to social skills and disadvantages. Among
the opportunities include; the population of older Australians increase, family dynamics change,
an increase of the life expectancy and government policy. These play a key role in giving a
chance for a new approach to the age issue.
The major challenges, on the other hand, are the market dynamics in the aging population,
dynamics in the demographics and investment trends (Wiechmann and Pallagst 2012, p.261).
Another challenge is dynamics on the operational performance over time, financial performance
(funding and returns) among others as well as funding expansions. In addition, there are
differences in geography, cultural diversity as well as the order aboriginal and TorresStrait
Islander Australians who still experience population structure of young age as their life
expectancy is lower and higher fertility rate compared to non-indigenous Australians.
The sustainability of the industries is one of the economic implications which is fundamentally
linked to its capacity to attract capital to fund the development of the places needed over the
coming decade. The current supply management arrangement increased the risk of new entrants.

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Consistent with the government priorities of the budget, there are a various number of measures
which aim at tightening the sector funding. The policy uncertainty perception, especially in
relation to lump sums and supplements of government subsidies and brands, will be a crucial
determinant of the rate at which the required equity is deployed in order to fund the forecasted
required growth.
Among the potential economic effect of the policy is promotion of good health across the
lifespan hence more production- labor force in Australia production industries, better advises
with lessons from the past economic issues from health aged members of the society as well as
lowered economic as much of the economy may shift to the aged hence challenging Australia.
The strain on social pension systems and insurance programs impacts on the economy due to the
aging population (Bloom, Canning and Fink 2010, p.583). With an aging population increase,
budget allocations for many nations concerning social security must be raised. This means that
the amount of money entering the social security will decrease as contributions from “workers”
decrease and more funds are directed towards the aging retired population. Population for elderly
and retired workers who require pensions for maintaining or rather increasing their living
standards is globally increasing.
Pensions have limitations where the number of younger “workers” declines thus resulting in a
decrease in funds being contributed and hence a higher return is required in their investments.
The shortcoming is brought when workers in certain nations are encouraged by public pension
plans to retire early, thus making retiree payouts more expensive than ever before.
Increase in health care costs is another economic implication (Harvey, Dennison and Cooper
2010, p.99). Health generally declines for the aged population as they require more medical

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attention such as doctor visits, hospital stays, physical therapy, and prescription medicine. All of
these attentions require money that will increase due to rising demand by an aging population
and inflation increase. Therefore, nations must allocate more funds and human resources to the
provision of health care as they attend to the needs of other segments of their people also
(Bloom, Chatterji, Kowal, Lloyd-Sherlock, McKee, Rechel, Rosenberg and Smith 2015, p.649).
Shortages of skilled labor capable of caring the aged patients: An aging population highly
impacts economic growth. Those who will be available to offer services to firms will be fewer.
This decreased labor force means that fewer workers have to support a vast number of retirees
since they must pay taxes for social security, public pension benefits, and health care programs.
The workforce will go down leading negative effects on the policy and economic concerns.
Conclusion
Old is like gold. Until our knowledgeable elderly people are taken care of and the information
they possess passed to the young generation. Any challenges need to be addressed and
opportunities grabbed to make the elderly safer and hence the country at large leading to
sustainability.
Many developed countries have faced problems with aged population hence making it a priority
for the nation’s government to make health care policy for the aged (Pit, Shrestha, Schofield and
Passey 2010, p.175). For this purpose, various governments have taken some actions to curb this
issue in their countries. Though many of the schemes have been introduced are linked with
privately run and an active role in regulation but various governments have implemented the
policies to maximize social welfare.

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The Australian government has put more effort into these issues despite the policies having
inherent with some weaknesses. This has highly decreased the economic efficiency hence
creating a fiscal load burden on the government (Wright, Marston and McDonald 2011, p.299).
Regulations and subsidies must be reviewed in order to ensure that privatization leads to the
creation of economic efficiency and the fair distribution of the services and welfare. Therefore,
the government should put more effort into maximizing social welfare at minimal social and
economic costs (Kitzmueller and Shimshack 2012, p.51).

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References
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