Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston claims a win for forcing Labor’s hand on the release of aged home care packages. Photo: Anne Ruston Facebook.
Labor has been forced into an embarrassing backdown over its rollout of aged care home packages, with the Coalition and crossbench forcing the government to release 20,000 immediately, despite ministers insisting a delay was necessary and what the industry wanted.
The Federal Opposition, the Greens and some independents, including ACT Senator David Pocock, joined forces to demand more packages be funded.
Together, they passed an amendment to aged care legislation moved by Senator David Pocock, which Labor voted against before backflipping to save face.
Labor promised 83,000 new packages from 1 July 2025, but not a single new home care package has been released this financial year.
The priority waitlist has blown out from 87,000 to more than 108,000 in July and wait times have tripled.
Even more startling is that another 121,000 older Australians are still waiting to be assessed for help.
The Opposition and crossbench have hounded the Federal Government all week in parliament over the delay, amending the bill that would force the government to either back the immediate release of extra packages or block them.
The government voted against the Coalition’s requirement on Wednesday morning (3 September) but by the afternoon had done a complete about-face and agreed to it.
Health Minister Mark Butler ignored the fact that Labor senators had voted against Senator Pocock’s amendment and instead gave thanks to shadow health minister Anne Ruston for negotiating the Coalition’s position.
“We have to get this legislation through the parliament this week. If we don’t, there is simply no way we can introduce the new aged care system on the 1st of November,” Mr Butler said.
“And again, there have been good, constructive discussions with Senator Ruston about finding a way forward to ensure we configure those 83,000 packages that we funded for the first 12 months of the new aged care system in a way that meets the needs and the views of, particularly, the two major parties.
“Obviously, also advocacy groups, who have been talking to both of us.
“I’m pleased to announce we’ve reached a position where we can support the position of Senator Ruston in the Senate when it comes to a vote over the course of today.”
What Labor agreed to is 20,000 aged care packages being released immediately, and another 20,000 to be released between 1 November and 31 December. The remaining 43,000 new packages will be delivered by the end of the financial year (30 June 2026).
Mr Butler described negotiations as a “moving feast” with the government taking a “sensible, measured approach” while also listening to the aged care sector’s concerns over staffing and the timing.
“We’ve been considering our position and, at the end of the day, we have said the bill needs to pass before the end of this week,” he said.
But Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the government was humiliated into its newfound position. She said it wasn’t a deal but a defeat for the government.
“Labor faced a choice today: listen to the Coalition and release these packages early, or vote against the Coalition and deny vulnerable Australians the support they desperately need,” Ms Ley said.
“We forced this arrogant Labor government to listen to older Australians and to the Coalition.
“But be under no illusion, this is not a deal, this is a defeat. Labor has been forced into a humiliating backdown.”
Senator Ruston said the delay should never have happened, but the Coalition stood up for older Australians across the country.
“The money was in the budget. The capacity was there. Only Labor stood in the way,” Senator Ruston said.
“It is a black mark on this government that they were purposely withholding support from hundreds of thousands of older Australians who desperately needed it. Quite frankly, people were dying while they waited.
“This is a crisis of the government’s own making. We are proud to have forced the government into providing an additional 83,000 packages this financial year, but there is still more work to be done.”
Senator Pocock described the outcome as a “huge win for community advocacy”, adding that the release of the packages should have never been delayed.
Greens aged care spokesperson Penny Allman-Payne said the government had to be “dragged kicking and screaming” to release the home care packages.
“This is a government that has tried for the last few weeks to hide the extent of the true problem in terms of people waiting for care,” she said.
“Older Australians deserve to get care at the time they need it.”
