Assistive technology is reform’s ‘make‑or‑break’ test with the system already under strain

Support at Home is changing aged care’s operating environment in real time. For providers, this is not simply a policy transition, it is a practical reset across procurement, compliance, invoicing and care coordination. And within that reset, one issue is fast becoming a defining pressure point: supporting older Australians to access assistive technology quickly enough to stay safe at home.  Indigo’s AT2GO Support at Home platform has been developed to assist in this task, with a focus on streamlining product access and easing administrative load on providers.

Assistive technology (AT) is often described as ‘equipment’, but in practice it is care infrastructure.

It can determine whether someone can mobilise safely, shower with dignity, prepare a meal independently, or return home from hospital with minimised risk. When AT is delayed, the impacts are rarely neutral: people can lose confidence, families absorb additional care load, and providers face escalating complexity at precisely the moment the system is trying to improve efficiency.

Indigo Director of Assistive Technology Initiatives Bernadette Mitchell-Armstrong notes that despite these critical impacts, AT procurement remains one of the most operationally fragmented pathways in aged care.

“In our conversations with providers, we’ve heard they’re dealing with heavier administration and more complex processes, particularly as they try to understand evolving requirements, align equipment with eligibility requirements settings, and coordinate multiple suppliers within tight timeframes,” she says. 

“Even simple items such as falls alarms or kitchen aids can become difficult to obtain when funding pathways and procurement processes are unclear, and delays in access to assistive technology can have a serious impact on people’s safety, confidence and independence.”

Bernadette suggests a key focus within reform now needs to be around a simple question: what makes the system work in practice?

“We need to look beyond the legislation to the daily reality of ordering, approving, delivering and reconciling equipment,” she says.   “That’s where the gaps are emerging and people are becoming at increased risk.”

From policy intent to operational reality: why ‘timely AT’ is the real outcome measure

Bernadette says her conversations with providers across the sector consistently point to the same challenge: “they say we can see the intent but it’s the operational steps that slow everything down”. In the AT pathway, those steps often include searching across suppliers, comparing products with limited clarity, ensuring items align with eligibility requirements, securing internal approvals, coordinating delivery logistics (compounded in regional and remote contexts), and reconciling invoices.

Bernadette highlights this as an emerging area of increased risk for older Australians.

“This is where delays become system risk,” she says. “If timely AT access is not designed into the operating model, the consequences show up elsewhere – whether it be increased risk events, delayed discharge, carer strain, additional formal supports, or earlier escalation to higher‑cost settings of care.”

A practical response: platform-enabled procurement built for the reform environment

Indigo’s response has been to build AT2GO as a practical workflow tool for Support at Home, shaped by national experience and designed to reduce procurement friction at the point it matters most: getting the right equipment into older Australians’ homes to assist them sooner.

Through its role as the national GEAT provider under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), Indigo supports over 70,000 older Australians each year, across every state, territory and island in Australia. More than 90% of assistive technology is delivered within two weeks.

That experience has not been without challenge. It has required building national supplier networks, solving logistics in remote and regional locations, aligning products to funding requirements, and managing high‑volume delivery under tight timeframes.

Critically, it has also meant learning what does not work: where systems slow down, where processes create friction, and where delays impact outcomes.

“As a sector, we don’t have the luxury of learning these lessons repeatedly”, says Bernadette.

“We’ve learned these hard lessons over time – and we’re using our experience to make it easier for providers to deliver seamless services for their clients”.

The AT2GO Support at Home platform is designed to support Registered Providers to source and order assistive technology for their Support at Home clients through a streamlined process.

Crucially, AT2GO is intended to reduce fragmentation by bringing core procurement functions into a single pathway. Features include access to products eligible under SAH AT‑HM scheme guidelines; access to reputable supply partners; equipment listed at below retail price; delegated authorisation to approve equipment requests; and the ability to track client orders through a centralised dashboard with accounting and delivery updates.

Bernadette explains it as a simplified model:  “A single associated provider contract with Indigo allows providers to deliver on the multiple AT needs of one customer, on one website, with one invoice.”

“As reform progresses and complexity increases, we’re finding integrated procurement is moving beyond being just a feature and is now becoming a core capability for Support at Home providers”.

A reform principle: solutions must be built with the sector, not delivered to it

A consistent theme in the sector is that the most successful solutions are often those built alongside the practical realities of providers, prescribers and clients. Indigo’s own approach reflects this principle, with ongoing provider feedback informing platform development and the organisation running information sessions to support better understanding of funding pathways as implementation of the new Aged Care Act progresses.

That same feedback loop is shaping the platform roadmap, including enhancements such as direct payment links for providers and invoices featuring codes required for funding reconciliation through Services Australia – both aimed at streamlining processes and reducing administration time.

The bigger point: assistive technology is not an ‘add-on’ – it’s core to ageing well at home

Bernadette notes that if Support at Home is to achieve its intended outcomes, timely access to assistive technology must be treated as foundational.

“AT is one of the most direct ways to translate reform into real-world independence,” she says.

“But it will only do so if the procurement pathway is workable: clear, consistent, accountable and fast.”

“We are proud to partner with the aged care sector as a trusted resource – bringing experience, infrastructure and proven delivery capability to support providers in navigating reform with confidence.”

Bernadette highlights Indigo’s understanding of both the opportunities and the pressure points of the system, having delivered assistive technology to tens of thousands of older Australians each year nation-wide.

“We’ve learnt the hard lessons over time, so providers don’t have to, and we stand alongside the sector to ensure access to assistive technology is not a barrier, but an enabler”.

“Because ultimately, this is about what matters most – supporting older Australians to remain safe, independent, and living in their own homes for longer”.