Co-operative sector says Budget provides ongoing assistance to older Australians in regional areas

13 May 2026

The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) today welcomed the Federal Budget’s renewed focus on increasing long-term productivity growth while addressing immediate fuel security and affordability challenges for Australians, particularly older residents in rural and regional areas.

This includes the $500 million‑plus package to boost aged care governance and quality, including the $2.4 million extension of the Care Together program, which is being overseen by the BCCM. Melina Morrison, the CEO of the BCCM, said the extension of the Care Together program will help ensure facilities remain open and give residents confidence that they can continue to live close to family in towns where many have resided for many years.

“The provision of further funding for Care Together will mean aged care co-ops, disability worker co-ops and community-directed primary healthcare can be expanded throughout regional Australia and allow them to secure their long-term viability by widening their services and developing their own revenue streams,” Ms Morrison said.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Federal Government to build a vibrant co-operative and mutual care sector in Australia,” she said.

“When local providers, workers and communities co-operate in the provision of care services, it’s a win for communities that rely on these services, and it’s an efficient use of public funds.”

In a Budget with significant headline reform measures tackling fuel security, housing affordability and social care funding sustainability, the BCCM commends the Government for maintaining its focus on regulatory reform to facilitate innovation and productive investment, including its commitment to co-operatives in social care, regulatory reform for mutual banks and credit unions and reviewing the superannuation investment framework to remove barriers to investment in affordable housing and renewable energy.

The BCCM welcomes the investment in improving the productivity of the business environment where firms experience dual or multiple regulatory environments, including co-operatives and mutuals. Improvements in the regulatory and business environment announced in the $10.2 billion Productivity Package should flow to co-operatives and mutuals to ensure parity of treatment.

BCCM CEO Melina Morrison said, “A lift in productivity is necessary for Australians’ living standards to lift and for a fairer and more resilient economy. Budget measures to drive ongoing regulatory reform, such as the announced inquiry into business dynamism, are an opportunity to examine the barriers to co-operative and mutual enterprise formation and growth.”

Read the BCCM’s Federal Budget 2026–27 breakdown.

About the BCCM

The BCCM is the national peak body for Australia’s $51 billion co-operative and mutual sector. Co-ops and mutuals provide essential services and affordable pricing to their members across the economy, from banking, insurance and superannuation to retail, agriculture, health, social care and housing. One in eight Australians are members of a co-op or mutual.

Interviews

For further information or to discuss the recommendations with Ms Morrison, please contact Sue Frost at P&L Corporate Communications on 0409 718 572 or at [email protected].

Key Budget insights

• COBA media release – customer-owned banks welcome focus on better regulation and productivity in Federal Budget.
• ACCI alerts – business sentiment, cost of living pressures, productivity and impacts on small and medium enterprises.
• The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, Treasurer of Australia – budget settings, fiscal outlook and economic conditions.
• The Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Ageing; Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme – health system pressures, workforce and funding reforms.
• The Hon Julie Collins MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – agriculture, regional economies and food production.
• Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation; Minister for Science – industry policy, manufacturing, innovation and domestic capability.
• The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury – productivity, competition policy and the role of the not‑for‑profit and mutual sectors.