'No $50 showers', Greens tell Minister Rae to fix aged care copayments before November deadline
'No $50 showers', Greens tell Minister Rae to fix aged care copayments before November deadline | Australian Greens Skip to main content Search Get Involved Join Donate Our plan Tax the 1% Tackle the cost of living Healthcare for all Fix the housing crisis Strong climate action Policy principles & aims Our team Federal MPs State/territory MPs Officeholders Media releases Take action Volunteer Donate Issues & campaigns Events Greens Shop Leave a bequest Our movement About the Greens Become a member Jobs Green Magazine All news Get Involved Join Donate Search Our plan Toggle Tax the 1% Tackle the cost of living Healthcare for all Fix the housing crisis Strong climate action Policy principles & aims Our team Toggle Federal MPs State/territory MPs Officeholders Media releases Take action Toggle Volunteer Donate Issues & campaigns Events Greens Shop Leave a bequest Our movement Toggle About the Greens Become a member Jobs Green Magazine All news 'No $50 showers', Greens tell Minister Rae to fix aged care copayments before November deadline 2025-09-25 The Greens have written to the Aged Care Minister, Sam Rae, urging him to act to prevent aged care recipients from having to pay up to $50 each day just to get support with showering and taking medication when changes are introduced, as the ABC reported this week.
Under the new co-payments system for aged care, due to come into effect on November 1, older Australians receiving home care for “non-clinical” supports will be subject to co-payments. The Inspector-General of Aged Care has raised concerns that the co-payments system will cause older Australians to forgoe essential care, and have downstream impacts for hospitalisations and premature entry into the residential care system.
The Greens opposed the new co-payments system and were the only Senators to vote to remove it when the Aged Care legislation moved through the Senate last year. No one assessed for Aged Care after 12 September 2024 will be grandfathered or subject to the “no worse off” principle, meaning potentially hundreds of thousands of participants will be on the new rules from 1 November, many of whom may be unaware that they are about to face new charges due to the confusion of the government’s reforms.
Extract from the letter from Greens spokesperson for Older People, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, to the Minister for Aged Care, Sam Rae: “All Australians want to have faith that they will be looked after in their old age, and be able to access the care that they need at the time that they need it. “But unfortunately, these aged care reforms are taking Australia in another direction, where the worse your health is, the more you’ll pay.
And many older Australians will be squeezed out of care entirely by the Government’s price increases.” full text available here Facebook for the Australian Greens YouTube for the Australian Greens X for the Australian Greens Instagram for the Australian Greens Bluesky for the Australian Greens Privacy Members website Your safety Contact us Our plan Tax the 1% Tackle the cost of living Healthcare for all Fix the housing crisis Strong climate action In your language 2025 policy platform Policy principles & aims Our team Federal MPs State/territory MPs Officeholders Federal portfolios Federal media releases Take action Volunteer Donate Issues & campaigns Upcoming events Greens Shop Leave a bequest Green Magazine All news Our movement About the Greens Become a member Jobs Members website State/territory parties Contact us The Greens acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.
We acknowledge that these lands were stolen and sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. The Australian Greens Authorised by Gemmia Burden & Caroline Atkinson, The Greens, 1 Anthony Rolfe Avenue, Gungahlin, 2912 Site & copyright information Privacy Your Safety View this site in High Contrast mode We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience.
Find out more about how we use cookies and how you can avoid trackers online. Learn more No, thanks OK