Aged Care
Time to end nursing home rorts
The federal government must stop for-profit aged care providers from spending taxpayer subsidies however they wish.
Successive federal governments have enabled a system that allows for-profit aged care companies to benefit from cuts to staff levels and wages, the NSWNMA has told a Senate inquiry.
NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes said the public expects healthcare companies to be held accountable for how they spend government money.
However, government unwillingness to regulate aged care outcomes has resulted in “overt profiteering” by the for-profit sector.
“Australia previously had a system that ring-fenced funding for staffing costs, a system that provided some assurance that Commonwealth funds would be directed to resident care,” he said.
“Sadly, the push for self-regulation across the sector removed this minimal protection for those most in need of protection, allowing a sustained deluge of funds to be streamed away from direct care.”
Brett made the comments in a submission to the inquiry into the financial and tax practices of for-profit aged care companies.
He said many aged care staff regularly work extra hours for no pay for employers who do not recognise dangerous staffing and skills shortages.
“This is set within a backdrop of record profits and increasing investment in top management roles that see no benefit to resident care and outcomes.”
The NSWNMA submission calls for a system of “ring-fenced funding for staffing” to ensure taxpayer funds are spent on direct resident care.
More accountability for government subsidies
In a separate submission, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) said recent research showed that nursing home residents receive one and a half hours less care than they should, every day.
“Yet there are no rules to ensure that government subsidies given to aged care companies are spent directly on their care,” it said.
Large for-profit aged care companies, in particular, use “loopholes and complex corporate structures and tactics to maximise earnings and profits and avoid tax, while taking advantage of generous, taxpayer-funded government subsidies.”
The ANMF said companies that receive millions of dollars in government subsidies should be required by law to meet higher standards of transparency in financial reporting.
“Proof of government funding being directly spent on the care of elderly residents needs to be mandated as a prerequisite to receiving a subsidy.”
For-profit aged care companies are also not transparent regarding the staffing of facilities, the submission said.
“Consumers, external organisations and the government have no way of knowing whether residential aged care facilities are staffed in a way that will keep them and their families safe.”
The ANMF’s recommendations include specific measures to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the spending of government funding and company reporting.
It says residential aged care companies must publicly and transparently report the staffing of all aged care facilities.
Federal Secretary of the ANMF, Annie Butler, said for-profit providers must be made accountable for over $2 billion they receive from the taxpayer.
“Residential aged care companies should provide proof that government funding is being spent directly on the care of residents,” she said.
“This should be mandated as a pre-requisite to receiving a subsidy.
“The best way of demonstrating this would be to implement mandated and legislated skills mixes and staffing.”
Find out more
You can read all the submissions to the senate inquiry into the financial and tax practices of for-profit aged care providers at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Taxpractices-agedcare/Submissions