Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment

“As a former shadow assistant minister for aged care, I understand how important it is that we get this generational reform right because it will serve Australians for years to come. As Minister Rae has stated, this is why the Albanese Labor government chose to defer the start of the Aged Care Act 2024 and the new Support at Home care package—because we must provide more time for aged-care providers to prepare their clients, support their workforce and get the systems ready for this significant reform. Therefore, this bill will provide further support for the Albanese Labor government's ambition to transform the experience of older Australians receiving care, wherever they reside across the country.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 01 Sept 2025

“We know that the need is urgent, and it's not acceptable to have older Australians dying at home, as we heard last week, while waiting for a care package. We know that. It is not acceptable. It reflects how broken this system is and why it is so urgent that this parliament and the Senate pass the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. We are completely overhauling this system. At the heart of it is the wishes of older Australians. It is a generational reform that we will reap the benefits of for years to come.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 03 Sept 2025

“I hope the Parliament will come together to support this Bill, to help realise the full potential of these critical aged care reforms.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 31 July 2025

“These bills are required to make the necessary amendments to the existing legislation and to support the commencement of the Aged Care Act. It actually passed both houses in 2024, but the commencement and the release of those home-care packages will be on 1 November this year. There are many, many technical amendments. I notice that I'm running short on time here, so I won't address all of them. But why this matters is that it enables an effective rollout of the rights based aged-care system that was recommended by the royal commission and includes the Support at Home program. It protects the rights and entitlements of existing care recipients through transitional provisions. It clarifies incorrect definitions, procedural mechanisms and regulatory powers critical to the Aged Care 2024 Act so that it functions as was intended. It ensures governments can respond flexibly and quickly to implementation issues, particularly via the temporary rulemaking powers. I know that that has seen some contention in the inquiry into these bills that was held but also in this place and there has been some politicking about that. None of that is without scrutiny and accountability. It can still be scrutinised and held to account around the decision-making.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 03 Sept 2025

“These bills ensure the new rights based system starts well on 1 November. They protect people during transition, strengthen accountability and keep the focus on quality. This is another practical step in putting the care back into aged care and in giving families the confidence that the system will be there for them when they need it. I commend the bills to the Senate.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 03 Sept 2025

“We won't seek to delay the passage of this bill—Australians deserve better than broken promises and more procrastination and delay by this Albanese Labor government; I understand that—but these changes have to be scrutinised to ensure the process of reform can be implemented in the best way possible, because, at the end of the day, our society is ageing, and we need to provide the very best quality of care. But, for want of a better word, there also needs to be the quantity of care, and, in regional Australia at the moment, it's tough. It's tough for these providers to make ends meet. They do a grand job. I take my hat off to them. And people, like those who are running the centre at Gundagai, are doing it really tough.”

National Party • MP • 30 July 2025

“I rise to speak on the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. I do so in the interests of ensuring that our senior Australians receive the best care, which they deserve. Importantly, this means making the rollout of aged-care support as seamless and timely as possible. The coalition and I support the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, subject to our amendments. This bill is integral to delivering the Aged Care Act 2024 and, hence, essential to delivering the recommendations of the aged care royal commission instituted under the former coalition government.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 03 Sept 2025

“The coalition does not seek to delay the passage of these bills, but we will move amendments to ensure sector readiness, transparency and fairness. I also foreshadow a second reading amendment which has been circulated in the chamber in my name. We urge the government to immediately publish the Support at Home release plan and the final manual, and to register the aged-care rules upon royal assent. Older Australians deserve better, providers deserve clarity, and parliament deserves accountability.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 02 Sept 2025

“Again, the coalition supports the need for this legislation to deliver on the important changes we fought hard for, for the benefit of hardworking Australians. But we remain extremely disappointed by this government's refusal to listen to aged-care providers and its complete neglect of older Australians who need support to stay in their own homes. That is why we'll be seeking to refer both the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 and the Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Levy Amendment Bill 2025 for Senate inquiries to ensure adequate consultation for the benefit of older Australians who rely on the aged-care sector. The coalition strongly supports all older Australians having access to the care they need and deserve.”

