In a poignant turn of events, Gregory Reeve, a former chief executive officer in the aged care sector with more than 40 years’ experience as a registered nurse, is now confronting the very system he once helped shape.
Recently diagnosed with a debilitating condition, Reeve has shared his frustrating experiences navigating Australia’s aged care services. His account shines a light on what he describes as “disgraceful” gaps between policy promises and practical delivery.
Reeve served as CEO of Heritage Care during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by significant challenges and public scrutiny. He and the organisation were ultimately cleared of wrongdoing in court.
He has now chosen to speak publicly about his personal journey, which underscores persistent problems within the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), the main entry-level support scheme for older Australians.
“The diagnosis was unexpected and exceedingly debilitating,” Reeve explained. “Now that I find myself in the very system I dedicated much of my career to, it is absolutely disgraceful what I am finding.”
At the centre of Reeve’s concerns is the CHSP, which provides basic assistance such as domestic help, personal care and transport to support older people to live independently at home.
Unlike Home Care Packages (HCPs), which deliver more comprehensive and coordinated support for people with complex needs, CHSP is not means-tested and focuses on task-specific services. HCPs are available across four levels and attract higher government subsidies.
However, as Reeve’s experience demonstrates, CHSP’s accessibility often comes with serious limitations.
Reeve underwent a My Aged Care assessment and received CHSP referral codes for approved services. Despite this, he has been unable to access the care he was assessed as needing.
“Providers associated with these codes are either not available in my area or are unable to deliver services that meet my assessed requirements,” he wrote in a formal complaint to My Aged Care. “As a result, the referral codes are effectively unusable and my care needs remain unmet.”
This situation has placed what Reeve describes as an “unreasonable and unsustainable burden” on his wife, with the responsibility for daily support largely defaulting to her.
Reeve argues this directly undermines the purpose of the programme, which is intended to provide timely assistance and reduce reliance on informal carers.
Industry perspectives support Reeve’s observations. Many providers view CHSP as financially unviable due to lower funding levels compared with Home Care Packages. This often results in limited service availability.
A national provider told Reeve that while his needs could be met under an entry-level Home Care Package, CHSP funding was insufficient to deliver the same support. High demand for CHSP, driven in part by the absence of means testing, further compounds the problem, with many approved referrals never translating into actual services.
“The service provider was categorical that if I had an entry-level package they could deliver my services, but not with CHSP,” Reeve said. He also criticised what he sees as My Aged Care’s default reliance on CHSP approvals, despite awareness that many people are unable to access meaningful support through the programme.
In response, Reeve has requested a review of his referral codes, the identification of alternative providers and the issue of new codes if required. He has also formally sought reconsideration for a Level 1 or Level 2 Home Care Package, which would offer more consistent and reliable assistance.
These challenges are not unique to Reeve. Department of Health and Aged Care reporting acknowledges that while CHSP plays an important role as an entry point to the system, its fragmented structure lacks the flexibility offered by Home Care Packages.
At the same time, residential aged care occupancy in Australia, now nearing 90–94%, exposes policy failures in delivering timely home support. Delays in CHSP services and Home Care Packages are forcing older Australians into care earlier than needed, eroding choice and independence.
With residential care far more expensive than home-based support, high occupancy is both a symptom of system strain and a signal that investment in ageing-in-place services is urgently required.
Further reform is planned, with CHSP scheduled to transition into the new Support at Home programme no earlier than July 2027. While this reform aims to create a more integrated and needs-based model, it offers little immediate relief for those currently struggling to access services.
Reeve’s professional background adds weight to his critique.
“I have spent my professional life caring for others within the health and aged care systems,” he said. “It is both disappointing and concerning that the mechanisms intended to deliver care are not functioning as designed.”
He describes his experience as a practical case study of systemic ineffectiveness, highlighting the disconnect between assessment outcomes and real-world service delivery.
As Australia continues to grapple with the pressures of an ageing population, stories like Reeve’s raise urgent questions about funding adequacy, provider incentives and whether government commitments align with lived experience.
