Expert raises Support at Home concerns: podcast

The suggested framework of a unified Support at Home program may have significant flaws that need to be urgently fixed before its commencement in July next year, researchers have said.

The UTS Ageing Research Collaborative report was written in response to the Department of Health's consultation paper published earlier this year which gave an overview of the design.

But lead researcher Dr Rachael Lewis has said the framework lacks clear regulations around problems such as accountability between provider and consumer, and fails to account for the program's overall (financial) sustainability.

"The program needs to be right from the start as a million of older Australians rely on its service," she said.

In 2021, the Morrison government had agreed to merge Australia's three home care programs into a single Support at Home design after the Royal Commission said it would improve transparency.

While the Minister for Aged Care recently pushed out the implementation timeline for the program to the 1st of July 2024, Lewis said that it's still in line with the Royal Commission's deadline.

Tune in to Aged Care Insite's conversation with Lewis about the issues around the design of the program.

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