Portfolio — 23 March 2026

The Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Mr Rae, used a Question Time response on 23 March to deliver a comprehensive account of the government's aged-care reform program across five distinct areas [TA-260323-house-068fade26cde:s244]. The centrepiece legislative instrument — a new Aged Care Act commencing 1 November 2025 — enshrines a statutory statement of rights for aged-care recipients, marking a structural shift in how the sector is regulated.

On home care, the government has committed 83,000 additional places through the Support at Home program, with places allocated directly to individuals rather than to providers — a design change the Minister presented as increasing consumer control over access to services [TA-260323-house-068fade26cde:s244].

The Minister pointed to $115 million in capital funding through the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program directed at Adelaide, Illawarra, Perth and the Hunter, with new beds expected to be operational within two years. Total capital investment through the program since 2022 has exceeded one billion dollars, according to the Minister's statement [TA-260323-house-068fade26cde:s244].

On workforce, the Minister cited four fully funded rounds of wage increases for aged-care workers, with average registered nurse earnings rising by $28,000 annually as a result.

The Minister framed the reform record explicitly against the previous government's nine-year tenure, arguing that the same royal commission findings and stakeholder reports were available to that government but went unacted upon. The parliamentary record from this single Question Time exchange is the only source stream available for this Note; no ministerial media releases were supplied for the same period.