Liberal Party • MP • 30 July 2025

“This is a crisis of the government's own making. We are proud to have forced this government into providing an additional 83,000 packages this financial year, but there is still more work to be done, and the coalition will continue to fight for older Australians with one clear goal: no-one should have to wait for the care they have been assessed as needing.”

Liberal Party • MP • 04 Sept 2025

“yes—to bring forward 20,000 new home-care packages. Amendments passed by the Senate have forced the government to urgently negotiate and bring forward that release of 20,000 home-care packages and front-load the release of the Support at Home program from 1 November. The Greens have for a long time been pushing the government hard to take action, chairing a Senate inquiry into the issue and putting forward amendments to the government's aged-care legislation. My Greens colleague Senator Penny Allman-Payne has worked very hard at this, and it is a credit to the work of her, to Senator David Pocock and to Senator Ruston that this reform has been achieved. This will begin the work of addressing the urgent needs of over 200,000 older Australians waiting 12 months or more for basic care like showering, cooking and cleaning. But there are still over 200,000 people on the waiting list for Support at Home, and this win will barely touch the sides. We're still seeing care rationed and older people treated, sadly, like commodities.”

Australian Greens • MP • 04 Sept 2025

“(ii) while the Government accepted this recommendation, this bill retains in the Aged Care Act 2024 a formalised pathway to place people under 65 in aged care, and”

Australian Greens • Senator • 03 Sept 2025

“I join my colleagues in the Senate in saying that I won't be delaying the bill. I'm glad we finally got to it. This clearly needs to pass for Support at Home to commence in November, but the Senate does have a right to make really sensible amendments. I foreshadow that I'll be moving an amendment that would see the release of 20,000 new home-care packages. We all know it can be done. The department has said as much. We know that they can be provided. Providers have said publicly that they have capacity, and we know that there is need. This is urgent. This is the opportunity for the government to change the lives of 20,000 older Australians and, in most cases, change the lives of their families. I urge the government: this is an opportunity to do the right thing, to do the thing that the evidence suggests we need to do leading up to 1 November and to do the thing that is in the best interests of older Australians. You'll have an opportunity when other senators and I move amendments to the main bill.”

Independent • Senator • 02 Sept 2025

“I support this bill, but I take this opportunity to highlight serious deficiencies in the current home-care system, which my constituents are so very much relying on, before the new Aged Care Act and support-at-home system commences. Home-care packages make a life-changing difference for people across in my electorate in north-east Victoria. For older Australians, getting help with basics like cleaning and gardening preserves their ability to stay in their home for longer. For their families, it provides the peace of mind that their loved ones are getting the care and support they need when they need it. But, while the benefits of these packages are clear, the reality of getting an assessment leaves too many older people languishing on waitlists; we've just heard graphic descriptions of this from the member for Mayo.”

Independent • MP • 30 July 2025

“I recognise that the government has been trying to make home aged care and care for older Australians more sustainable. That is a good thing. That is a very positive thing. But home care is really critical to that. Home care is both a good economic choice—if we can keep people out of aged care, it is better in terms of the cost—and, most importantly, a good choice for people's families and for people's own mental health. It is what they want. Both bringing the additional 20,000 packages and bringing forward those packages earlier in the year are really critical when we are seeing such a growth of people on the waiting list desperately needing help and not being able to get it.”

Independent • MP • 04 Sept 2025

“I also rise to support the release of these 20,000 home-care packages. I believe it is an important step forward for the parliament and also for the nation. Most people in our communities know how important home care is to our seniors and the difference that it makes to people's lives. I think everyone was shocked that these packages were being withheld. The feedback from the Calare electorate, in the Central West of New South Wales, is that the packages need to be released on the double and that we need to get help to our seniors to help with their amenity of life and the support that they need.”

Independent • MP • 04 Sept 2025