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January 28, 2026 — 5:28pm
The hospital funding stalemate between the state and federal governments is expected to continue at national cabinet on Friday, with the Queensland premier refusing to sign up to a deal unless the Commonwealth significantly lifts its offer.
The Albanese government’s latest offer, put forward in December, pledged $23 billion for public hospital funding over five years and included an extra $2 billion over four years to assist stranded aged care patients in hospitals.
All state and territories rejected the offer, with Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls saying the deal did not address the issue of so-called stranded, elderly patients – those medically fit for discharge but stuck in hospital while waiting for a place in an aged care home.
Nicholls said an estimated 900 aged care patients were languishing in Queensland hospitals – the equivalent of almost an entire hospital. However, neither he nor Premier David Crisafulli have revealed what kind of offer, or dollar figure, would bring them back to the table.
Ahead of Friday’s national cabinet meeting, Crisafulli said he hoped to strike a “first-class health deal” for the state, but indicated the negotiations would continue if the Albanese government put forward the same $23 billion offer.
“We’re going to Sydney with an open mind … [and] we’ll be making sure that there’s every opportunity to strike that deal,” Crisafulli said.
“[But] unless the health deal that is put on the table is a fair one in terms of funding and addressing the issue of stranded Australians in our hospitals, we won’t be signing.”
The Crisafulli government has previously said Queensland has the most stranded aged care patients in the country, and called on the federal government to implement targeted solutions to move them into long-term accommodation, including acquiring land sites and partnering with the private sector to deliver aged care facilities.
“We know that a number of the people in our hospitals will not be able to afford the full suite that perhaps a private [aged care] provider will provide, so they’ll need the Commonwealth in order to be able to do it,” Nicholls said in November.
The current funding stalemate harks back to a pledge made by the Albanese government in 2023 to increase its share of public hospital funding to 42.5 per cent by 2030, and 45 per cent by 2035, in exchange for states and territories stepping in to help fund disability services.
Nicholls and other ministers have accused the federal government of reneging on this pledge, with projections placing the current offer several billion dollars short of the original proposal.
In response, the Albanese government has accused the states of overspending, writing to health ministers last year to demand they bring spending down in order for the deal to be honoured.
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