Well, we are finally here. The new Aged Care Act, with all of its insidious bells and whistles, is upon us. Seven years on from the announcement of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety that brought hope to so many, we now stand at a precipice.
Despite a multitude of warnings from financial experts, aged care advocates, providers, Australian seniors, and even the Governor General of Aged Care, the Albanese government opted to embrace the only opinion that it ever cared about: its own. It is as if they consulted a mirror instead of the masses, and the reflection nodded back with electoral approval. What a pity the seniors relying on this system cannot vote themselves a better deal.
When the aged care sector’s lobby groups were consulted during the development of the Act, a high-profile Minister made the government’s intentions known: ‘We are happy to hear what you have to say, but don’t recommend a levy.” Sadly, this was the precise funding method the Royal Commission recommended after extensive research and consultation, a shared contribution across the working population, perhaps starting at age 40 or 45, akin to the Medicare levy.
But the Albanese government bypassed that, amplifying the minor recommendations they did implement while ignoring the most meaningful change. Why? A levy risked alienating voters under 60, preoccupied with housing and daily pressures. Seniors, by contrast, are often overlooked, their concerns fading from public discourse.
This avoidance was no oversight; it was deliberate. The government prioritised political expediency over equitable funding, shifting the financial strain onto the vulnerable. Support at Home, marketed in polished campaigns as enabling longer, happier lives at home, exemplifies this calculated misdirection. In truth, it is a bear trap disguised as a stepping stone.
The 2023 Aged Care Taskforce, steered by Minister Wells, leaned on a $396,000 Kantar Public survey where only 9 per cent of respondents understood the changes, yet it was used to justify co-contributions for Support at Home. Briefings sparked anger among seniors once realities emerged, but ministers remained wedded to the idea.
The co-payment structure ensures clinical care remains free, but independence services like personal care require up to 50 per cent contributions, and everyday living aids such as cleaning or shopping demand up to 80 per cent for self-funded retirees. Pensioners face 17.5 per cent for everyday services, with part-pensioners paying more based on means. The top $78,000 package includes these contributions, not additional funds, potentially costing individuals $30,000 or more yearly.
The outcomes are predictable and, crucially, intentional. Seniors will forgo essential services, risking infections from skipped hygiene support or falls from unaided tasks. Accompanied shopping, vital for social connection, becomes unaffordable, fostering isolation and mental health decline. Reassessments for changing needs drag on for months, leaving individuals exposed during health crises.
Unspent funds carry over at a mere 10 per cent, insufficient for fluctuating requirements. Palliative care funding ends after four months, withdrawing aid at the most critical juncture. Caps on restorative care spots delay interventions that could prevent deterioration. Providers, capped at 10 per cent for care management, become unwilling debt collectors, pursuing payments from clients who cannot afford them. Regional services may collapse under unrecoverable debts and administrative burdens.
These flaws are not unintended consequences; they are collateral damage in a system designed to cut costs at seniors’ expense. The government’s $18.8 billion savings projection is illusory, as hospitalisations and premature residential care, far costlier, will surge – but that’s a problem for future administrations.
The Single Assessment System compounds the issues, with privatised assessments inviting conflicts of interest. Providers evaluating needs while profiting from services risk biased outcomes. Assessors receive minimal training, leading to delays and errors that exacerbate vulnerabilities, particularly in rural areas.
After eight years covering the aged care sector for HelloCare, I have never felt so deflated. We devoted much of this year to amplifying the most respected voices across our news platforms, ringing alarm bells about the impending disaster, yet all warnings fell on deaf ears.
When criticism of this Aged Care Act becomes an election talking point, do not let politicians plead ignorance. They made the conscious and deliberate decision to sacrifice the well-being of seniors to curry favour with younger voters who don’t yet realise that their future just got a lot harder and that they may have lost their inheritance.
Thanks so much Jakob for this excellent analysis of this complex and wicked problem. I enjoyed reading this article and will circulate to all my friends and colleagues as a Must Read. Jane
Jane Mears
Albanese has an agenda…get rid of the elderly as fast as is possible.
