Moving an elderly family member from their home into an aged care facility can be a difficult emotional and financial experience. But this is expected to change under the federal government's aged care reforms to be implemented next year. With more older Australians likely to spend longer in their own homes, there are calls for better support for carers.
Category
đŸ“º
TVTranscript
00:00It was really important for me, for mum, to know that she was loved and cared for.
00:10And for her to be cared for and looked after and loved until the end.
00:14Beth Jackson gave up a career as a psychologist to move in with her mum who has dementia.
00:20It became an around-the-clock job.
00:23There were days when she would try to burn me with a hot spoon or throw boiling water
00:28at me.
00:29A nightmare.
00:31I didn't know how hard it was going to be.
00:34I really wasn't prepared for how the system doesn't work.
00:39There's not enough workers.
00:42After over 13 years of caring, Beth had no choice but to move her mum into residential
00:49aged care.
00:50It was really difficult because there are so many levels of grief.
00:54There's the grief around mum's loss of capacity and the need for her to go into a home when
01:01I knew that that's not what she wanted.
01:05She's not alone.
01:06There are over three million carers in Australia.
01:10Carers usually feel guilt around the carer choices that they have to make on behalf of
01:15the person they're caring for.
01:16So it is, it's an emotional struggle to make that choice.
01:21The move from home into an aged care facility can not only be emotionally difficult, but
01:26sometimes financially costly.
01:29And for some, it's about to get more complex, with federal government changes due mid-next
01:34year.
01:36In a bid to make the aged care sector more sustainable, there'll be an increase in the
01:41maximum amount aged care providers can charge residents as a lump-sum deposit, from $550
01:48to $750,000.
01:51And instead of refunding the full amount when a person leaves, the facility will be able
01:56to keep 10% for the first five years they've spent in aged care.
02:02It is highly recommended for those people to consult the financial planner before they
02:07make any financial decisions.
02:12As more older Australians choose to stay home for longer, easing pressure on residential
02:18aged care, there are calls for better support for those who care for them.
02:23We would ask the government to consider paying superannuation on the carer payment.
02:29For Beth, her long stint as a carer has meant she's missed out on years of a professional
02:36wage, leaving her with little money and few options for the future.
02:41I'd like to think if I'd known that this was how it was going to end, I would still
02:45have cared for my mother because we all deserve that, but I think we need to value the role
02:52of a carer way more than we do.