Anglicare Australia research highlights the impact of excessive home care wait times

New research from Anglicare Australia highlights the real-world implications of prolonged home care wait lists. The data shows that after months of waiting for care at home, older people are being pushed into hospital or residential care, the exact outcomes they want to avoid. 

Key points

• Life on the Wait List: Caring for older Australians at home features survey responses from home care participants across five states where there’s surging demand for care and support services
• Overall, the organisations participating in the research provide home support services to over 29,000 people through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) and over 4,700 people through Home Care Packages 
• 100% of responding organisations said they were unable to meet demand, with one CHSP provider reporting they have over 1,600 people waiting for home maintenance services
• Funding restrictions and workforce issues are the most common barriers to demand, with CHSP funding an insufficient reflection of the cost of providing services

Home care waiting times are under the spotlight following the publication of the Aged Care Bill. The Government hopes the combined influence of the Aged Care Act and Support at Home will reduce home care wait times from the current high of 9-12 months to just three months by 2027. 

“Our findings show that the Government’s funding boost for care at home can’t come soon enough,” said Anglicare Australia’s Acting Executive Director Maiy Azize.

“The wait list for care has ballooned to 68,000, double what it was just one year ago. People are facing excruciating waits to get the care they’re entitled to – time they simply don’t have.

“Some are forced to wait so long that their condition worsens, and they get pushed into residential care before they’re ready. Others end up in hospital as they try to cope with daily life without the help they need.”

Ms Azize congratulated the Government for taking action with the new Support at Home Program, labelling it a game changer for older Australians. 

“But with such a massive waiting list on the books now, we need to make sure people who have already been waiting for too long can get the help they need. We’re calling on the Government to release enough Home Care Packages to clear the wait list in its next mid-year Budget update,” she added. 

“That will set the new system up for success, stopping it from inheriting a rapidly growing wait list before it even starts. And it will stop older people from spending more time they don’t have waiting for care without any other support.

“This is a critical investment that will help more older Australians get the care they need, when they need it, where they need it.”

CHSP is lagging behind

CHSP providers may not be in for the same investment, however. Anglicare Australia’s research shows that many providers do not even have waiting lists in place because availability to take on new clients was so low. 

In a previous conversation with Hello Leaders, aged care expert Paul Sadler noted that the Government’s investment of $100 million of growth funds for CHSP was the first of its kind since 2019.

“…The number of CHSP service users hasn’t risen for six or seven years. They’ve been gradually declining rather than increasing, which suggests it’s being left alone by successive governments,” he said. 

This could change when Support at Home is introduced as it will have eight categories, rather than the current four under HCPs, meaning more low level care options could be available for those who need it. 

Providers just need the funding.

Whilst it is reported that over 800,000 people access the CHSP each year, the grant structure of the program is hugely restrictive. CHSP utilisation data cannot be linked at a client level, meaning Government cannot confirm whether those with a CHSP referral on the home care waitlist, are accessing the CHSP whilst waiting,” Anglicare Australia’s report stated.

“Many older people currently receiving CHSP services cannot meet their support needs through the program. All Anglicare Australia Network members surveyed for this project reported that they can’t meet the current demand for CHSP services in their communities.

“All organisations surveyed stated that CHSP funding is a significant barrier to meeting demand. Available funding does not sufficiently reflect the cost of providing services, which forces providers to limit service delivery or increase client contributions at high rates.”

Poor outcomes for older people

Ultimately, the wait times for package allocation are worse for those needing higher-level support. They are seeking support from service providers because they want to avoid moving into residential care, or repeat hospitalisations. 

According to Anglicare Australia’s Network agencies, there are plenty of examples where long wait times for assessment and allocation have influenced a resident’s decision to enter residential care. 

“Prolonged wait times increase the likelihood that an older person will transition to permanent residential aged care services after receiving a Home Care Package. Research exploring the association between wait times and transition to permanent residential care found that people who waited for more than six months to access a Home Care Package had a 10% higher risk of transition to residential care after two years,” the report added.

The research also noted that there’s evidence of some older people seeking hospital admission in the hope of increasing their priority status on the National Prioritisation System. Anglicare Australia labelled it a “perverse incentive” that places excessive strain on the public health system. 

So what needs to change? Anglicare Australia says no Australian should be forced to wait up to 15 months to access the care they need. While the organisation praised the Government for its progress on the Aged Care Act and Support at Home, it also said Support at Home “should not be forced to inherit what the current system has been unable to provide.”

“Anglicare Australia calls on the Government to fund the release of the necessary amount of Home Care Packages to remove the wait list prior to the commencement of Support at Home. This will stop the new system from being set up for failure by inheriting a waiting list that the new injection of funds will not be able to clear.”