Dementia Australia welcomes the announcement of the new Federal Ministry, including the appointment of The Hon Mark Butler MP as Minister for Health and Aged Care; The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP as Minister for Social Services; The Hon Bill Shorten MP as Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme; The Hon Anika Wells MP as Minister for Aged Care; and The Hon Ged Kearney MP as Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care.
Dementia Australia CEO, Maree McCabe AM said she is looking forward to working with Minister Butler, Minister Wells and other key Ministers to ensure quality dementia care is top of the agenda for Federal Cabinet in the 47th parliament.
“We have worked closely with Minister Butler for many years, and he has met with Dementia Advocates who have shared their stories and discussed why quality dementia care is needed for people of all ages, living with all forms of dementia, their families and carers,” Ms McCabe said.
“Getting quality care right for people living with dementia will have a profound and lasting impact for all.
“There is still much to be done to fulfill the recommendations of the Royal Commission and we look forward to continuing our discussions with Minister Butler and his team.”
It has been more than three and a half years since the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was called and 16 months since the Final Report was handed down which stated, ‘dementia care should be core business for aged care services, and particularly residential aged care services.’
“Delivering quality dementia care is not yet core business across the aged care system and it needs to be,” Ms McCabe said.
“We need to maintain the momentum and focus on aged care and dementia, especially in relation to workforce issues and the need for compulsory dementia education.”
Throughout the election campaign, Dementia Australia called for a focus on quality dementia care given its prevalence across the country, specifically seeking a commitment to implementing compulsory dementia training for the aged care workforce, a national dementia palliative care program and renewed funding of the Dementia-Friendly Communities program.
“We welcome the appointment of Ms Wells as the new Aged Care Minister, and we look forward to working with her to ensure quality dementia care remains top of the agenda in the aged care system reforms.”
Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated half a million Australians living with dementia, and the almost 1.6 million people involved in their care. We advocate for positive change and support vital research. We are here to support people impacted by dementia, and to enable them to live as well as possible. No matter how you are impacted by dementia or who you are, we are here for you.
For support, please contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. An interpreter service is available and the Helpline is open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. The National Dementia Helpline is funded by the Australian Government. People looking for information can also visit dementia.org.au