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Policy & Reform
Signed consent backtrack a win for aged care
The Albanese Government has walked back strict bulk‑billing consent rules after warnings they would disrupt GP access for aged‑care residents, announcing a 12‑month transition period and fast‑tracked enduring consent arrangements.
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Health & Wellbeing
Aged care workers risk psychological injury
New research shows meaningful relationships with residents, supportive supervisors and adequate staffing are key to aged care worker wellbeing, while tokenistic wellbeing programs miss the mark.
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Specialty
Over‑50s most likely to overdose
Experts say ageing bodies, multiple medications and overlooked drug use are fueling a rise in overdose deaths among older adults, challenging assumptions about who is most at risk.
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Governance
Closing the governance insight gap
The Aged Care Act and Strengthened Quality Standards demand unprecedented accountability from governing bodies. Yet new research shows boards may struggle to access the insights required to ensure safe, high quality care.
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Clinical Practice
Report reveals aged care VAD failures
A new national report has found that most aged‑care providers are failing to support residents’ access to voluntary assisted dying, with 73 per cent offering unclear or no access and two‑thirds providing no public information about the legal end‑of‑life option.
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Opinion
Aged care model needs rethinking: Opinion
Despite major reforms, older Australians are waiting weeks for assessment and more than 200 days for services, while operators warn the sector is becoming less sustainable and increasingly dominated by large corporate providers.
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Funding
Minns govt’s record $10b health budget
The Minns government has announced a $10.3b health overhaul, promising thousands of new staff, major service expansions and the largest nurse pay rise in more than a decade to rebuild a strained public health system.
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Wages
Minimum wage rise a win for aged care
Australia’s lowest‑paid workers will receive a 4.75% pay rise from July 1, lifting the national minimum wage to $26.44 an hour. The ANMF says the increase is “a step in the right direction” for aged care and other frontline workers…
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Funding
Budget 2026/27: Major gaps remain in aged care
Aged care providers and advocates have welcomed major Budget investments, including free personal care services and expanded dementia support, while warning that long wait times, workforce shortages and limited home care access continue to put older Australians at risk.
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Industry News
Services Union rallies despite imprisonment threats
Union members will defy warnings of imprisonment when they march on the offices of a major business lobbying group, as the Fair Work Commission mulls sweeping changes that could cost workers hundreds per week.
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Tech & Innovation
Tech a double-edged sword for over 65s
Many older people say rapid digital change is leaving them behind, with technostress, scams and inaccessible online services creating new barriers to essential care, social connection and financial security.
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In-home Care
Preventing hospitalisations using a multidisciplinary care model
For too many older people, the supports they need don’t arrive early enough, or in a way that keeps them safe and well at home. Avoidable hospitalisations continue to place enormous pressure on older people, families and the health system.
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