If elected, Dr Haines will work on legislation to ensure home care packages are delivered within 90 days of being approved by the federal government, in line with the position of Leading Age Services Australia.

"In Indi we have one of the highest proportions of people over the age of 65 in Victoria," she said.

"Those people, like all of us, are really keen to maintain their personal autonomy in the place of their choosing.

"There's a federal government process providing packages to assist people to do that, but unfortunately in the last budget only 10,000 new packages were added.

"That leaves 120,000 people, some of whom are in Indi, waiting more than 12 to 18 months after they've been assessed before those packages are delivered."

The St Catherine's Aged Care Hostel board member said the government needed to commit more funding to additional packages and cut down the waiting time.

"I've met people in their 90s who have been told they have a 12 to 18 month wait to receive those packages and many of those people may not see those delivered in their lifetime," Dr Haines said.

"I call on both major parties to take the care of our older Australians seriously and provide the funding we need to keep them close to their family and friends and in their own safe and secure home for as long as they possibly can."

Dr Haines met with residents and staff at Baranduda Westmont Aged Care Services on Friday, including Helen and Jeff Ash who moved into independent living at Westmont after 40 years in Wodonga.

They spoke about the experience of Mr Ash's father, who did not apply for a home care package but experienced problems accessing residential aged care.

"Dad was living on his own in Sydney and had some heart problems and eventually it got to the stage his doctor said he could not go back home on his own," Mr Ash said.

"My brother was in Kyabram, I was here and we both looked to see what was available.

"There is a critical shortage ... you've either got to be sick or wealthy (to get a place).

"It needs to be available at a reasonable time; to be told you may have to wait 18 months for a spot to come up, when you're 92, is ridiculous."

After assessing more than 10 potential facilities over six months, the brothers secured a place at Kyabram in 2017, in a facility that cared well for their father well before he died.

Mrs Ash said the experience had influenced their decision to move into Westmont in their late 60s.

"When we started the process of building, the person doing interior design said in the five years she'd been doing it the average age has dropped from 80s to 60s - people are thinking about it," she said.

Liberal Indi candidate Steve Martin said the Coalition government had increased home care packages from 60,308 in 2013 to 124,032 in 2019.

"We will continue to grow the number of places offered through the next term of government," he said.

"Recognising that wait times for care packages can be a big challenge for people, the Morrison government has introduced the Home Support Program to care for individuals while they are waiting for their care packages to be put in place.

"While it is easy to snipe from the sidelines and call for more spending, the Morrison Government is progressively improving services in a sustainable way founded on a strong economy."

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