The federal government has been accused of failing to stump up tens of billions of dollars in health funding it had promised to the states and territories.
The Council for the Australian Federation (CAF) today released a statement from its most recent meeting, in which it claimed the Commonwealth is failing to honour a 2023 national cabinet agreement struck in December 2023.
Under that arrangement, the states and territories agreed to spend more on disability care to take pressure off the NDIS, which has quickly become one of the most expensive – and fastest-rising – items in the federal budget.
In return, the federal government pledged to fund 42.5 per cent of public hospital costs by 2030 and 45 per cent by 2035.
However, the deal is yet to be formally signed off, with ne