Hunter to share in $115 million aged care bed boost

The Hunter is set to share in a new $115 million federal funding package aimed at delivering more residential aged care beds in areas facing the greatest pressure.

The Albanese Government announced on Friday, 6 March, that the Hunter, Perth, Adelaide and the Illawarra would benefit from the latest round of funding through the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program (ACCAP).

The funding is intended to help providers build and open new aged care beds within two years, as the government moves to ease delayed discharges from hospitals and lift aged care capacity in key regions.

An Expression of Interest process will invite interested providers to submit proposals for projects that can quickly add beds while also meeting the National Aged Care Design Principles.

The process will be run in two stages. The first Expression of Interest round, covering Adelaide and the Illawarra, will open on Friday, 13 March. A second round for Perth and the Hunter will follow, with providers given six weeks from the opening date to submit proposals.

Documents for the process, including participation instructions, will be made available through GrantConnect.

Federal Health, Disability and Ageing Minister Mark Butler said the government was making record investments to increase the number of aged care beds available across the country.

He said Australia faced a major challenge in lifting bed capacity across both the health and aged care systems, and the latest funding was designed to increase supply as quickly as possible.

Aged Care and Seniors Minister Sam Rae said the focus was on delivering more beds faster and in the places where they were most needed.

He said the Hunter needed more aged care capacity quickly and the government wanted older Australians to be able to access care sooner and closer to home.

The government said this latest funding injection would lift total ACCAP funding to more than $1 billion since 2022, with more rounds to follow later this year to support projects in regional areas.

Federal Member for Shortland Pat Conroy said the investment would help increase the supply of aged care beds in Lake Macquarie and the wider Hunter.

Mr Conroy said aged care quality was one of the issues most often raised with him by people in Shortland, and said the latest funding showed the government was directing investment to communities that needed it most.

He said regions such as Lake Macquarie and the Hunter needed more aged care capacity and that the government would continue investing as Australia’s ageing population grows.