QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr RAE (Hawke—Minister for Aged Care and Seniors) (14:44): I thank the member for Mayo for her question, I thank her for bringing Greg's case to the parliament, and I appreciate the engagement that her office regularly has with mine as we try to work through these issues for constituents, as I do with many members across the parliament. As the member for Mayo's question pertains to, our population is ageing very rapidly, and demand for care is growing very rapidly accordingly.
In some cases, people such as Greg have gone through the assessment process and are still waiting to receive the care that they need. Our government is responding to this challenge. As of 31 March, a record 364,723 older Australians have access to an ongoing Support at Home place, while 100,191 are still waiting for their approved level.
That's why this financial year alone we're delivering 83,000 additional in-home care places, and we're not stopping there. This budget most recently outlined our plan to deliver another 32,000 places next financial year. These extra packages will continue taking pressure off the national priority system, getting more older people the care that they need more quickly.
Once we've rolled out these additional places, by the end of 2026-27, 420,000 older Australians will have access to Support at Home. That will be almost three times the number of older Australians that were receiving care as compared with the Home Care Packages Program back in 2020. Our significant investment in additional places is making a difference.
Since Support at Home began on 1 November, wait times have come down across high, medium and standard priorities, and every person assessed as urgent continues to receive their funding within a month. Additionally, within the budget we outlined additional investment to ensure that the prioritisation mechanism within— The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Mayo, on a point of order?
Ms Sharkie: To the minister, I actually asked you about Greg, who has motor neurone disease, and he's dying and he can't get care. The SPEAKER: The minister did address that part of the question, and I did hear him mention the person's name. If he has any more information regarding the individual case, he can do so, but he was asked about what it takes to get Support at Home.
He is answering that part of the question and is being directly relevant. I can appreciate the seriousness of the question, and I'll ask the minister to continue. Mr RAE: I listened to the question very carefully, Member for Mayo, and I can assure you that I have the greatest personal sympathy for Greg and other people that are in the circumstances that he faces.
That's why, through this budget, we've attributed some additional funding to look at the prioritisation mechanism of the national priority system to ensure that people get the care that they need. We will continue every single day to work hard to make sure that our aged-care system is fit for purpose and that it serves people just like Greg.