Media Release
Thursday, 14 May 2026
To our colleagues and community,
Please see below SydWest’s response to the Federal Budget – Investments are welcomed yet equity gaps remain.
SydWest welcomes elements of the Federal Budget that invest in critical social supports and workforce capability, including the Government’s commitment of $308.6 million over five years to strengthen responses to domestic, family and sexual violence and support women and children leaving violent relationships. This funding, alongside ongoing investment in the frontline workforce, is an important recognition of the scale and urgency of this issue.
We also welcome the Government’s investment of more than $80 million in migrant skills recognition and additional skilled migration measures. These initiatives acknowledge the vital role migrants play in addressing workforce shortages across sectors such as construction, aged care and health, and in supporting Australia’s long-term productivity. However, SydWest expressed concern that overall spending on multicultural affairs and citizenship will decline to $301.1 million, a 3.6% decrease that does not reflect the contribution of migrants to Australia’s economy.
However, across the broader system, a consistent challenge remains: ensuring that these investments translate into equitable access and outcomes for all communities, particularly diverse and marginalised communities.
Migration is one of Australia’s most powerful tools for addressing skills shortages and strengthening the economy. But without stronger alignment between migration, workforce planning, housing and community infrastructure, there is a real risk that communities are expected to contribute without the systems in place to support them to succeed. Equity cannot be achieved through numbers alone; it requires sustained investment in inclusion, integration and social cohesion.
This broader equity challenge is most visible in aged care. The Budget includes $3.7 billion to support older Australians, building on the implementation of the new Aged Care Act. It delivers important measures, including reinstating fully funded personal care services such as showering, dressing and continence care, additional dementia care support, and funding to expand residential aged care capacity. These measures are welcome. However, the key test will be implementation. More than 200,000 older Australians are currently waiting for a Support at Home package or waiting to be assessed and despite the significant funding announcement, there is no clear commitment on the number of new packages to be delivered or a timeline for addressing the waitlist.
For multicultural communities, this uncertainty is compounded by longstanding access barriers, including language, digital literacy, system complexity and limited availability of culturally appropriate services. When care is delayed or is not guaranteed, these barriers translate into poorer health outcomes, increased hospitalisation and loss of dignity and independence.
“Showering being free does not matter if care itself is not guaranteed. Right now, too many older Australians, especially those from multicultural communities, are waiting without certainty, and that is an equity failure,” CEO Elfa Moraitakis said.
Without stronger action to address access and wait times, there is a real risk of entrenching a two-tiered system; one where those who can navigate the system or pay privately receive care, while others are left behind.
A similar pattern is emerging in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Budget contains significant reforms to the NDIS aimed at improving long-term sustainability, including reducing growth and tightening access to the Scheme. These reforms represent a necessary step to ensure the Scheme’s future viability. However, this shift also carries significant risks. Without carefully managed implementation and fully operational replacement supports, there is a real likelihood of reduced access to services, cost-shifting to state systems and gaps emerging for those transitioning out of the Scheme. For multicultural communities, who already face barriers accessing disability services, the risk of exclusion is even greater.
“We support reform, but if equity is not built into how these changes are implemented, we risk creating systems that work well for some and leave others behind,” Ms Moraitakis said.
Across aged care, disability, migration and women’s safety, a common pattern is emerging: demand is rising, systems are tightening, and those with the least capacity to navigate complexity are most at risk of being left behind.
We welcome targeted investments, particularly in women’s safety and skills recognition, but equity cannot be delivered through isolated reactive measures. It requires a coordinated and deliberate approach that ensures:
- access to services is timely and guaranteed,
- systems are simple and accessible to navigate,
- services are culturally responsive,
- funding reflects real and growing demand
- and policy is designed with the most vulnerable communities in mind
“If we are serious about building a fair and inclusive Australia, we must ensure that our systems work for everyone not just those best placed to access them,” Ms Moraitakis said. “Without that focus, the gap between policy ambition and lived reality will continue to widen and multicultural communities will carry a disproportionate burden.”
ENDS