The Commonwealth Government’s decision to axe the Dementia and Severe Behaviours Supplement, effective from July 31, will further disadvantage Tasmania’s already over-stretched aged care and dementia support services.
Under the Supplement, recipients were provided with $16 per-day toward the provision of care and support services.
Dementia Tas Manager, Ros Calvert, stated that the reasons Assistant Minister for Social Services, The Senator Mitch Fifield, provided for the decision were nonsensical.
“Reading the Assistant Minister’s media release it appears their primary reasoning for scrapping the Supplement was that it simply operated too well.
“The fact that it was originally envisaged that around 2000 people could be eligible for the assessment based Supplement, but that in fact 25,451 people took it up in the first 12-months goes to show there’s a legitimate need for it.
“To scrap the Supplement was bad enough but to not offer up a viable policy alternative and only pay lip-service to public consultation makes it even worse.”
“What alternatives, other than scrapping it altogether, did the Government look at?”
“I’m calling on Minister Fifield to detail how the Government proposes to provide an appropriate level of resourcing to the sector post July 31.”
“The Government has a duty to members of our community with severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia to ensure that adequate resources and related financial support is available – this decision seems to run counter to that duty.”
Ros Calvert
