Election promises spotlight aged care needs, but are they enough?

​As Australia’s federal election campaign intensifies, both major parties are spotlighting aged care in their policy platforms, unveiling funding commitments aimed at enhancing services in underserved regions.​

The question is, do the new announcements go far enough?

Labor invests in the Top End

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged $60 million to construct a 120-bed residential aged care facility in Darwin. 

This announcement, made during his campaign visit to the Northern Territory, is presented as a new initiative. However, the funding allocation from the Aged Care Capital Assistance program was made prior to the current caretaker period, suggesting that it’s been on the radar for some time.

Meanwhile, local residents have noted that similar promises have been made over the past four years without tangible progress. 

For example, the Northern Territory Government announced in 2023 it would support the establishment of a 60-bed home in Darwin. It was set to include 12 specialist dementia care spaces. 

It sought expressions of interest from aged care providers to build and operate the home, yet it was only earlier this year that the government finally acknowledged it had not found any providers that could both build and manage it.

The persistent delays have left many families struggling within an overstretched aged care system. 

Jillian Emerson-Smith told ABC News that the damage has already been done with locals forced to wait years for support. In her case, her husband Max was diagnosed with dementia five years ago.

They lived regionally in Mataranka  — near Katherine — for as long as possible, before moving to Darwin. Jill became his full-time carer, missing out on important events like funerals because there was no local respite care. 

“You can’t do that to people who are in desperate situations. This is a desperate situation. You are at breaking point, and that in itself is incredibly difficult to acknowledge,” she said.

Local aged care homes were also inaccessible due to extensive waitlists. Jill said she felt ‘incredibly alone and isolated’ as a result. They eventually secured a place at a private aged care home in Darwin.

This in itself shows that one new residential care home is unlikely to ease the pressure on organisations already dealing with high demand. 

Additionally, with roughly one-quarter of the Northern Territory population identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, a new home runs the risk of not addressing culturally-appropriate care requirements.

Coalition focuses on central Queensland

In contrast, the Coalition has committed to building a new aged care facility in Winton, a remote town in central-west Queensland. Barcaldine Aged Care Facility will also be expanded under a $6.35 million pledge.

The Winton development has been welcomed by the community, where the absence of local aged care services has historically forced older residents to relocate far from their families. The proposed facility offers hope for keeping families together and addressing long-standing service gaps in rural areas. 

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the $8 million investment is vital for the region as the nearest residential care home is $175 kilometres away at Longreach

“Everyone deserves to spend their golden years in their hometown surrounded by their loved ones, regardless of where they live,” Mr Littleproud said.

“For too long, regional Australians have had to pack up and leave the community they have called home for much of their lives due to the inaccessibility of quality aged care.”

President of Winton Community and Aged Care Service Leisa Fraser said the $11.5 million Jessamine Place – Low Aged Care Accommodation Facility means the town of 900 people would also keep ‘entire generations’ of families.

“There are people in our community that are, in some cases, driving hundreds of kilometres per day just to see their loved ones in aged care facilities in other areas because they can’t access what they need here in their own community, and that is no way to spend your best years,” Ms Fraser said.

“We have lost entire generations of local families due to the lack of suitable aged care in the region, but this facility will go a long way to ensuring our community has the support it needs, and in conjunction with the CWHHS Multipurpose Facility, will offer an aged care continuum for our elderly now and into the future.”

Speaking to ABC News Radio, local resident Helen Davis was almost brought to tears when talking about the chance of her parents moving to Longreach, or even Townsville, just to secure an aged care bed.

“She [Mum] just wants something where she can live. She was born here and she wants to die here. She doesn’t want to be sent to Townsville,” Helen shared.

The Barcaldine investment would provide more transitional care between independent living and residential care, supporting more opportunities to age in place.

“We’ve had so many locals, who have lived in the Barcaldine region all their lives, pack up and move to other towns just to access appropriate aged care,” Barcaldine Aged Care Inc. Vice President Ken Wilson said

“We want to stop losing people from our community unnecessarily. This commitment from the Coalition will provide the ideal alternative to allow our locals to age in place.”

Both announcements underscore the critical role of aged care in the current election discourse, highlighting the need for concrete action to support Australia’s ageing population, particularly in remote and regional communities.

However, it is also about getting it right. The Coalition’s promise is part of a Regional Australia Future Fund that would deliver a guaranteed annual funding stream in perpetuity for regional, rural and remote Australia.

A new residential care home in Winton would help keep locals within their own community, solving one of the town’s greatest pain points.

On the other hand, a 120-bed home in Darwin addresses a need for aged care places, but with limited information about design, culturally appropriate care and staffing support, it arguably misses the mark in the modern aged care landscape.