The Nationals WA: Cooperation Needed to Fix Aged Care Gaps

Western Australian seniors are facing longer waits and fewer options for aged care, says Shadow Minister for Aged Care, Bevan Eatts MLA.

New national and state data confirms that delays, rigid Commonwealth rules and growing capacity pressures are turning manageable situations into health crises - particularly in regional WA.

According to latest data, older Australians are now waiting around 245 days from approval to actually receiving home care, nearly double the wait a year ago, while delays for aged care assessments continue to grow. For many WA families, those delays are leaving people without support when they need it most.

Productivity Commission data shows Western Australia's aged care system is operating under greater strain than the national average.

Mr Eatts says the figures confirm what families across WA are already experiencing.

"When care arrives months after it's approved, the system isn't supporting people to live at home - it's pushing them back into hospital or forcing families to carry the load on their own," Mr Eatts said.

Pressure is particularly acute outside Perth. More than 85 per cent of WA's residential aged care places are located in major cities, compared with about 71 per cent nationally, leaving regional and remote families with fewer providers, limited workforce availability and far less choice - even when needs are urgent.

In regional and remote WA, satisfaction with the quality of organised assistance is just 71.3 per cent, compared with 84.9 per cent nationally, highlighting the scale of the access gap.

"When beds are full and services are thin on the ground, families don't experience this as 'statistics' - they experience it as months of waiting, constant risk, and the fear that something will go wrong before help arrives," Mr Eatts says.

"Constituents have also raised concerns about rigid Commonwealth rules blocking practical, lower-cost solutions.

"One regional WA family contacted my office about elderly parents in their late eighties. The father has severe mobility issues and repeated hospital admissions after falls."

"They were approved for bathroom modifications - but only for a major renovation costing more than $60,000, which would leave them without a bathroom for months.

A portable, fully accessible bathroom pod - cheaper, faster and already approved under the NDIS - was refused because it was deemed an 'extension', despite being temporary and removable. It defies common sense."

"With no local aged care facility available, the family fears the man will end up occupying a hospital bed simply because the system cannot adapt to a practical solution."

Mr Eatts says aged care is a Commonwealth responsibility, but WA must be a strong and constructive advocate.

"I want to work cooperatively with the State Aged Care Minister to press the Commonwealth for better outcomes for WA seniors, particularly in regional communities," he said.

"That means faster assessments, fairer access to home care packages, greater flexibility in home modification rules, and targeted support where workforce shortages magnify delays."

"Older Western Australians have earned the right to timely, practical care," Mr Eatts says.

"Fixing these delays and rule failures doesn't require new slogans - it requires cooperation, flexibility and a system that puts people first."