Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Yvette Willison, Content Writer


After 15 years of planning, fundraising and refining a financially viable model, one rural Victorian community is still unable to build an aged care facility. Wedderburn’s experience raises broader questions about whether Australia’s regulatory framework can accommodate community-led solutions.

Latest News

Support at Home Senate inquiry: what Uniting wants aged care providers to know

What happens when someone is assessed as needing more care, but the funding isn’t there to provide it? Uniting NSW.ACT says the current gap is putting pressure on older people, providers and the wider aged care system.

• leadership

For-profit aged care brings clarity to sector fault-lines

For-profit versus not-for-profit is a detour tension point the industry can’t afford. Mel Argent of Rockpool shares insight for the common goal, removing inefficiencies so that aged care can thrive in Australia. For seniors and staff, all providers and departments must pull towards best.

Amy Henderson, Contributor

• support at home

Interim funding rule Removes 53,000 clients from official aged care waitlist

53,718 people vanished from Australia’s aged care waitlist after a methodology change, removed once interim 60% payments start, not full funding. Providers report clients waiting up to five months, with the missing 40% never backdated.

Jakob Neeland, Contributor

• hospitality

Are we asking the wrong question about aged care kitchen shortages?

With over 75 per cent of aged care chefs reporting staffing shortages, benchmarked award rates may no longer be enough. Chef Lindsey O’Grady explores why providers must look beyond internal aged care pay comparisons to compete with the wider labour market.

Lindsey OGrady, Senior Catering Operations Specialist

• palliative care

Palliative care isn’t aged care’s job, but the conversation is

Victoria’s first statewide report on palliative care reveals a stark gap between demand and access. As specialist shortages loom, Palliative Care Victoria CEO Violet Platt explores why aged care leaders must help bridge the gap through early conversations.

Marion Piper, Contributor

Contributors

Yvette Willison

Yvette Willison

Yvette Willison - Content Writer

"Yvette is an avid storyteller with a working knowledge base in the Allied Health, Disability and Aged Care sectors."

Hayley Campbell

Hayley Campbell

Hayley Campbell - Content Writer

"Hayley Campbell is a mental health and healthcare copywriter who believes the best stories start with people."

Lindsey OGrady

Lindsey OGrady

Rise Up Group - Senior Catering Operations Specialist

"Lindsey O’Grady is a chef and aged care hospitality specialist with 40 years’ experience."

Lesley Barton

Lesley Barton

Atlas McNeil - National Clinical and Training Manager

"Lesley Barton is the National Clinical and Training Manager at Bunzl & Atlas McNeil Healthcare Community, with over 40 years of healthcare experience."

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Every Wednesday, we deliver stories that inspire better leadership, spark ideas & keep you ahead in aged care.

Events

Nov

2026

2026 Ageing Australia National Conference

NOV 24, 2026 | 9 am - 5 pm

The International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney

Mar

2027

ATSA Independent Living Expo Hobart

MAR 04, 2027 | 8 am - 4 pm

Princes Wharf No. 1, Hobart

May

2027

ATSA Independent Living Expo Perth

MAY 19, 2027 | 8 am - 3 pm

Claremont Showground

News

• industry news

Building the bridge to reshape First Nations aged care

Yvette Willison, Content Writer Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner Jodi Cassar brings more than two decades of public service experience to one of aged care’s newest roles, sharing why listening, cultural safety and community partnerships are essential to creating meaningful, lasting reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

• aged care workforce

Who will take care of older Australians if migration slows?

Hayley Campbell, Content Writer Australia’s aged care workforce already relies heavily on migrant workers, while demand for workers continues to grow. With migration settings under review, providers need to understand what changes to access for overseas workers could mean for staffing.

• aged care sector

Aged care’s data problem is starting to find its fix

Marion Piper, Contributor Three hours of a shift gone to paperwork — before a single resident is checked on. As documentation eats into aged care nursing time, new tools like Kinnexus and BESTMED IQ are trying to hand some of that time back to care.

• inspector-general

New acting head, Kate Pope, confirmed for aged care’s independent oversight body

Marion Piper, Contributor Kate Pope PSM has taken over as acting Inspector-General of Aged Care, bringing 35 years of public sector experience to the role while government recruits a permanent appointee.

• Aged Care Act

Aged care reforms haven’t fixed staffing, survey finds

Marion Piper, Contributor A union survey of 3,550 frontline workers finds understaffing, rising violence and unexplained funding gaps persisting under the Aged Care Act reforms – raising fresh governance questions about how providers are spending taxpayer funding.

• disability

Standardised failure: how the new NDIS bill sacrifices participants for budget repair

Marion Piper, Contributor As NDIS reforms repeat the design flaws of aged care’s algorithmic funding failures, Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess warns that providers will bear the fallout of standardised models that sacrifice individual needs for budget repair.

Why KPMG’s whistleblower failure should concern every aged care provider

• aged care

Marion Piper, Contributor Following KPMG’s high-profile whistleblower governance failure, Australian aged care directors face heightened scrutiny. Under the new Aged Care Act, leaders can be personally fined up to $165,000 for non-compliant reporting systems, even if the organisation itself escapes regulatory action.

Topic

Micro scale aged care punches above its weight

• residential aged care

As the pace of aged care’s market consolidation intensifies, so too must the conversation of one size fitting all. Honeybee homes is a ‘tiny’ provider on NSW’s north coast that is bucking the trend. A 30-year wait list shows they’ve captured demand in a big way.

The right technology doesn’t change care. It changes how care is supported.

• aged care

Fewer than half of aged care providers are meeting care minute targets. As nursing shortages worsen, meeting targets isn’t just about headcount – it’s about using technology to reduce friction, eliminate unnecessary administration, and support clinical teams on the frontlines.

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