He is turning this once wealthy nation into dust…a third world country…
The Net Zero he is running in this nation is another attack on Australias
people…
All I have seen in his two terms in parliament is destruction…
He will continue…it’s going to get worse in many ways many have not
foreseen…
Albanese knows exactly what he’s doing…destroying the very people who
worked so hard to make this nation what it was…
You see the elderly to him are just numbers …not humans with feelings…
I’m very angry to see this happen to our wonderful nation who once upon
a time had a government who at least tried to respect our elderly…
Please God that there will be good people out there who can help elderly
with shopping etc and help when we see someone in need…
I was zeeing time is xomming from double talk of govermebt we were allreadt affected and i realised since 2022 no one out there to listen you influx of migration for running health care and reducing services charging exhorts fee I think better hire thoes illigal migrants who are minting money by giving cheap cash only services and puting life of older on threat when they steal their accounts police don’t do anything and public right to complaint has been geoperdise by ignoring their complaints law and order compromise and we are becoming wors than third world country
Yes he sure has. The cost of aged care homes are through the roof. Forcing aged care to stay in homes and use providers . Not all families can look after their older parents at home . Their will be a huge rise in older people going without to afford someone home helping them shower and cleaning their homes plus medication could be not taken . This is a cruel cruel thing the government has set up for aged care
Thank you for you commentary. I too am deflated but also very angry.not even considering the home based packages. I had a whole nursing home full of pipeline wondering how they were going to pay for the daily costs of using the TV,
Having a coffee at the volunteer run coffee shop, hop on the bus for a day trip to town. Etc etc. there goes the QOL measures us health professionals work so hard to maximise.
I received my budget today under the new legislation. The budget is set out clearly, no copayments as I am grandfathered, being on HCP L1 for seven years.
No worse off? Yes I am because my available funds don’t cover the increased hourly rates, hence my services had to be reduced. I am assessed for L 2, waiting for funds to be allocated. Once the funds are available I just might be able to have the previous services covered. I had applied for L2 because my needs for help have increased. In the interim the assessor provided me with HCSP funding, which regrettable are not widely accepted. I also have to make a copayment for those services.
I am satisfied with my care partner who tries her best to support mr.
Spot on and the burning issue of sexual absue in the aged care system (residential and home care) also gets pushed to the sidelines. THis is another Robodebt.
Mr Albanese is probably the most effective Liberal PM we have had, very much in the mould of John Howard who gave us the ‘market driven’ 1997 Aged Care Act . He can manage to ensure Australia is always in step with the US – in particular handing over billions for eight elusive submarines – but is totally oblivious to the plight of elderly Australians. He is a very professional political operator.
Very well said. But ehere too now !!
100% correct sadly! I already have 2 clients that risk losing their package as they do not have rge money for co contributions. The level 3 will need to pay $75 per week. Without this Care and oversight she will be in hospital very quickly.
Absolutely terrifying! Let us say that a Provider charges $100 for an hour’s service (a shower). Client contributes up to 50% of cost. Provider takes 10% in management fees. So pool of money is up to $150 per service, less $10, less actual cost of service which might be around $40. So that leaves up to $100 for the Provider. Client can carry over some of this, but only (as one Provider says) to the extent of $1000 all up. Where does all of this money go? Back into the pocket of the Provider? Back to the Government? This is surely one of the biggest rorts going around. One Provider built a virtual empire on the basis of these care packages (the old ones) by taking 50% in management fees (which were virtually non-existent). So that has stopped, but now they are being advised to ‘up their prices’ to counteract the minimal management fee. One Provider was charging $167 for a shower, and that is each day. Not a bad return to them. Another major Provider has failed to post their charges. Interesting that you have to call these people to find out what the charges are. I have seen people railroaded into agreeing to services that they could not afford, and I think that this practice may well continue. Well done, Albo! Keep up the good work. I think we should also bear in mind that it is not just the client who is being taken for a ride, given that it is our taxes who are paying for this rampant money grab.
The 50% contribution comes off the $100 per hour, so it does not increase the “pool” of money. It would certainly cost providers a lot more than $40 per hour to provide the service. There are so many contributing costs e.g. not just wages, but superannuation, leave entitlements, travel costs etc. There are also multiple insurances that continue to go up every year e.g. workers comp, public liability and others. There is also documentation, administration, rostering (and also re-doing rosters if staff are sick etc.), and case management and this is just off the top of my head. There is invoicing, collecting money and reporting both financially every quarter to Services Australia, as well as other reporting against quality measures. The costs to providers are also increasing and while a few providers have made profits by not doing the right thing, many are struggling to stay a head and many lose money providing aged care services. FYI – In the new Home Support Program 10% of funds can be rolled over every quarter, the excess funds go back to the government and have done since September 2023.
Resourcing quality care for our older people in Australia is a much bigger problem than providers doing the wrong thing. We are being forced to use the same funding levels for many many more people. This was never going to work, no matter how much older people contribute.
