New research: Commonwealth can afford $10b for Aged Care recommendations

Initial improvements in aged care funding should proceed immediately, even before new revenue measures are implemented.

Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety will require additional Commonwealth funding of at least $10 billion per year, and there are several revenue tools which the government could use to raise those funds.

Key Findings:

  • $10 billion per year (approximately 0.5% of Australia’s GDP) would be the minimum required to move forward with the urgent reforms advised by the Commission
  • Australia’s public spending on aged care is much lower than other industrial countries with better records of aged care service
  • Australia’s overall tax collections are also much smaller (by about 5% of GDP) than the OECD average

‘Australia is one of the richest countries in the world. There should be no argument over whether we can afford to provide top-quality, respectful care to the elders who helped build our economy and our society,’ said Dr Jim Stanford, Director of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.

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Research page: Funding high-quality aged care services

Download: Funding high-quality aged care services [PDF 1.3MB]