Wage subsidies, 14,000 new home care packages and improved funding for mental health care in residential aged-care facilities are among measures aimed at older Australians unveiled in the federal budget.
In his budget speech on Tuesday the treasurer, Scott Morrison, also announced changes to the pension work bonus to allow older Australians to work more hours without reducing pension payments, and expanded access to the pension loans scheme to boost their income by drawing down equity from their homes.
Morrison said the government would spend $1.6bn over four years to create 14,000 home care places “to support the choice of older Australians who wish to stay at home and avoid going into residential aged care”.
The places come on top of 6,000 announced in December’s midyear economic and fiscal outlook but is well short of the 105,000 on the national priority list for support.
“By 2021-22 over 74,000 high level home care places will be available,” Morrison said.
He also announced $146m to improve access to aged-care services in rural and regional areas and $83m for increased support for mental health services in residential aged care. An added $20m over four years is being earmarked for a pilot project targeting “loneliness” and those at risk of isolation.
“And we will stand up for older Australians to keep them safe and prevent elder abuse, with new support services and a national online register for enduring powers of attorney,” Morrison said.
The government will create an aged-care quality and safety commission, combining the functions of a number of existing agencies, implementing one of the recommendations of the Carnell Paterson review of aged care that responded to elder abuse concerns including the Oakden scandal.
The government will spend $227.4m to increase the work pension bonus from $250 to $300 a fortnight, allowing pensioners to earn up to $7,800 a year without impacting their pension.
Morrison said this would mean pensioners could earn an extra $1,300 without affecting their payments. “For the first time, the bonus will be extended to self-employed individuals who can now earn up to $7,800 per year,” he said.
The government will provide wage subsidies of up to $10,000 for employers who take on older Australians, which would “combat age discrimination in the workforce”.
That is one of a number of employment measures that will cost $189.7m over five years from the 2017 budget, but the budget papers show just $57.1m of new money has been set aside for these initiatives because they will be “partially funded from within existing resources”.
• Tax cuts for middle low and middle income earners with most saving between $200 and $530 a year on their tax bill through a tax offset
• Ambition for a flat tax rate by 2024 of 32.5% for everyone earning between $41,000 and $200,000
• $4.5bn earmarked for roads, but major public transport projects will have to wait years for the lion's share of funding announced in the budget. $24.5 billion has been directed to new commitments, but only $4bn of that is being spent in the next four years
• The controversial robodebt electronic debt recovery is to continue
• Newly arrived migrants will have to wait another year to receive welfare assistance, while refugees will see their wait for Newstart doubled to 26 weeks
• Superannuation funds to be banned from charging exit fees and fees for accounts under $3,000 will be limited to 3%
• ABC to have its funding cut by $83.7 million over three years. Meanwhile a Captain Cook statue in Scott Morrison’s electorate is to be built at a cost of $25m
• ‘Black’ economy is under the spotlight with government planning to claw back revenue it is losing to illegal tobacco. Home Affairs estimates it can earn $3.6 billion from a crackdown
• Pensioners will be able to earn an additional $25 a week without reducing their pension. The pension loan scheme is also being expanded, which allows pensioners to use their homes as equity to boost their retirement incomes
• $1.6bn is being spent to support an additional 14,000 additional high-level home care packages. A further $82.5m is being spent on mental health services for older Australians, including a $20m “loneliness” package, to help people “remain connected to their communities”.
• New measures to help crack down on multinationals avoiding tax commitments. The government is also moving to add to previously announced measures to make sure income earned in Australia, can be taxed by Australia.
A jobs and innovation department official told Guardian Australia subsidies would be provided through the existing employment fund, a pool of more than $300m that job service providers allocate to jobseekers to improve their employability through measures like training.
The rules of the fund will now be changed to allow wage subsidies for up to 30,000 disadvantaged jobseekers, not just older Australians, but also other disadvantaged groups including the long-term unemployed, parents, people aged 25 to 29 and Indigenous jobseekers.
Other measures announced in the budget include training to help jobseekers 45 years and older develop digital and other skills and grants of up to $2,000 for workers aged 45 to 70 to undertake re-skilling.
The pension loan scheme now allows part-pensioners and self-funded retirees who own real estate to borrow up to 100% of the value of the age pension, or $900 a fortnight for singles, to use the equity in their homes to increase their retirement income. The loan is paid fortnightly, is tax-free and attracts compound interest of 5.25% on the outstanding balance.
The scheme will be expanded to allow full-rate pensioners and self-funded retirees to increase the maximum fortnightly income stream to 150% of the age pension rate, boosting their income by up to $17,800 without impacting their eligibility for the pension or other benefits. The budget papers reveal the measure will cost just $11m, reflecting the fact the scheme is little-used.
