"Do you think stealing and hurting older people is OK? Did you know that both major parties just passed a new aged care act which lets an aged care provider take our taxes, super, and kids’ inheritance, but they don’t have to provide older people the care like dental and physio they need? Should dodgy providers get away with abusing your mum dad or loved one in aged care, steal your and their hard-earned money, and not even face a court?”

I don’t think aged care providers should get blank cheques from government, older people and taxpayers, with no possibility of being in front of a judge if they steal from older people. Nor does anyone I know. So why do our elected officials think that an aged care act without effective penalties for abusing older people is OK? It’s not. Please sign our petition at the end and remind those running for election they represent us and our wishes, not aged care providers"

Thank you for considering signing this petition on the most urgent issue in the upcoming election - aged care.  My name is Alwyn Blayse, I'm an aged care physio and advocate who has previously campaigned on mandated levels of physio, ENS, dental and clinical care. We gained national media attention when we campaigned and lodged senate petitions with 43000 signatures to #stopthedeathofalliedhealth and #bringbacknursesandphysios. 

I also work with many great aged care advocate groups. I don't speak for them, but these  knowledgeable groups and individuals are the voice of older people and if they say this aged care act is a bad deal for older people then I believe them (see OPAN​, COTA​, Aged Care Reform Now​, Aged Care Justice, ​Older Women's network​, Australian independent retirees for statements around, and their own websites for more info).

Most advocates say publicly and privately that this aged care act missed the chance for far more regulatory teeth, transparency, independent oversight and criminal consequences for providers and individuals doing the wrong thing when they abuse and steal from older people. None of this is in the aged care act that was passed before Christmas 2024. 

Please sign the petition below and share on to protect older people and their rights, your super and your kids inheritance. Make no mistake this is an aged care tax, no matter what politicians say. 

We have an upcoming election with small margins for victory, and aged care was the leading issue last time. You might even remember promises were made to “go after dodgy providers and bring them to court”. Let’s make sure that this election, we remind our elected officials they act for their community and older people, NOT aged care providers.

Thank you on behalf of older people for your help signing and sharing this petition.

 

 

 

 

Alwyn Blayse BPthy MAPA Noosa Heads QLD 4567

CEO AAC Health Group Australia and Allied Aged Care, Senior aged care physiotherapist, member of Aged Care Reform Now, Clinical Consultant Aged Care Justice, member of Aged Care Roundtable OPAN/COTA

 (I do not speak for these organisations and act in an individual capacity)

Background

You may not have heard, because it was just before Christmas, and aged care isn’t trendy, and media, politics are influenced by corporate consultants to ensure you don’t. 

But sadly, it’s true. Aged Care Act Bill, that Aged Care Minister Anika Wells and shadow Aged Care minister Ann Rushton , and both sides politics agreed to ditch any criminal penalties when they passed the first change to an aged care act in 27 years. Both parties put aged care provider lobbyists in the media, and political donations before the needs of older people.  

This act also will now cost billions more of YOUR and other hard-working Australians super meant for retirement, force the sale of the family home and take your kids inheritance and future house deposit. 

Now that the aged care act has passed 

• Nursing homes have immediately increased prices so those who could afford to retire before can’t.
• Nursing homes can charge more user pays and call clinically needed items previously paid for like physio and dental “extras”.
• Self-funded retirees will be hit the hardest, paying up to $30,000 a year more.
• Even those on partial pensions will have to pay more
  people will have to use up all their super, worked hard and planned for retirement lifestyle, now changed so greedy providers can use up while they are alive.
•  The family home IS at risk, and so is your child’s house deposits to fund a two-tiered user pay system where the poorest get almost no services.
• There are no guarantees even if you can pay you will get better services like nursing, dental or allied health and physio. They aren’t being given now, from government figures $800 million should have gone on allied health, only $300 million passed on by providers. Providers kept half a billion could have gone to schools, hospitals tax cuts.
• Reports are that providers already are calling clinically needed rehab, dental care “extras” you must pay for.
• The aged care act isn’t even legally enforceable. There are no criminal penalties and laughably low financial penalties if providers breach the act, meaning there is no deterrent stop ceos and boards stealing money meant for care and neglect older people!  

