Two new aged care homes with a combined capacity of over 260 are coming to Mandurah, Member for Canning Andrew Hastie has announced today.

The announcement comes as part of the biggest expansion of residential aged care in Australian history, with $967 million being committed by the Morrison Government.

The commitment to Mandurah represents an investment of over $17.5 million per year.

Member for Canning Andrew Hastie said the new places will provide a welcome and much-needed boost to aged care services in the Peel Region.

“This is historic investment for our region - over $17.5 million every year to deliver 264 local residential aged care places for people in Mandurah.”

“The need for more aged care facilities was an issue that regularly popped up during my 2017 town hall meetings. A lot of people would tell me that they grew up in this area, retired in this area and wanted to spend the rest of their life here. The problem was Mandurah just didn’t have the capacity to cater for them.”

"Now, they'll be able to seamlessly transition and stay within their local community, which is great news.”

"If we actually have options for people in the local community it will make that move much smoother and they'll be less anxious around the transition. So, this not only has benefits for people that need the additional assistance of the aged care, there are also mental health benefits as well.”

“People want to know the government listens and takes their concerns seriously. That’s what the Morrison Government is doing. We are listening and delivering.”

"I'm just really excited for our community.”

In Mandurah the Morrison Government is partnering with aged care service providers Signature Care and Opal Aged Care. The providers will build two new aged care facilities and the ongoing cost of servicing residents will be met by the Government.

Opal Aged Care’s facility will provide an additional 120 places on Leisure Way in Halls Head. When complete the site will include a combination of single rooms and companion rooms, all with ensuites. The home will also meet the needs of those requiring high care, dementia specific care and feature communal spaces including café, hairdresser, consulting suite, dining, lounge and audio rooms. There will an 18-place dementia specific care area with a supportive lifestyle program. 20 places will be prioritised for people with limited financial means. Opal Halls Head will also offer 2,190 respite days annually to support older members of the community who live in proximity to the home.

Dawesville Aged Care, to be built by Signature Care, will provide 144 residential places on Bailey Road in Dawesville. The home will offer accommodation cater for all needs including dementia specific services and respite services. The 144 places will be configured as single rooms divided into two wings of 36 places and four dementia specific units of 18 beds each. This will include dedicated capacity for financially disadvantaged residents. Each room will have its own ensuite and an external patio area. Some rooms will include a connecting door to cater for couples. The home will have large dining rooms, lounge rooms, and dayrooms and other recreational areas throughout the home including a community hub and café. There will be a wellness centre, a chapel, meeting rooms, formal dining rooms, hairdresser, doctors consulting room, activity rooms, men’s shed, cooking display, craft rooms and internet & library areas. External areas will be landscaped, have covered entertaining areas and will be secure.

The Morrison Government has committed $907 million a year to provide a record 13,500 new residential aged care places across Australia – plus $60 million capital works investment to finance construction of new and extended aged care homes.

The $967 million expansion is part of our Government’s $5 billion aged care boost and is about giving older Australians more choices for longer and better lives.

It represents an increase of more than 36 per cent on the 9,911 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR) places announced in 2016–17.

Under this arrangement annual aged care funding throughout Australia will grow from $18.1 billion to $23.6 billion a year by 2022-23.

Bedingfeld Park in Pinjarra will receive $3.5 million in federal funding from the Coalition Government towards stage 1 of their $7.1 million expansion project. The planned aged care wing will provide greater care for people living with dementia or high care needs.

“This vital project will fill a much-needed gap in aged care services for the Pinjarra region.”

The funding is part of the Building Better Regions Fund - Infrastructure Projects stream. 136 projects will be funded under the Infrastructure Projects stream, with the Coalition Government investing over $200 million.

People in need of high level aged care services in the Pinjarra region will benefit from a major expansion of the Bedingfeld Park facility.

“We need better health services, particularly in aged care for the Peel region. The expansion of Bedingfeld will make a huge difference by allowing elderly people to stay closer to their homes, family and local community."

Once completed, the new wing at Bedingfeld Park will include 25 single rooms with ensuite, a nurses station, living, dining and activity areas, treatment rooms, servery kitchen and secure landscaped courtyard.

The project is expected to create 18 jobs during construction and another 18 ongoing jobs – which will be a big boost to the local economy.

Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government John McVeigh said the project will deliver significant economic and social benefits to the community.

“Under round two of the Building Better Regions Fund – Infrastructure Projects stream, the Coalition Government is investing well over $200 million in 136 projects with a total project value of $459 million. This means, in each successful community much anticipated local projects are receiving the funds needed to take a big idea and make it a reality."” Dr McVeigh said.

It’s all part of the Coalition Government’s plan to create more jobs, drive economic growth and build stronger regional communities across Australia.

A further $200 million was announced in the 2018 Budget for a third round of the Building Better Regions Fund - a clear indication of the Coalition Government’s commitment to create jobs, drive economic growth and build stronger regional communities into the future.

The second round of the Building Better Regions Fund, which includes the Community Investment stream and the Infrastructure Projects stream, is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs from over 240 projects.