A future for everyone. An economy for all.
Three proposals. One goal.
With the government’s demonstrated intent to deliver a Wellbeing Budget, we believe we can work together to create a more resilient, productive and inclusive society that will benefit everyone in the long run.
So, as part of UnitingCare Australia’s 2024-25 pre-budget submission, we’re putting forward three high-impact proposals to deliver immediate relief and long-term wellbeing improvements for Australians.
Equitable and sustainable aged care for older Australians
Through this proposal, we want to ensure that high-quality aged care can be delivered to all older Australians who need it, by an appropriately valued and paid workforce.
What we're asking for
- Ensure aged care funding is adequate and sustainable.
- Fully fund all aspects of the Fair Work Commission’s wage determinations, including on-costs and leave entitlements, to deliver a wage increase for indirect and direct care workers.
- Restore the number of Home Care Packages being released back to 40,000 per annum.
- Ensure there are appropriate transitional arrangements to allow aged care providers to adjust to the new Aged Care Act.
Download our full pre-budget submission
Enabling more Australians to find safety through the Escaping Violence Payment Program
This proposal will benefit people escaping domestic violence, First Nations peoples and the care and support workforce.
What we're asking for
- Establish the Escaping Violence Payment (EVP) as a permanent program beyond completion of the program trial in January 2025.
- Increase the level of overhead funding for EVP to fully meet the program’s potential.
- Increase the EVP payment amount from $5,000 to at least $6,000 and index the payment over time.
- Progressively transition the EVP program to a demand-led model to better engage vulnerable cohorts, including people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, older women, and those in regional and remote areas.
Download our full pre-budget submission
Sustainably meeting Australians’ care and support needs.
With a growing demand for and reliance on care and support services, this proposal will impact low- and middle-income earners, social support recipients and the care and support workforce.
What we're asking for
- Reformulate the Stage 3 tax cuts to reduce the benefit to high income-earners while maintaining the tax cuts for lower to middle income earners, enabling savings to be channelled into measures that will benefit more Australians.
- Fund an immediate 30 per cent uplift for the Financial Wellbeing and Capability Activity funded by the Department of Social Services, including for Emergency and Food Relief and Financial Counselling, to support vulnerable Australians through the cost-of-living crisis.
- Establish a Productivity Commission Inquiry to identify the full cost of social service need in the community, building on projections supplied in the 2023 Intergenerational Report.
- Increase indexation rates for community service providers to ensure the annual uplift is commensurate to actual costs of service delivery.
Download our full pre-budget submission
Download our full pre-budget submission
Creating a better, fairer future that prioritises wellbeing starts with making people-focussed policy decisions today. And there are some significant challenges to navigate.