The Australian Government has recently announced reforms to services such as Home Care Packages, with dates for the changes now established.
The current Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care Programme will be replaced by an overarching Support at Home program and is expected to commence on July 1, 2025.
The Australian Government has allocated $4.3 billion dollars to the new Support at Home program and is expected to assist around 1.4 million older Australians to maintain independence in their own homes by 2035.
Services that will be provided to eligible Australians in the combined Support at Home program may include clinical care, e.g. nursing care, assistance with personal care, e.g. showering, and assistance with daily household tasks, e.g. food shopping and preparation.
In this new program, the government will pay 100 percent of the cost of clinical care for eligible older Australians.
However, in addition to providing funding for eligible Australians with ongoing clinical care, the government announced that eligible Support at Home recipients will receive ‘up to $25,000 in additional support to spend their final 3 months at home.’
Research suggests that ‘70 percent of Australians want to die at home,’ but less than 14 percent have the opportunity or means to do this.
Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells reiterated how the new home support initiative will improve aged care and end-of-life circumstances for older Australians.
“We’ve heard the message from older Australians: they want support to stay in the homes and communities they love,” she said.
“Support at Home will help around 1.4 million older Australians do just that, with shorter wait times, more levels of support and funding for home modifications.
“Older Australians will get support to spend their final weeks at home, surrounded by loved ones in an environment they cherish, instead of rushing precious moments into hospital visiting hours.”
Approximately 284,400 Australians had access to a Home Care Package as of March 2024, according to the latest data from GEN Aged Care Data.
However, changes to the current Commonwealth Home Support Programme will not occur before July 1, 2027. This programme provides older Australians with a lower level of support compared to people who are accessing support and care through a Home Care Package.
More than 818,000 older Australians received assistance through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme between 2022 and 2023.
In a recent press conference related to the reforms, Minister Wells also said that the government aims to reduce waiting times for Home Care Packages to three months by 2027.
However, in response to this statement, Paul Sadler, an aged care consultant with more than 37 years of experience, commented on how challenging some aspects of the government’s promises are.
“From where [the waiting times are] now, which is you know, waiting times up around nine months to a year, then for them to turn that round quickly, I wouldn’t have believed it if they came back and did it any faster,” he said.
Despite this, Mr Sadler highlighted that the government’s investments in home care and the associated funding are welcomed support for older Australians.
“The government is also saying it’s going to introduce additional resources to the system to help access services to be quicker so I assume that is additional resources to the assessment services so that is also good news,” he said.
The government’s investments and the aged care reforms have occurred based on recommendations by the Aged Care Taskforce, in which its final report was delivered to the government at the end of 2023.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also highlighted the significant impact that the aged care reforms will have on older Australians, both now and in the future.
“Our government is working to ensure that the aged care system that supports them is stronger now and sustainable into the future,” he said.
For aged care workers, providers, older Australians and their families who are interested in hearing from a panel of experts regarding the new Aged Care Act, register to attend a free webinar that will be held by the Older Persons Advocacy on September 24, 2024.
