The Australian government has unveiled a set of reforms aimed at transforming the nation’s aged care system. Announced by Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells on Thursday 12th September, these reforms respond to the longstanding concerns over the state of aged care and the recommendations of the Aged Care Taskforce, which brought together older Australians, experts and residential aged care providers.
The reforms have bipartisan support and the announcement has been met with a mix of cautious optimism from advocacy groups and industry stakeholders. Many see these reforms as a crucial step forward in addressing systemic issues and ensuring that aged care in Australia is both respectful and responsive to the needs of its elderly population.
The announcement covers both support at home and residential aged care and takes effect from 1 July 2025. References to support at home in the final stages of life and specialist palliative care are found in two sections:
- Media release: Support at Home participants will be eligible for up to $25,000 in additional support to spend their final 3 months at home, so they can be surrounded by loved ones in an environment they cherish, instead of rushing precious moments into hospital visiting hours.
- Fact Sheet: End of life care.
Older people with less than 3 months to live and who wish to stay at home, will be given priority access to the program’s dedicated highest funding classification for additional home care services ($25,000 for 12 weeks). The pathway will work in conjunction with, not replace, specialised palliative care services such as symptom management and advanced care planning.
Palliative Care NSW and our Palliative Care in Aged Care Network (PACN) will continue to follow this closely to better understand what these announcements will mean for those working in palliative care and the community.
The following is some of the detail taken from the media release. The full media release can be accessed HERE.
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Better support for Australians to age at home
Support at Home will provide support for:
- Clinical care (e.g. nursing care, occupational therapy)
- Independence (e.g. help with showering, getting dressed or taking medications)
- Everyday living (e.g. cleaning, gardening, shopping or meal preparation)
The Government will pay 100 per cent of clinical care services, with individual contributions going towards independence and everyday living costs.
According to the Productivity Commission, up to 70 per cent of Australians would prefer to die in the comfort of their own home, but fewer than 10 per cent actually do. Support at Home participants will be eligible for up to $25,000 in additional support to spend their final 3 months at home, so they can be surrounded by loved ones in an environment they cherish, instead of rushing precious moments into hospital visiting hours.
Essential changes to improve the funding, viability, and quality of residential care
As recommended by the Aged Care Taskforce, these measures include:
- Larger means-tested contributions from new entrants.
- A higher maximum room price that is indexed over time.
- The retention of a small portion of refundable accommodation deposits by providers.
The treatment of the family home won’t change.
Half of new residents will not contribute more under the new consumer contributions:
- All “fully supported” residents will not contribute more.
- 7 in 10 full pensioners will not contribute more.
- 1 in 4 part pensioners will not contribute more.
For every $1 an older Australian contributes to their residential aged care, the Government will contribute an average of $3.30.
No worse off principle for Australians already in aged care:
When Home Care participants transition to Support at Home, from 1 July 2025, they will maintain the same level of funding and retain any unspent funds.
The new contributions and accommodation arrangements will only apply to new entrants to residential aged care from 1 July 2025.
Budget impact:
Financial support for the sector is also a major focus. Under the reforms, the Government will pay:
- 100 per cent of clinical care costs, regardless of individual means, and
- The majority of aged care costs overall, including:
- 73 per cent of residential care costs and
- 89 per cent of Support at Home costs.
For every $1 an older Australian contributes, the Government will contribute an average of $3.30 to residential care, and $7.80 to Support at Home.
New laws to protect the rights of older Australians.
One of the most notable aspects of the reform package is the introduction of a new independent commission dedicated to regulating aged care services.
Also:
- A Statement of Rights for older Australians in aged care, with a positive duty for providers to uphold those rights.
- New duties to hold providers and people in positions of leadership accountable, along with a compensation pathway.
- New Quality Standards to drive continuous improvement and high quality care.
- Stronger regulatory powers to protect people from harm.
- New whistleblower protections.
- A regulator with stronger investigative powers.
Read the Media release HERE.