Labor delays reform measure amid home care sector uncertainty

One of Labor’s measures in its new home care program will be delayed by 12 months after the sector raised concern with mandate’s tight timeline.

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells says the measures have been postponed following consultations with home care providers. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

A Labor reform to the home care system for elderly Australians is being delayed by 12 months following outcry from the sector that providers may be unable to meet the mandated ­requirements because of “a lack of lead time”.

Despite hopes that the new pricing arrangement for the Albanese government’s $4.3bn Support at Home program would be implemented from July next year, Labor revealed on Friday that it would now stage the introduction of the price caps on services.

“This decision has been made based on feedback from the sector and the opposition about the need to avoid service disruption and ­ensure continuity of care for older people,” Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said.

“Providers will continue to set their own prices for services in the first year of the program from July 2025, as currently occurs in the Home Care Package program.

“The government will introduce additional consumer protections to monitor prices and to ensure pricing is fair during the transition year.”

Other key aged care measure introduced by the government – such as means testing so wealthier people will pay more for their everyday costs – are still due to come into force from mid-next year.

Ms Well’s confirmation of the new timeline for the home care price change follows the Department of Health and Aged Care quietly notifying the sector of the delay on Thursday night. Labor has also committed to hold a consultation period on the introduction of the measures in January.

Currently in the home care system, providers set the price of the services they offer themselves. But the government’s new Support at Home Program will introduce a “national efficient price”, which will apply a set cost to services such as gardening and cleaning. It is this part of the reform the government has decided to delay.

Following the delay on the start date for the new support at home price caps, Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston accused the government of being ­unable to deliver its own reforms.

“This is exactly why the ­Coalition tried to amend the Aged Care bill to ensure it can be implemented without adverse impacts for older Australians and the sector, including by ensuring providers had 12 months to prepare for the Support at Home reforms,” she said.

“However, the government voted down all of our amendments that dealt with this issue. This is a government that has already created massive stress and uncertainty for the aged care sector, and now they have admitted they cannot deliver on promises they made only weeks ago in the parliament.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston

Flexi Care general manager Adrian Morgan, whose non-profit organisation provides home care in south Brisbane, said the sector had been buffeted by a series of delays and abandoned promises.

“It’s creating chaos for providers; it’s also creating a lot of anxiety for older people,” Mr Morgan said.

Council of the Ageing acting chief executive Corey Irlam said the elderly needed “strong consumer protections” to ensure they aren’t paying too much for services. “The federal government has a responsibility to keep its promise to older people and their families and actively monitor aged care providers to ensure their prices are fair,” he said.

After the passing of the aged care legislation, peak bodies such as the Aged & Community Care Providers Association raised alarm with the inability for operators to cope with the reforms. The government is not due to provide full details until February or March next year – just three months before the caps would have been introduced.

“We fully support the introduction of a new rights-based Aged Care Act, but implementing reforms of such magnitude will take time,” ACCPA chief executive Tom Symondson said in an opinion piece published earlier this week. “We only get one chance to get this right – failure would be a disaster.”