Providers issue statement slamming “broken” Support at Home program

With the new Aged Care Act deadline of July 1 fast approaching, providers and peak bodies alike are making their voices heard on the key issues facing the sector.

Seven Australian in-home care providers have published a collective statement this week calling upon the federal government to remove financial barriers placing vulnerable Australians at risk of being priced out of essential care services.

The statement, from Focus Care, Hornsby Kuringai and Central Coast Community Transport, JobQuest, MWP Care, NovaCare Proveda, and Your Side Australia, said that the human cost of the government’s “broken” Support at Home model will be “real and immediate”, come July 1.

“Without urgent funding, many older Australians risk falling through the cracks with isolation increasing, preventable falls rising, and families being left on their own to navigate palliative care,” Proveda chief Kaz Dawson said.

“A safe and fair aged care system means our customers and many other seniors are treated with dignity, families feel supported and not overwhelmed, and care is easier to access, with the right help arriving before a crisis hits.”

The new Support at Home program (which replaces the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), as dictated by the 2024 Aged Care Act, will fully fund clinical care for service recipients. However, it assumes that older people will contribute financially to the provision of other support services they may need in order to live independently at home.

This would mean, for example, a person on a full pension could be asked to pay five per cent of some services, such as showering assistance or home modifications, and up to 17.5 per cent for living services, such as cleaning, shopping and gardening.

Providers say that while those numbers may look small on paper, for older people living on the Age Pension receiving care they need to remain independent will take a significant chunk of their weekly income.

“We’re calling on the government to act now before more older Australians are left without the care and safety they desperately require,” Your Side Australia’s chief Danielle Ballantine said.

“No one should be priced out of essential support or left to navigate this system alone. Without urgent change, we risk abandoning those who need us most.”

Retiring to poverty

At March 2023, 2.6 million older Australians were receiving the Age Pension, representing around 60 per cent of the over 65 population.

This number has been on a steady incline, with at least 300,000 more Australians aged 65 and over receiving income support from June 2014 to March 2023.

The Age Pension is indexed twice a year in an attempt to keep pace with the cost of living. However, the latest indexation on March 20 drew widespread criticism, as it was the smallest increase in more than eight years – a jump of just 0.4 per cent – despite many feeling financial pressures at an all time high.

Data out of the Australia Institute shows that older Australians are doing it tough, with one in five people aged 65 and over retiring into poverty.

Stronger protections for older Australians who may no longer be able to afford their aged care services has been a topic of debate within parliament for months, with Senator David Pocock expressing his concerns during the Senate Committee Inquiry into the new Act.

“There must be strong protections available to Australians during these times, as reducing or stopping services could endanger lives and would not be in anyone’s best interests. I am concerned that the current protections around hardship are poorly defined in the Bill.” 

“The straw that breaks the camel’s back”

Ageing Australia (AA) has heavily criticised the Department of Health and Aged Care's latest decision to require new service agreements for every CHSP care recipient.

AA chief Tom Symondson has slammed the surprise obligations on providers that will require them to produce hundreds of thousands of new service agreements in the next two months.

“Being ready for the new Act was already near impossible, but this new decision crosses the line, making it truly impossible,” Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson said.

Mr Symondson said that providers are already “snowed under” with the requirements of new reform but without an extended transition time of at least 12 months and more money for smaller providers and those in rural areas, this new obligation may prove to be the “straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

“The goal posts have been moved. This new requirement has come out of nowhere, was called for by nobody and there has been no consultation,” Mr Symondson said.

“More than 830,000 older Australians will be left in limbo unless something changes urgently. There will be widespread confusion for community care recipients, their families and providers alike, with a very real risk that hundreds of thousands of older people will miss out on the vital services they require.”