budget 2019

Health groups slam inadequate Morrison budget

April 4, 2019 by Nurse Uncut Editor Leave a Comment

Health advocates across multiple sectors have panned the Morrison Government’s recent budget for being inadequate in its approach towards health care.

The Morrison Government’s so-called “Back in Black” budget is slated to return the nation’s finances to surplus at the expense of health, disability and welfare initiatives.

Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe noted that while the budget was a “good start”, it did not go to the heart of tackling dementia and provide adequate care for those living with the condition.

“A comprehensive and coordinated action plan is required to address the complex needs of people living with dementia [and] I urge for significant investment in dementia care”, Ms McCabe said.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation echoed this sentiment, calling the budget a “missed opportunity” to address concerns about the safety and quality of Aged Care facilities across the country.

Rural health has also been left off the agenda, with the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) noting that the budget contained “few benefits” for the health of rural Australians.

NRHA CEO Mark Diamond said that they were “disappointed to see that major population health issues were missing in the budget”.

The Australian Council of Social Service has also condemned the Government budget, with CEO Cassandra Goldie indicating that this budget “guarantees more cuts to essential services”, disadvantaging already vulnerable Australians.

Budget a ‘missed opportunity’ to support Aged Care nurses and care staff

April 3, 2019 by Rayan Calimlim

ANMF Media Release. 3 April 2019

The country’s largest union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), says last night’s self-professed ‘back in black’ Budget, is a missed opportunity by the Morrision Government to provide safe, quality care for older Australians and fails to support the work of the nurses and carers who could make an actual difference.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said the $21.6 billion for the aged care sector provides a patchwork of fragmented solutions but does not address the core issues underlying the widespread and systemic failures that have occurred across the sector and which are now being brought to light through the Royal Commission.

“The Government has made promises to support older Australians, invest in health and ensure essential services with this Budget, but has chosen to focus on tax cuts and a forecast surplus, which may or may not be delivered, instead of implementing measures which will actually turn those promises into reality,” Ms Butler said.

“The Budget has failed to direct health funding to those areas where it is urgently needed to alleviate the critical pressures being felt across the acute health system. And crucially, there is no genuine support to assist the nursing and midwifery workforce working in this system.

“Most critically of all there is no funding, no plan and no guarantee that this Budget will lead to improvements in quality and safety in aged care and there is definitely no support for the aged care workforce which is currently, under enormous pressure, just managing to hold the system together.

“The Government has once again failed to introduce legislative changes to ensure mandatory minimum staffing levels and hours of care for all residents, or to fund wage increases for nurses and carers to help build a quality workforce.

“This Budget is yet another missed opportunity for the Government to address the crisis in aged care by delivering crucial funding for additional staffing and guaranteeing that the generous taxpayer funded subsidies paid to providers are tied to direct care for residents.

“We believe that large, for-profit providers who continue to pay little or no tax, whilst taking advantage of their taxpayer-funded subsidies, should also come to the attention of the Government’s renewed crackdown on tax avoidance as announced in the Budget.

“There is little for nurses, midwives and carers to celebrate in this Budget, we only hope that the federal election will provide an opportunity for all sides of politics to genuinely recognise the value of their contribution to our society.”

Federal Budget: Aged Care funding must be tied to residents’ care

April 1, 2019 by Nurse Uncut Editor 1 Comment

The country’s largest union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), says the Morrison Government must guarantee that any new funding for aged care in tonight’s Budget, is transparent and accountable and tied to ensuring the provision of safe, best practice care for every elderly Australian.

In its pre-Budget Submission, the ANMF says 2018 “proved to be another year of progressively disturbing revelations of poor care for our elderly because of the problems in the aged care sector.”

ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, said instances of inadequate, substandard and missed care episodes “are not isolated, exceptional or occasional, they are systemic, widespread and even the norm” in nursing homes.

“The problems in aged care are well-known and well-documented, as we’ve heard in evidence presented to the Royal Commission so far, problems that are now a matter of national concern,” Ms Butler said.

“Our research and evidence have shown that chronic understaffing in aged care homes continues to be a key contributor in the neglect and abuse of elderly residents, because without legislated minimum staffing requirements to mandate minimum numbers and type of nursing and care staff, providers are able to employ a decreasing number of nurses, despite growing numbers of residents with complex care needs.”

Last year, the ANMF-commissioned a Report prepared by the Tax Justice Network – Australia, Tax avoidance by for-profit aged care companies: profit shifting on public funds, which showed that the top six for profit providers received $2.17 Billion in government subsidies, but paid little, or no tax, at a time when the number of care hours for residents has been slashed to dangerously low levels.

“As the report found, the large, for-profit providers are using complex corporate structures and other loopholes to maximise their profits and pay little or no tax, whilst taking advantage of the Government’s generous, taxpayer-funded subsidies,” Ms Butler explained.

“It’s concerning that currently, funding for aged care isn’t tied to ensuring safe, quality care for residents. That’s why the ANMF is calling on the Government to ensure any additional funding for aged care in the Budget is transparent and accountable. Providers should only receive taxpayer funding if they can prove it will be spent on the care of elderly nursing home residents, not boosting their bottom-line.”

In its pre-Budget Submission, the ANMF’s key recommendations include:

Introduce legislative changes that ensure mandatory minimum staffing levels and hours of care for all nursing home residents;
Establish an appropriate education and training framework to support the development of skills and workforce numbers needed to achieve minimum staffing requirements, in collaboration with the Aged Services Industry Reference Committee;
Implementation of a licensing scheme for aged care workers to ensure that the best workforce is available and adequately trained;
Determine and fund staged staffing increases required in nursing homes, commencing 1 July 2019;
Fund wage increases for all aged care workers to assist with recruitment and retention of quality workers.

“Older Australians don’t deserve the pain and suffering that many of them are currently experiencing because of the flaws in the aged care system. They deserve affordable, accessible, best-outcome care, provided by the right numbers of highly-trained nurses and qualified care staff,” Ms Butler added.

This article was originally published as a media release by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.