Senator Lidia Thorpe has welcomed the Federal Budget commitment to exempt Stolen Generations Redress Scheme payments from residential aged care asset testing, a measure she has long called for.
Senator Lidia Thorpe has welcomed the Federal Budget commitment to exempt Stolen Generations Redress Scheme payments from residential aged care asset testing, a measure she has long called for.
The measure includes $3.2 million over four years from 2026–27, with $0.4 million ongoing annually, ensuring redress payments made to survivors of the Stolen Generations are no longer counted when assessing eligibility and contributions for residential aged care.
Senator Thorpe has repeatedly raised the issue with the Aged Care Minister and made a formal budget submission calling for the change and provided a Parliamentary Budget Office costing for the proposal.
The reform has also been strongly advocated for by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Council (NATSIACC).
Quotes attributable to Lidia Thorpe, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator:
"Stolen Generations redress payments are meant to acknowledge the immense harm caused by governments forcibly removing our children.
"They should never have been treated as money to be clawed back through the aged care system.
"I am happy that these payments will now be exempt from residential aged care asset testing. This is an important step toward justice for our Elders.
Our Elders should not have been forced to effectively pay the state back for their own care using compensation provided for lifelong trauma and injustice.
This is something advocates and organisations like NATSIACC have fought hard for, and something I have repeatedly raised with this government, including directly with the Aged Care Minister and in formal budget submissions.
While there is still much more work to do to ensure our Elders receive the care, dignity and justice they deserve, this is a meaningful and hard-won reform."