Reform

Australia’s $3 billion aged care package includes a billion dollars to make showering free under Support at Home. That’s welcome news — but it’s also an admission. Here’s what the announcement really tells us about where we’ve been, and what leaders need to watch closely as the reforms roll out.

BREAKING NEWS: The Federal Government has unveiled sweeping changes to aged care and the NDIS — cutting private health rebates for over-65s, revising care fees, and tightening eligibility.

Uniting NSW.ACT’s outgoing-CEO, Tracey Burton, sees conversation, not command, at the centre of aged care funding reform. Societal education and understanding are key in steering sector to a sustainable future.

Providers are beginning to move through the first wave of registration renewals under the new Aged Care Act. A recent Commission webinar sheds light on earlier timelines, audit changes, evidence requirements and the real cost of variation and renewal.

Aged care reforms were designed to improve fairness and consistency, but early signs suggest growing pressure across the system. As concerns emerge from across parliament and the sector, questions are being raised about how decisions are made and whether the balance between policy and lived experience is holding.

Empathy and community experience integral to health and aged care governance, RN shares. Nominated to state health advisory role, Arun Thomas looks to regional community insight to guide effective decisions.

Veteran aged and health care expert warns against sector straying into government financing decisions and approval. She champions boundaries of scope for the sector to avoid traps and consequences.

A powerful new alliance of aged care leaders is urging the government to rethink its reform agenda, warning that merging CHSP into Support at Home could increase costs, reduce access and weaken the community-based supports older Australians rely on.

Corporate project-management expert Michael Goldsworthy sees the “catastrophe” aged care is facing from current crisis. Government must approach sector for a relationship re-do, to build trust and insight, if reform has any hope to land well.

Aged care consultant Lynda Henderson helped design the Integrated Assessment Tool underpinning Support at Home. As a care recipient herself, she now questions how the system works in practice.