The Albanese government is under mounting fire over its refusal to immediately release tens of thousands of urgently needed home care packages, with critics warning that older Australians are dying on waitlists while the government prioritises bureaucratic convenience.
More than 121,000 people are currently waiting for assessments, while the official waitlist for approved recipients sits above 87,000. Providers and families say the delays are pushing seniors into hospitals and residential aged care, clogging a health system already struggling under demand.
Independent Senator David Pocock, the Greens’ Penny Allman-Payne and the Coalition’s Anne Ruston are backing amendments to compel the government to front-load the release of new home care places. The move is expected to hand Labor a defeat in the Senate unless it changes its position.
Senator Allman-Payne has condemned the government’s inaction in stark terms.
“Months stuck on the aged care waitlist means going without help to shower, to feed yourself, to have a safe and clean home. It means worsening health, more time in hospital, and our parents and grandparents dying without proper care,” she said.
“The Greens-led Senate inquiry has heard from providers that they are ready to deliver these home care packages within days. This could have been done on 1 July as Labor promised. People are dying waiting. It’s really the bare minimum Labor should do.”
The government has argued that the delay is necessary to avoid the administrative burden of approving people under the current system, only to transfer them weeks later when the new Support at Home program begins on 1 November. Officials say switching thousands of recipients from one scheme to another would complicate the transition and tie up departmental resources.
Critics have labelled this justification as indefensible. Professor Kathy Eagar, a former adviser to the aged care royal commission, has accused Labor of withholding care purely for “administrative tidiness.” She argues that the decision sacrifices older Australians’ health and dignity for the sake of bureaucratic neatness.
Every week of delay leaves more Australians at risk of hospitalisation or premature entry into residential care. For many, the difference is life or death. Families are being told by doctors to admit elderly parents and grandparents to hospital because they cannot access even basic help at home.
The government insists that the new Support at Home program will cut wait times to 90 days by 2027, but experts and advocates are deeply sceptical. Professor Eagar has warned the program is poorly designed and will only increase pressure on hospitals and residential facilities.
A major point of concern is the proposed co-contribution scheme, which will require older Australians to pay for some of their services. Advocates say this will force pensioners and renters to make impossible choices about which supports they can afford, even if the services are essential to their health and safety. Those with means will continue to buy the care they need, while those without will go without.
Senator Allman-Payne has warned that the policy risks entrenching a two-tiered system. “You shouldn’t have to be a millionaire just to guarantee care in your old age,” she said.
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has defended the government’s stance, pointing to the rapid growth in demand. Since 2020, the number of Australians receiving home care has more than doubled to 300,000, with budget funding increasing by 800 per cent over the past decade.
“This short delay to commencing the new Aged Care Act is about ensuring programs like Support at Home are fully ready for older Australians and their families,” he told parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also said the pause is about “getting the detail right,” arguing that feedback from providers showed more time was needed to bed down reforms.
For older Australians and their families, the government’s defence rings hollow. Every day of delay means more people going without showers, meals or clean homes. Every month means more avoidable hospital admissions. And for some, it means dying before support ever arrives.
With the Senate now poised to vote on whether to force the release of packages, the government is running out of room to avoid responsibility. Australia’s ageing population is set to double within 40 years, and the cracks are already showing.
