Reflections on a
Moveable Feast
Stephanie Buckland, Chief Executive Officer, Amana Living
Our Senior Chaplain, The Revd Jeni Goring, reminded me recently that Pentecost, as one of the major observances in the Anglican, Orthodox and Catholic calendars (amongst many others), is responsible for the metaphor, ‘a moveable feast.’ This is simply due to the different liturgical observance days of Easter.
Pentecost is held 50 days after Easter day, which in the Gregorian calendar is normally the 20 or 21 March. However, in the Orthodox religion, which marks time in accordance with the Julian calendar, honors the occasion on or around 20 April. Very occasionally, however, the two dates coincide and 2025 is one of those years.
This makes this year’s Pentecost quite auspicious and if you think about it, 2025 does seem to be a year of some significance. There’s a new and very colorful President in my country of birth, the United States, a new Pope (Leo XIV), new developments in space exploration (the launch of China’s first space station and Origin Blue’s first all-female crew), and closer to home, a new Australian Parliament. The federal election is something I have paid particular attention to as a major aged care provider preparing for a new Aged Care Act which comes into effect on 1 July.
The Act is a sum of many parts, and it could loosely be described as a moveable feast. I make this point because it will deliver a lot; a Statement of Rights, strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, a new home care program, new financial standards, worker screening, and the list goes on. But it will still have to work within a system that is stretched to the limit and societal changes which are arguably out of control.
The fact remains that our population is ageing rapidly alongside longer life expectancy, and this is driving higher demand for aged care services and a larger workforce to manage those services. Between 2019 and 2024, Aged and Disabled Carer was the fastest growing job role in Australia, increasing by a whopping 67%.
Alongside this increase in life expectancy, age-related diseases are escalating. With dementia confirmed as the leading cause of death among Australian women, this will demand more investment in specialised services, facilities and the aforementioned workforce. This makes prioritisation and problem-solving even more urgent, something which the Act alone cannot remedy.
Currently, rationed access to home care is preventing people from getting the support they need to stay at home and it distresses me, Anglicare Australia (of which we are a member), and everyone across the aged care industry, that more than 70,000 people are on waiting lists for home care packages. Prescriptive staffing requirements restrict residential aged care providers from developing innovative care models that will help us overcome skills shortages.
Dated technology impedes the reshaping of the aged care sector, yet the Government’s aged care funding model (unchanged under the Act) does not recognize the cost of the required technological improvements. For example, the Government has offered providers only $10,000 each to offset the cost of the major systems upgrades necessary to facilitate the new Support at Home program set to commence on 1 July. This is a mere fraction of the investment required.
If the aged care sector is to improve and excel, in line with a rapidly aging population, our political leaders are going to need to work with a feast that is certainly moveable and moving all the time. Sadly, there is no ‘quick fix’ solution, but problems can start to be ameliorated by bigger and better investments in housing, employment, technology, medical research and the overall standard of living.
I trust that we have the leaders with the intelligence, compassion and foresight to do this. We are well prepared for the Act and our home care program is in excellent shape.
We are also committed to working with everyone in championing change and in helping the feast move forward.