The Australian Productivity Commission’s report Caring for Older Australians (www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/aged-care/report) was released last week. It sparked a flurry of interest in the news media and many responses from care organisations. The ABC’s 7.30 ran a good report on the issue on Tuesday last week and a transcript is available at www.abc.net.au/7.30, along with video footage.

Before the interviews with the aged, presenter Leigh Sales gave a rundown on the figures and costs: ‘Today a million Australians use aged care services. By 2050 that number will more than triple. Over the same time the ratio of workers to retirees will halve.

‘You don’t have to be a maths genius to figure out that’s going to make it pretty hard for the government to raise enough tax to cover the cost of aged care, which by then, will be about $50 billion a year.’

So out of both pragmatism and concern, the federal government is putting  an emphasis on at-home care for the aged. Most of those interviewed seemed in favour of the idea, though they reckoned the aged-care ‘system’ needed less bureaucracy and more direction. Apparently you have to be Sherlock Holmes to track down what sort of services are available.

In tandem with reforming aged-care models, there needs to be a fair go for aged-care workers, who do not get paid nearly well enough for the important and demanding work they do. According to aged-care union, United Voice, studies show that ‘by 2050, over 500,000 more workers will be needed to take care of Australia’s aging population’. It’s a growth ‘industry’ which will only attract more good workers with better pay. The carers deserve it, as do their clients.