Aged care reform: who will pay more?

Aged care has long been a wicked problem: how to ensure people in their final years are treated with dignity and respect, yet keep costs under control? And with more people living longer, often with complex health needs, how can we keep them at home while making sure they are properly cared for?

The politics of the funding reforms announced yesterday are complex, writes Michelle Grattan. First, an unpalatable headline: some Australians will be asked to pay more for aged care. In agreeing to the deal, the opposition has limited its ability to attack the government’s policy, and it may feel the heat from self-funded retirees, a group that has traditionally supported the Coalition. But in backing the changes, Peter Dutton is calculating that “it’s easier for Labor than the Coalition to find big savings that produce serious losers”.

As Nicole Sutton and Mike Woods write, not everyone will be happy about paying more. But it will allow taxpayer funding to better target support for residents without the means to pay.

The government has chosen not to pursue a levy on income tax to pay for the rising costs of aged care. Avoiding such a levy will improve intergenerational equity by taking some of the pressure off taxpayers.

Amanda Dunn

Politics + Society Editor

Today's newsletter supported by The Conversation

Aged care reform: self-funded retirees and part-pensioners to pay more as government aims to shore up the system

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Self-funded retirees and many part pensioners will pay more for their aged care under the government’s reform package, endorsed by the opposition and announced on Thursday.

Grattan on Friday: Coalition backs Labor’s heavy lifting on aged care, hoping to reap the benefit down the track

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The government’s changes to the NDIS and it’s endorsement of aged care reforms, Peter Dutton is calculating it’s easier for Labor than the Coalition to find big savings that produce serious “losers”

The government has a new plan for residential aged care. Here’s what’s changing

Nicole Sutton, University of Technology Sydney; Michael Woods, University of Technology Sydney

After months of negotiations between the major parties, the government has announced its new plan for aged care. Here’s what it means for people in residential aged care and their families.

Sneesby’s resignation from Nine points to host of problems besetting commercial TV networks

Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne

The chief executive’s departure completes the cleanout of the top levels of an organisation besieged by cultural problems.

Long-overdue Australian privacy law reform is here – and it’s still not fit for the digital era

Katharine Kemp, UNSW Sydney

The new privacy act reform bill has some welcome amendments, but it doesn’t touch most of the substantive principles that were passed in 1988.

Does the Albanese government’s proposed ‘hate speech’ law give us what we need?

Luke McNamara, UNSW Sydney

The Albanese government’s ‘hate speech’ laws aren’t as strong as first suggested, so how will it impact Australians?

$84bn lost to housing tax lurks? That would go a long way towards ending the housing crisis

Alan Morris, University of Technology Sydney

Limiting or scrapping negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount would help take the heat out of the market and give the government much more money to invest in social housing.

Kids under 13 use social media. How can parents help keep them safe online?

Karley Beckman, University of Wollongong; Claire Rogerson, University of Wollongong; Tiffani Apps, University of Wollongong

The focus of media and political debates has been on teenagers and social media. But studies have shown about one in four Australian kids between eight and12 use social media too.

Instead of banning kids from online spaces, here’s what we should offer them instead

Amanda Third, Western Sydney University

Experts know simply banning kids from social media isn’t going to protect them from harm – but there’s lots of evidence on what we can do instead.

Should school nurses weigh students? We asked 5 experts

Fron Jackson-Webb, The Conversation

The Australian College of Nursing wants to see school nurses weigh students and measure their hight. The plan has sparked anger among health professionals and parents. But what do the experts say?

New study links low incomes, stressed parents and child behaviour – better support would bring lifelong benefits

Jaimie Monk, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research; Arthur Grimes, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Kate C. Prickett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Philip S. Morrison, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Tracing the experiences of 6,000 mothers, new research shows how money, stress and excessive use of screens can affect the preschool behavioural development of their children.

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