All of us are ageing and all of us will expect quality services when we need them. Stand up Australia and show that we are a country willing to fund quality services for our older people!!! We are all going to need them, no matter how young we are now. Invest in your future aged care now, or you may not have any at all.
We were sold out!!
Despite all of the evidence of totally flawed and failed programs eg Star Ratings, Resident Experience Interviews, Maggie Beers food program, the govt chose not to listen and forged on.
Organisations, supposedly representing seniors, told us we had to accept our half baked cake ie the new Aged Care Act that had so many omissions it was not fit for purpose but was pushed through and now the Support at Home program with its prescriptive and restrictive practices.
It is an absolute shambles and a great example of duplicity and abuse.
Those who state is is right based – who’s rights as it isn’t the senior Australians.
Shame on those who allowed this to happen and are complicit with govt actions.
Exactly! Very succinct summary of a system of total disadvantage, cynically promoted with misleading postings on social media. Just one example—wound care is not classed as a medical/clinical expense so we will pay for it.
The consumer advocacy groups Council of the Ageing (COTA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) worked with the government on these changes and promoted them as being great and a game changer for older people. Questions should be directed to them perhaps, as they supported thee changes on behalf of Australia’s elderly.
Well those “advocacy” organisations are either totally inept and didn’t understand the basics of what was being promoted or they were aware and chose not to bite the hands that feeds them. I believe it is the latter. Any govt. funded “advocacy” has generally been both a smokescreen and an absolute waste of time and effort. I don’t have faith in many politicians but Albanese must go down in history as the luckiest useless individual this country has had the misfortune to accept as our Prime Minister. He got there by pure luck, swans along on the gravy train by pure luck and he remains there (unfortunately) by pure luck. I hope very soon that he and his golden wand will evaporate into thin air before he destroys any more of this country as it is the only thing in which he excels.
Who is their master and whose agenda, political prowess are they striving for?
There are many deaf ears in Canberra, the Government set its agenda and steamrolled over many of the issues raised by various concerned organisations.
I may be a cynic, but I think they know that the Baby Boomers will die off and solve the problem by themselves.
Excellent analysis of where we are at now with aged care. Interestingly, John Howard’s changes in the 1997 Aged Care Act (which gave us a market driven sector) led us ultimately to a sector in crisis and to the Royal Commission. And now we have the just implemented the new Aged Care Act with many watered down RC recommendations. It won’t be surprising to find that we are faced with yet another crisis ( if there isn’t already one). All because there is no political will to help fund high quality care with a levy. So sad, and embarrassing for a rich country.
Well Said!
I have a lot to say: But I will keep this short.
I am a long time Labour Voter: But I need to change this and make a statement to the current government.
Enough of Labor
Just when we thought we had my kids dad’s supports all in place, taking the load off my new marriage and our teen daughters, also with disabilities, the pressure is back on us to now do the cleaning, gardening and personal care again. The drain on the taxpayer for me and my husband, with me being a life time stay at home carer of three is deplorable.
Jakob, you have nailed it!!!
Thank you for this incredible OP.
Such a well articualted summary of where we are now thankyou . It seems that the most serious discrimination toward the older person lies behind the walls of the institutions that are suppose to protect them. Not only is there a risk to the health and welfare of the older person with these changes, there is the potential for loss of employment for those in the sector as consumers can no longer afford to use the service and an increase burden on the health system as the older person will need to access support from these institutions rather than stay at home. We need to go back to when working in politics was a community service rather than a self serving career with little accountability. Where to now?
I have a Support at Home Package level3. I have been thinking that this is just pensioners paying for their own care in the long run. I have worked all my life in Britain and Australia. I was not going to take the package but people said you have paid your taxes all your working life. I now have a slow illness only medication,( no Cure) which takes away my strength and walking is difficult. I have a part English pension and part Aus. pension. It means that my English pension is a little more so I have to pay a daily fee. I feel I have no benefit when I see what is charged by my provider. I have just worked out that I would be better off getting my own cleaners, gardeners etc. I am not happy with the people they send to do these jobs. I have complained about it but yet to see the response. I do not go out except to medical appointments, One day of community connection. This is not taking care of its own this is getting rid of pensioners, hoping they die off and save more money. It is all very stressful.
The only “handsome” thing about Albanese is his paypacket and lifestyle. He excels in fake news, fake policies and fake projected outcomes. He will go down is history as the worst Prime Minister ever, the worst government for this country and the worst provider of well being not only for his citizens but for the whole country. Those who voted for him and his ilk hang your head in shame because this country has never seen such a decline in standards across the board since he slid into a position he should NEVER have held. And that also applies to the dreadful puppets he has under his wing.
