Delaying the rolloutcost the federal budget $1 billion in lost savings and was based on the sector’s request for more time to prepare. But providers told a Senate inquiry on Friday that the home care packages could roll out now,even if the residential aged care changes took effect in November.

Peak body Ageing Australia said 98 per cent of providers they surveyed said they could support extra home care packages immediately,and the Health Department said there were no impediments to releasing them sooner.

Opposition aged care spokeswoman Anne Ruston said:“The money is there,the sector is ready – but Labor refuses to act.”

Their demand for the packages to be released now has set up the first political clash for the Albanese government since it returned to parliament with 94 seats and a greatly increased majority. Despite boosting its Senate numbers at the May election,Labor still needs the support of either the Coalition or Greens to pass legislation.

Independent senator David Pocock,the Coalition and the Greens have each moved amendments in the Senate to force the government to release the packages early,and look set to pool their support to force the changes when a vote is brought this week.

“People shouldn’t be made to go without a shower or forced into hospital or residential aged care early just because the government won’t release the home care packages they’ve already budgeted for,” Pocock said.

The Coalition and crossbenchers used question time on Monday and Tuesday to prosecute Rae over the delays,directing almost every question to him in the House of Representatives,while also peppering the government in the Senate.

Rae said the government was still delivering 2000 home care packages every week.

“We will ensure that every single Australian who is assessed as high priority will continue to receive their package within a month. And from 1 November,we will continue to invest in the support at home program as the key mechanism for delivering the in-home care that older Australians tell us that they want,” he said.

But Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne said the inquiry had revealed those 2000 weekly packages comprised funding re-allocated from people who had passed away or no longer required them,rather than a net increase.

“Families and people around the country are desperate for these care packages,and the only thing in the way is a stubborn and heartless Labor Party,” she said.

“Labor needs to act on this now,and if they aren’t prepared to do so,the Senate will do it for them.”

Health Minister Mark Butler said he understood that providers were saying they wanted the new home care packages released urgently.

“But if you have a look at their media commentary in the lead in and after the decision was taken to delay the aged care system’s commencement date from 1 November,their message was very clear. They didn’t feel that we were ready as a country to move to an entirely new aged care system,” Butler said.

“They knew what that would mean,which is that the introduction of a new Support at Home system would also be delayed by four months. We recognised that by continuing to put the vacant packages back into the system in the interim period.”

Butler said the government was compressing “what should have been a decade’s reform into three short years” and he was not pretending the transition would be easy.

Pocock’s amendment,which appears to have the support of the Greens and Coalition,calls for the release of 20,000 of the government’s promised 83,000 packages before November.

Further amendments seek to front-load remaining packages once the start date comes around.

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