I want to thank the member for Corangamite for putting forward this motion. Like me, she cares deeply about the residents and workers in aged care and wants to see the essential, significant changes which we have already begun. I want to start today by speaking about the need for a pay rise for Australian aged-care workers. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended the government contribute to the case before the Fair Work Commission that aims to raise workers' wages. Unlike the previous Liberal-National government, we are doing just that. We are speaking out in support of the workers. The government made a submission to the Fair Work Commission that unequivocally supports a significant wage increase for aged-care workers. Our submission reiterates the government's commitment to fund any increase to award wages made by the independent commission in this case. This is absolutely crucial to bring workers back to the aged-care sector and to keep them there and help fill the shortages created by nine years of neglect. We need more staff in aged care, and a pay rise is the start of seeing workers being rewarded for the absolutely crucial role they play.

Of course, whatever the decision by the Fair Work Commission, that on its own won't be enough. So we've established a wide range of programs to attract staff and support retention, including a program with 1,300 transition-to-practice places in aged care for newly graduated nurses, 1,900 scholarships, support for 5,250 clinical placements and the nurses' retention payment. That has to happen so we can lift the standard of care for Australians in aged care.

It's well known that, until his recent death, my father spent two years in aged care. So I've seen firsthand through one of the most difficult times in history the reality of care in aged care. What I've seen reinforces what unions, media coverage and the royal commission told us, which is that good people working in the sector don't have the time they want and need to provide the care that residents deserve. I acknowledge how challenging the current situation remains for residential care in my own community, where Anglicare has decided to close the Carol Allen facility in Richmond. Other facilities are sharing with me their concerns, having faced such a difficult few years. I will continue to advocate for these facilities, some of them quite small, that provide a really important home for locals who don't want to be, in their last years, a distance away from family and friends.

Change is going to take time, but we have to remain committed to it. Our Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill, which implements three of our government's urgent election commitments, puts security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care. From 1 July next year, the bill will require approved providers of residential care to have a registered nurse on site and on duty at each residential facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There's obviously a cost to this, but there's also a saving. It will save thousands of stressful, expensive and ultimately unnecessary trips to hospital emergency departments and ensure that older Australians living in residential aged care have access to the nursing care they need in their homes. There's also the ability for smaller facilities in regional and remote areas to have temporary exemptions in recognition of the fact that it can be hard to find the RNs they need. This is a sensible measure, but I want to note that 80 per cent of residential facilities already have a registered nurse on site 24/7, including many in my electorate. All of that should be standard.

We've also acted to make information about aged care more transparent. We're making sure information on the services and provider expenditure is publicly available, including information about the workforce, the care that's delivered, food and nutrition, cleaning, administration, maintenance and profits and losses. All of that is published online so people can make more informed decisions. It will also incentivise good practice. I know only too well how hard it is to compare like for like when you're seeking a place for a family member. I also want to talk briefly about home care. This is a preference for many people. In the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains, there remain challenges, but I'm pleased to see the cap on admin because no-one should be paying more for admin than for the care that they receive. We will change this.