Great article; fact after fact after fact. I help care for my older (82 y/o) friend. If it wasn’t for my care he wouldn’t be able to get the necessary minimum 2 hours of personal care daily. Incontinence should not be a sentence to a caged care facility.
I may have to be a one person protest with a sandwich board.
It’s appalling. We have had so many requests for hardship assistance already this week. Follow me on tik tok as I often highlight your articles.
https://www.tiktok.com/@gaynor.lowndes
I’m a provider in this space
I agree,
They have cut the approx 30% providers could charge to covers their cost down to 10% for care management. So how can providers continue? They will regain that 20% by raising the hourly cost of the services they provide.
Senior in the old system will now find that the package value they currently hold and will be grandfathered to the approx. same value in the new Support at Home level.
Sound ok, right?
No – with the expected rise in the hourly cost they will be unable to stay within budget and will be asked to reduce their services.
Definitely not the intended outcome of the royal commission.
Thanks for this Jakob, especially for pointing out that the allocated budgets include consumer co-contribution amounts ie they’re not actually simply the amount of money Government provides.
Another really important thing about the ‘Govt pays 100% of clinical care’ claims – for allied health services in home care, that statement only applies to those services defined as ‘allied health and therapy’, which completely omits services like orthoptics and prosthetics and orthotics unless they are associated with provision of AT under that approved list of products. In addition, other allied health services like osteopathy, which I’m sure everyone would agree is clinical care, are not included in ‘allied health and therapy’ but instead are classed as ‘therapeutic services for independent living’, which require a consumer co-contribution.
In other words, if Govt pays 100% of clinical care costs under Support at Home, this is only due to their restricted definition of ‘clinical care’.
It’s even worse in residential care for allied health, where the Aged Care Rules (s 8-155) specify that residential clinical care is only 100% paid for by Govt if the allied health service is classed under Item 2 (Allied health, rehabilitation and therapeutic exercise therapy programs) or Item 5 (Dementia and cognition management). The only other option repeates from the old system – Item 6 (General access to medical and allied health services) does not require providers to pay for anything, just to ‘make arrangements’. Allied Health Profesisons Australia has asked the Department several times in the past how providers decide what Item to use, how many services are provided under each item, and how much the equivalent of Item 6 actually costs consumers – to no avail.
I don’t think many older people realise the devil in the detail here – but I’m sure the Government does.
What a nightmare My Aged Care is now. Merry degrading
Despite so much background knowledge about the consequences of the changes, why didn’t clients get informed? My provider sent 2 separate emails after business hours on Tuesday 28 th October 2025. One email had 5 attachments of online versions of information issued much earlier. The other was a vague cover letter with a new Price Schedule without any explanation of many items. To duplicate existing services, my quarterly shortfall would be nearly $5000. All I saw said that grandfathered clients would get the Same Level of Care and we’d be “no worse off” by not having to pay contributions. In my opinion, we were deliberately mislead.
They have hoodwinked us. I am a 74 yrs old single full pensioners with a mortgage of $130 per week and non prescription medication cost of over $60 per week. With rising food costs, house and car insurance etc., I had little choice but to take out an Access Home Loan (like a 2nd mortgage with compound interest) through Centrelink, to ensure I could pay my bills and my future ‘contributions’ to my Level 2 package. I was approved for this package in May this year and was informed funding would be available by January at the latest. A phone call received last week – it is now Feb.
I have been receiving the Commonwealth Home Care package for over 5yrs and during the last six months I have had to practically beg for my fortnighly service. ‘No workers available’.
A further issue.
I purchased my wheelie walker on Gumtree 2 yrs ago for $30, as I was never informed that under the CHS scheme I was entitled to up to $1000 per annum for mobility items. The brake handle has now broken, so I am now using duct tape to hold it together.
Last month I tried to access this scheme only to be informed that the waiting lists to see a physio to get measured for a walker are so long that not one of the providers are adding any more names to their lists. The last provider then informed me it would have been a waste of time as there is currently no government funding for this scheme.
Forgive me if I don’t get excited about the wonderful changes in Aged Care from Nov 1st.
It’s a disgrace and I am 80 and live on basic pension still paying rent so I’m not even going to apply for My Age Care in home support
The worst part is there is not nearly enough nursing home beds in Australia to cope with the increased need for nursing home placement due to people being unable to stay at home on SAH, meaning more elderly will be stuck in hospital beds awaiting for an available bed increasing their risk of falls, infection, cognitive decline, and mental health issues due to lack of social interaction/stimulation.