Home

Public wants aged care funding increased

AAP
The general public believes there is work to be done to achieve a high-quality aged care system.
Camera IconThe general public believes there is work to be done to achieve a high-quality aged care system.

Most Australians believe the federal government should significantly boost aged care funding but are willing to contribute to the cost of high-quality care, particularly if it means they can remain at home, research shows.

The general public believes there is work to be done to achieve a high-quality aged care system, the landmark study conducted for the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety shows.

"The general public recognise the current deficiencies of Australia's aged care system and believe significantly more government funding should be allocated to achieve higher-quality aged care," the report, released on Thursday, said.

Royal commissioners Tony Pagone QC and Lynelle Briggs said the research confirms Australians want high quality aged care to be delivered and accept more funding is part of the solution.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Nine out of 10 people surveyed agreed the government should provide higher funding for aged care services.

In addition, 59 per cent of respondents the government should spend a greater proportion of taxpayer dollars on aged care and less on other public services.

On average, those people thought there should be a doubling of the level of public expenditure allocated to aged care, from the current four per cent of income tax collected from each taxpayer.

The Flinders University research backed the current system where people pay a co-contribution fee to access aged care services, while the majority of funding comes from Australian government.

"There was overall support from the general public for individual payments, in line with ability to pay, as a fundamental component of aged care funding to achieve a high-quality aged care system for Australia in the future."

With most Australians preferring to remain at home when they need aged care services rather than move into a residential facility, the study found 72 per cent of people were willing to pay more if it meant they could stay at home.

The average amount they were prepared to pay to avoid entering residential care was $184 per week.

People were also willing to pay more to receive a high level of quality care at home or in a residential facility.

The large-scale study is the first of its kind internationally to investigate the views of the general public about the quality of aged care and its future funding.

More than 10,000 adults not currently using aged care services were surveyed.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails