Annual indexation rate approved for aged care
The Australian Government has officially approved the annual indexation for residential care, community care and flexible care – adding more than $163 million in extra Commonwealth government funding.
Effective 1 July, payments for residential care subsidies and supplements will increase by $152 million and community care subsidies by $11 million.
The increase is in line with the annual indexation arrangements as advised by the Department of Finance and Administration.
Over the next four years, funding for aged and community care will reach more than $40 billion – with $28.6 billion of that on residential aged care alone.
The Government says funding to aged and community care in Australia has experienced the largest single increase in a single year – 10.4% for the 2008-09 budget year.
The indexation will increase aged care subsidies by 2.3% over the coming year.
This indexation is in addition to the Conditional Adjustment Payment funded in the budget which was increased to a level of 8.75%, increasing residential care funding to more than $94 million in 2008-09.
The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) and related funding changes implemented on 20 March 2008 provide a further increase from the Commonwealth of more than $267 million in residential care funding for 2008-09.
When all Government initiatives are taken together, there is a 10.4% increase in funding for the residential aged care sector in 2008-09 to an estimated total of more than $6.7 billion.