Senate Petition BELOW this line

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Senate petition calling for criminal penalties for aged care providers not passing on our supe and kids inheritances for clinical care of our mums, dads and friends in aged care

To the Honourable President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled:

The petition of the undersigned shows:

We the undersigned are deeply concerned about the aged care act that passed before Christmas 2024. We demand urgent changes to protect the rights of older people and the community that funds aged care in our taxes and contributions. 

Part 1 of petition– We the undersigned feel strongly the need for stronger protections, a more human rights based Aged Care Act

We do not believe that the new aged care act sufficiently protects the human rights of older people to receive quality aged care. It is focused on the needs of aged care providers, at the expense of older people’s health and wellbeing.

The aged care act has insufficient protections and guarantees that older people will receive the quality aged care that they deserve, and taxpayers are paying for.

We believe that there is a discrepancy between actual aged care delivery with what is reported via star ratings and my aged care, versus what is being delivered and that this new aged care act does nothing to improve that.

We don't want providers to be able to self-report the level of services, clinical care and financial information with almost no transparency on where taxpayer and resident funds go. We need far more independent transparent community-based oversight from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and Department of Health and Ageing.

Externally contracted individuals and organisations receiving government money to help the department must be independently examined regularly to ensure there are no real or perceived conflicts of interest by providing services to or receiving benefits from associations with aged care providers. 

We need more from the new aged care act which right now which does not do enough to give true accountability and independent oversight particularly clinically and financially, nor does it impose sufficient penalties for those who breach the act.

We want the full implementation of all the royal commission recommendations, especially those around the independence of the regulator, legal enforcement of breaches, and funding to ensure minimum levels of clinical care including dental care and allied health needs to be adopted in full.

We call on government to listen to the recommendations of changes to the act esp. those around effective penalties for breaches made by advocate groups COTA, OPAN, Aged Care Justice, Aged Care Reform Now, Older Women’s Network and other advocates for older people. 

Ensure aged care advocates are adequately funded to also independently audit in their communities to protect older people

Ensure all advocate funding is not subject to contracts that require support of and not speaking out when disagreeing with government policy. 

We call on the government to include specific amendments to the Aged Care Act regarding workforce qualifications, skill, training, and scope of practice made by groups such Nursing and Midwives Federation, Health Services Union, United Workers Union and Allied Health Professions Australia.

Part 2 Petition - We utterly disagree with the Aged Care taskforce and its user pay recommendations now passed in the Aged Care Act, including use of superannuation to pay for aged care.

We DO NOT support the taskforce recommendations especially a user pay system that uses superannuation, co-payments and paying for services where what is delivered is not at all defined. 

The task force recommendations included in the act will create a two-tiered system where those who cannot afford to pay get very little care, and those who can afford to pay may receive some more services but not the ones they want and need either.

Superannuation is vital to ensure older people can retire and fund their health needs. Super balances are too low for most to be able to afford to spend this plus other care they need when not working. 

We reject the aged care taskforce statement that “older people are increasingly wealthy”. They are not. 90% of Australian seniors feel financial strain, and 25% are in poverty. 

We don’t believe that aged care providers are not sustainable unless they take our super and inheritances to our kids. The taskforce report used old data, and a lack of independent financial auditing and accounting tricks means that most aged care providers are very sustainable currently.

We believe that this aged care tax disproportionately affects women, those who rent and dont own houses, and those with low super balances who will not receive even basic care regardless of safety nets.

We also believe that older people who have worked hard and paid taxes all their lives don’t deserve to have to pay more to help subsidise those who cannot afford to pay. All older people deserve as a human right quality aged care, regardless of their capacity to pay. 

We are concerned that this recommended user pay system is an aged care tax and wealth tax in disguise. Such a tax is inter-generational theft for the next generation who will be left without inheritances and home deposits to fund care that this aged care act does not ensure will be received.

If we are to pay more for services, we want to RECEIVE these services. We expect a stronger aged care act, with far greater transparency and independent audits free from conflicts of interest to ensure that extra funds needed for individualised human rights-based care of older people as intended.

In Summary

The undersigned petitioners ask that the Senate:

1/ Amend the Aged Care act to ensure the human rights of older people are met, by including effective penalties including individual criminal and hefty financial penalties to ceos and boards not passing on funds meant for care or hurting older people 

2/ Guarantee that we will not have to use our super, and kids’ inheritance on aged care that won't be received. Have transparent delivery of care, independently audited with community input to prove what is claimed is being delivered