Tracey Martin: Chief Executive of the Aged Care Association on government's focus on aged care reform

The Government is throwing it's weight behind aged care reform. 

A ministerial advisory group has been established to review the outdated funding model, which currently costs $2.5billion a year. 

Chief Executive of the Aged Care Association Tracey Martin told Mike Hosking that the government is ready to make progress instead of writing more paperwork. 

'The announcement that has been made recently is the first true action. This is not another review.'

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're having a look at some aged care reform. Apparently
we've got a Ministry Real advisory group they've established to
review the outdated funding model their words, not mine, currently
costs US two and a half billion dollars a year.
What they're looking at is the sustainable supply of aged
care beds and cohesion between services. Now Tracy Martin for
when you see on first MP, of course, our chief
executive of Aged Care Association these days and is with us.

(00:21):
Good morning, good morning. We haven't talked for a while
post to your political life. Do you enjoying this job?
Have you got a grip on it?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes? I am enjoying it. I think I'm gripping it up.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Okay, as the Prime Minister would say, at two and
a half billion dollars expenditure for the sector, is the
money efficient?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Two and a half billion dollars also includes home and
home care delivery, so it's not all for residential care.
But I don't think anybody believes, and we've had report
after report after report saying that that the model of
delivery and the funding system itself is broken. So ultimately,

(01:00):
at the moment, we're putting that money in, but can
we say that we are getting the best, the most
efficient system out the other side that cares for people
the way they should be cared for. We've got passionate
people delivering care, absolutely, but the model needs to have
to be looked at.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Okay. So it's not just automatically about more.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Money, No, definitely not. This is about taking you know,
what is the last century way of delivering care to
a completely different cohort of human beings. Ultimately, they're older,
they're come in with much more complicated sort of co morbidities,
their acuities. Higher aging in place has been very successful.

(01:40):
So the people that are being looked after in residential
care have much higher needs and it needs to be
delivered in a different way.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Okay, apart from the different wayside of it, the aging
population and its role and how dramatic that will be.
Are we on top of that?

Speaker 2 (01:56):
No, absolutely not. I mean government's successive governments have it's
coming and they haven't taken the action that's needed to
be taken. So we kind of got a very small
window left now around about ten to fifteen years.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Okay, So it's one thing to say, let's have a
look at it. Is anything going to happen. When do
I ring you back and when do you go? Well,
I'll tell you what we fixed that good and proper.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yes, that's right, well, well done, good point. I think
what's what we're hoping for with the announcement that has
been made recently, as this is the first true action.
This is not another review. This is actually bringing experts
who know how to deliver care both in home and
in residential care together in a room and giving them

(02:37):
a period of time, a short period of time, and saying, Okay,
tell us what will work, and then we'll take it
into cabinet and then we'll have a conversation about it.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Good luck with that. Tracy Martin, Chief Executive Age Care Association.
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