Historic aged care reforms spark concern
Although industry leaders have warned of the challenges ahead, once-in-a-generation aged care reforms have come into effect, promising to improve the quality of care for older Australians.
New rules under the Aged Care Act will now require some care recipients to pay more for support services in a bid to bring the sector to a more balanced level and improve the quality of care provided.
Services including showers will now be chargeable, although clinical support such as nursing and physiotherapy will still be fully subsidized.
Care will be transferred to grandparents, meaning older Australians already in care will be no worse off.
The changes also include updated rights to independence, privacy, safety and quality for older Australians.
Home care provider Dovida, which supports more than 14,000 seniors, welcomed the long-awaited reforms but expressed concern that the industry may not be ready for the proposed changes.
Chief Operating Officer Greg Bartley is particularly concerned about the federal government’s commitment to reduce waiting times to just three months by July 2027, a promise made when the bill was introduced to parliament in 2024.
“We have to be realistic about what it will take to get there. At the moment the system is already weak and we think the government is not making the systemic changes needed to achieve its own goal,” he said.
“Without an urgent focus on infrastructure, workforce and assessment capacity, the three-month target could quickly become another missed milestone for older Australians waiting to remain safely in their homes.”
Mr Bartley said the government’s target was supported but it needed to be matched with action.
“The industry is ready to help achieve the target but we need the systems, people and support to make this possible.”
The laws cover residential aged care and home care, and final report Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, handed down in 2021.
More tiers of home care will be introduced to ensure people’s packages are better tailored to the support they need.
Craig Gear, chief executive of the Older People’s Advocacy Network, told the AAP he would monitor providers.
He warned that companies were changing prices for home care in response to the reforms, which could result in some people entering care worse off.
“People coming with the current package may have less purchasing power,” he said.
While Mr Gear was pleased that some people’s rights were being protected by law, he said there was a period of uncertainty ahead.
“Some people are confused about what this means,” he said.
The Greens voiced concerns about the financialization of care by voting against the bill, which passes parliament in 2024.
“Our parents and grandparents deserve to be cared for in their old age, rather than having to choose between showering and eating every day,” says Senator Penny Allman-Payne.
“Elderly care should not be for profit.”
Patricia Sparrow, executive director of the Council on Aging, said some details would become clear in the coming days as the changes progressed through the system.
“The changes are big and people are trying to accept them,” he told AAP.
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said the changes signaled a shift for older Australians.
“With these reforms, we are no longer just fixing a broken system,” he said in a statement.
“We deliver on our promise to offer dignity, choice and respect to all who spend their lives contributing to their communities and our country.”
The aged care sector will come under increasing pressure in the coming years as large numbers of baby boomers begin to require more support and questions remain about the capacity of the industry’s workforce to provide the necessary care.
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