Scott Morrison government blew targets to get young people out of nursing homes, Bill Shorten says

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has accused the Morrison government of quietly pushing back the deadlines for their "convenience" as the original goals appeared out of reach.

Mr Shorten said he and Aged Care Minister Anika Wells would work to ensure disabled people could choose where to live - and be honest with the public about its progress.

However, Mr Shorten has been unable to detail any policies the new government would adopt to meet that goal.

In November 2019, and in response to the aged care royal commission's interim findings, former prime minister Scott Morrison announced new targets for reducing the number of younger people living in nursing homes.

There were more than 5300 under 65s in nursing homes nationwide during the December quarter of that year, including more than 150 people younger than 45.

Some 330 young people entered a home during that three-month period, according to government data.

The bulk of young people in aged care are NDIS participants who are forced to turn to nursing homes for various reasons, including a lack of suitable housing.

The Coalition acknowledged that aged care was not designed to cater for the needs of young people with a disability and developed a national strategy to address the problem.

Under its targets, there was to be no person under 45 living in aged care, and no under-65s entering a nursing home, by 2022.

The final aim was to have no people under the age of 65 in a nursing home by 2025.

All of those targets had wiggle room for exceptional circumstances.

Progress has been made since the targets were announced, with numbers declining considerably on each measure.

However, the new Labor government is accusing the government of failing to meet two of the targets because there was still under-45s in nursing homes (83), and under-65s moving in (135), at the start of 2022.

The government is also claiming its predecessors tweaked language in key documents and press releases to shift the deadlines.

For example, a Department of Social Services corporate plan published in August 2020 stated the first targets were to be achieved "by the end" of 2022.

A press release from former Coalition ministers Linda Reynolds and Richard Colbeck from June 2021 also referred to the target as being for "by the end" of 2022.

"We can speculate why the deadlines were changed, but it seems clear the original deadline was stretched for the convenience of the Morrison government," Mr Shorten said.

"As in many other areas, the Labor government is having to come in to untangle and clean up the messes of the previous government."

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The new government remains committed to the 2025 goal and will continue to report progress against the two other targets.

Opposition NDIS spokesman Michael Sukkar defended the former government's record, arguing the ongoing decline in the numbers of younger people entering and living in aged care showed that the Coalition's policies were working.

He drew attention to a $35 million announcement from December 2021, which included $16 million to extend a program offering support to younger nursing home residents who weren't NDIS participants.

"We have always said our aim is to reduce the number of younger people entering residential aged care and support those already living in residential aged care to move into age-appropriate accommodation with the supports they need," he said.

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