Some crucial amendments to aged care legislation were introduced which would force nursing home to reveal how they spent their $20 billion of taxpayer funds each year — specifically, how much went to staff, food and “the amounts paid out to parent bodies”.
Unlike hospital and child care centres, aged care facilities can employ as few staff as they like because there are no staff-to-resident ratios in nursing homes.
When it comes to food, a study of 800 nursing homes shows the average spend is just $6 a day.