Tony Abbott has relegated the ageing portfolio to Social Services, and appointed Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield (pictured) as Assistant Minister for Social Services, responsible for Disabilities and Aged Care. As such he will report to the new Minister for Social Services, Kevin Andrews.

While on the surface this looks like ageing has been downgraded as a focus for government, the CEO of COTA Australia, Ian Yates, is not concerned.

First up he points out that Kevin Andrews has experience as Minister for Ageing himself, between 2001-03, where he was regarded as a successful Minister in the portfolio. Yates reports he has continued to have a strong interest and has been “across” the Productivity Commission initiatives of the past 24 months.

Mitch Fifield has been in the Senate since 2004 following a 15 year career as a policy adviser, including seven years with Peter Costello when he was Treasurer. Fifield was heavily involved in the review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, being a member of the Senate overview committee. Yates saw him as an “active and listening” member and believes the Living Longer Living Better initiatives will continue to be implemented under his watch.

Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Senator Fierravanti-Wells, while missing out on a ministerial position, was the only woman named a Parliamentary Secretary - to Kevin Andrews. So her three years experience with the sector has been retained.
The big challenge for the sector according to Yates is the implementation of the Living Longer Living Better legislation which has a deadline of 1 July 2014, and which the sector is reliant for certainty, especially the increasing subsidies and the abolition of the distinction between high and low care.

Yates points out that DOHA needs to be transitioned into a new department both physically and organisationally, which will be a major disruption. Yates also emphasises that it appears that nobody has tackled the broader question of developing a clear framework to manage the ageing population – the ticking social time bomb.

Mitch Fifield comes with some medical background – he served as a Reservist on the 12 Psych Unit of the Australian Army Psychology Corps from 1985 until 1987.