When 78-year-old Janet Teusner was approved for a Level 4 Home Care Package earlier this year, her daughter Carolyn Teusner hoped the additional support would allow her mother to remain at home with dignity.
Instead, she says the introduction of the New Aged Care Act has left her mother facing fees more than triple those paid by others with the same care needs, simply because she entered the system after the September 12, 2024 cut-off date.
Janet is a self-funded retiree. Until now she has been paying a daily income-tested fee of $38.72 for her support. But under the new fee structure, Carolyn says her mother has been advised that the cost of basic Level 4 care will rise to $98.38 per day.
She says families like hers are now being charged more than three times what people with identical care needs pay under the previous arrangements.
The comparison is stark:
| Category | Weekly Basic Care Cost | Daily Cost | Notes |
| Grandfathered Level 4 Package | $215.20 | $30.74 | Under previous system |
| New System Level 4 Package | $688.67 | $98.38 | Same care needs, higher fee |
In an open letter sent this week to Minister for Aged Care Sam Rae, Carolyn said her family feels they are being punished for her mother’s lifelong financial independence.
“My Mother has contributed her entire life to this country. She is now being penalised simply because she entered the aged care system after an arbitrary cut-off date,” she wrote.
“This is not just a financial issue. It is about fairness, dignity and equal treatment.”
Carolyn describes the situation as a two-tier aged care system, where older Australians with identical support needs receive the same type of care but pay drastically different amounts based solely on the date they required assistance and whether they receive a pension.
She argues that the government’s previous assurance that “nobody will be worse off” under the New Aged Care Act does not reflect the reality experienced by families like hers.
“It is a clear case of systemic inequity that no Australian should ever have to experience, particularly those who are vulnerable and needing care,” she wrote.
“Aged care is a basic human right. It is needs based, not date based. It is time to restore fairness and uphold the values that aged care was built on.”
Advocates and providers have raised similar concerns in recent weeks, warning that self-funded retirees may face the highest financial burden under the new model, particularly at higher levels of home care.
The Teusner family is calling on the Minister to urgently review the pricing structure for so-called hybrid clients and ensure that individuals with equivalent care needs receive equitable treatment, regardless of when they enter the system or how they funded their retirement.
So sorry wrong. I have a level 3 full pensioner client that is hybrid and will be asked to pay $75 pw she does not have this spare per week. Apply for hardship they say like most 85 yo can cope with the BS involved in doing that. It is just another deterrent. Because of the amount of work Service Providers are passing on to us as contracted coordinators in have employed another person on $70 pa to cope with it. And people think we are getting rich out of this. As usual its the big guns and so called NFP that will be reaping it in. Not hard to figure who they are. As for Sam Rae spruiking it is all political BS
Sam Rae was on 7.30 Report last night cliaming 21 days between referral and assessment and falling (maybe in Canberra) here in Western Victoria it is 9 to 12 months to assessment then another 9 to 10 months for a package. If your Assessment is sent to a private provider in Western Australia (yes Western Australia) then it will be a phone assessment even though 75% of Assessments are meant to be face to face. A phone assessment can’t see the state of the house, the condition of the client, the rotting food and all the other things assessors pick up and assist to resolve.
The new Aged Care System is stripping the elderly of whatever assetts they have and when people complain the government will claim they had no idea this would happen. Tell me where in Australia government privatising services has been a success (power, child care, aged care).
Just proves that someone is lying. Someone in the government or the bureaucracy.
Or perhaps the Providers are breaking the rules.
We have a similar situation and what I believe many people do not understand is that the ‘bank of mum and dad’ that younger and middle aged Australians utilise is about to disappear.
My parents are self-funded retirees, my father a gold card veteran, whom alongside my mother, gave their all to hard work and make wise investments to set themselves up for retirement and to support the four generations of their family. They are not wealthy but they are ‘comfortable’, and they are generous and will assist any family member who requires a financial hand.
Both have been approved for funding that is not yet assigned, but the projected costs are already a concern. But what my parents do know is that if and when they both need ongoing care there is no way that they will be able to continue being the ‘bank of mum and dad’.
Mum and Dad are 90 and probably not looking at years of on going services but my father is barely ‘weight bearing’ so his needs will escalate. They will manage their cost for the limited life span they might need to but they know that the Australia they worked hard to build has sold them out!
But it has also sold out the next generations! We all work and strive for security and we have all been sold the superannuation goal of self funded retirement but this aged care reform has shown that we will need a superannuation income way past what most Australians are able to reach if we are going to pay for the care we will require. And we will require it, my parents have shown that. Longer, healthy lives don’t stop our bodies from ageing!
Susan,
My Husband and I will be in the same boat. You may find is cheaper to offer someone free rent and board, plus a small wage to help with your parents. This is what my Husband and I are going to do when our time comes as we are self funded retirees as well. Just use the package for the free clinical things and the home improvements/equipment.
Could someone please tell us the cost of packages and what gap do pensioners pay. Starting off on this journey . Examples how much is showering per visit yard mowing. Thanks
Re date approved. Thus deciding if grandfathered.
You could have applied months earlier than cut off date but not approved due to not being assessed. Due to delays in system,
Or assessed pre 12 th sept but acas not writing it up or delegates nog getting to it for days.
Dome one i know. Finally assessed 10 th sept. Acas not finalise till 18 th. Thus not grandfathered.
So not fair. Had also waited 6 month to even get assessment.
You should be grandfathered if you referral was in pre 12 th september
On level 3, approved level 4 with 9 month wait for funding. Part-pensioner.
My hourly fees increased by 75% from $68 to $118. Currently, I was using about $250 unspent funds/month toward care while awaiting higher level. Hours must now be reduced by 3 hours per week and still must use $330/month from unspent funds.
– OR FIND $1478 EVERY MONTH OUT OF POCKET TO KEEP EXISTING HOURS!!!
This is elderly abuse, in my opinion.
My mother’s hourly rate for personal care-cleaning went from $88.70 to $120.00 per hour on 1st of November. She is grandfathered and went from level 3 to level 4 and for the extra $21000 per annum she gets 1.5 hours per week extra care if she runs to budget.
She gets 8hours 40 minutes care per week in exchange for her $63,440 per annum budget.
That is $1200 per week for under 9 hours of service.
We feel totally helpless dealing with aged care services.
I agree. We are not self funded and live off our pension. Yet we are told we have to pay. It’s disgusting 🤢
You can apply for hardship to Centrelink if you are on the basic pension. You are allowed under 44,000 a year before you have to start paying fees.
Self funded retirees have always paid the price. Your mothers increase are outrageous, but so is what I pay every eeek without a pension, in aged care.