Provider calls on govt to look at financial hardship measures

A prominent Australian aged care provider has said a review of aged care accommodation funding is urgently needed.

Uniting NSW.ACT is calling on the Albanese government to protect older citizens who cannot cover the cost of their care, even with the changes in the new Aged Care Act.

The not-for-profit organisation said that as the largest provider of support to older people of limited means in NSW and the ACT, “it is acutely aware of how the aged care framework functions as a safety net for older people in need.”

The new Act will overhaul how older people pay for their care, based on their wealth. Meaning the more well-off a person is, the more they will contribute towards their care accommodation.

Uniting NSW.ACT director advocacy and external relations Emma Maiden said there is a concern that without bringing forward measures to protect poorer Australians, providers will “cherry-pick” residents based on wealth.

“The danger in the new arrangement lies with older people without means, who may be overlooked by aged care providers under financial pressure because they cannot make accommodation deposits,” Ms Maiden said.

The Aged Care Act 2024 includes several measures designed to protect older people who may not have the financial means to afford aged care services, ensuring equitable access and support.

Apart from the means-tested funding model, the government will also introduce fee reduction supplements for instances of financial hardship, lifetime caps on individual contributions (such as the hotelling contribution), and, in some cases, exemptions from accommodation payment rules altogether.

But with the sector currently at 94 per cent occupancy, Uniting NSW.ACT fears that finding a suitable residential aged care bed will become near impossible for poorer older people over the next few months.

“Aged care cannot be equitable if it assumes a base level of wealth or home ownership, as much of our system still does,” she said.

“If the government doesn’t increase the supported accommodation supplement, they risk people without means increasingly being deprioritised in favour of residents who can afford to pay more.”

Calls for more home care packages

Financial hardship protections are not the only measures that providers, peaks and politicians say simply cannot wait until the new Aged Care Act in November.

From the announcement of the Act’s delay on June 4, many have expressed their frustration with current wait times for a home care package.

The new Act promised the release of 83,000 home care packages, but there are more than 80,000 older people on the list for home care already, and wait times of 12 to 15 months.

Last month, 10 Independent Members and Senators signed an open letter to the the Albanese Government calling for more packages, now:

“On behalf of people in our communities, we are calling on the Albanese Government to, at a minimum, fund 20,000 new packages to commence on 1 July 2025 under the current Home Care Packages scheme, which can then be rolled over onto the new Support at Home program when it eventually commences,” the statement reads.

Signatory and ACT Independent Senator David Pocock said research shows that an older person’s risk of injury, hospitalisation admissions and premature entry into residential aged care increases the longer they go without appropriate in-home support.

“Last term the Albanese Government made some good progress with multi-partisan support but now they need to prioritise implementation,” he said.

“I regularly have families contacting me about the excessively long wait times for Home Care packages. We can’t afford to delay this further. The 1400 Canberrans currently on the waitlist need help now, and each day we delay is another day they are put at risk of injury or of going into permanent care well ahead of their time.”

The Albanese government has commitment to the goal of no individual waiting more than 90 days for a package by 2027.