How will the PM’s aged care changes impact you? All your questions answered
After six months of negotiations, Labor’s long-awaited $5.6bn aged-care reforms, backed by the Coalition, will allow more Australians to stay in their own homes for longer | WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
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For retiree John Taske, the federal government’s long-awaited aged-care reforms will be “tremendous” if they allow more Australians to stay in their own homes for longer.
The former anaesthetist, aged 84, who served on the frontlines of the Vietnam War and survived the deadly 1996 Mount Everest expedition, said people should be looked after in familiar surroundings as they age.
“Anything a government can do to support people to remain in their own home with the people they love is a great step,” he said.
“From a psychological viewpoint, keeping them with family, rather than shipping them off to aged care is tremendous.
“Though aged care can be beneficial in a medical sense oftentimes its benefits are far outweighed by the psychological benefits of being at home.”
The $5.6bn reform package, which has the support of the Coalition, will include a new Support at Home program due to begin in July 2025 and help thousands more Australians remain at home for longer.
The government will fund all clinical services, such as nursing care and occupational therapy with people to make contributions towards support with independence and everyday living costs.
What does it mean for full pensioners?
Full pensioners will pay 5 per cent of the cost of their “independence” support – which includes help taking medication and showering – and 17.5 per cent of their “everyday living” costs, which includes help with cleaning, gardening, shopping and preparing meals.
*The above is a government-supplied case study
What about self-funded retirees?
Self-funded retirees will pay 80 per cent of their “everyday living” support, and 50 per cent costs that go to supporting their independence while the cost to part-pensioners will depend on their income and assets.
*The above is a government-supplied case study
Palliative care support
The Support at Home program will also provide up to $25,000 in palliative care support so users can live out the final three months of their lives in their own home rather than hospital.
The government also plans to lift the lifetime cap on how much an individual can pay for non-clinical care costs – whatever their duration of care – from around $80,000 to $130,000 across home and residential care.
What is a ‘hotelling supplement’?
Those entering residential aged care from July next year will have to pay a “hotelling supplement” if they have more than $238,000 in assets, $95,400 in annual income or a combination of the two.
The supplement, up to $12.55, will help cover the cost of their everyday living expenses such as meals, cleaning and laundry.
Currently, the government funds the supplement for all residents, but from July 2025 it will be means-tested.
For all fully and partially supported residents with income and assets below the thresholds, the government will continue to pay the full hotelling supplement.
Who is exempt?
All those who have lived in a nursing home before July 1, 2025, will see no change in their accommodation costs or contributions.
Aged-care providers will be able to charge a higher maximum room price, up to $750,000, an increase of $200,000 above the current limit.
The government also vowed to introduce stronger powers to investigate and penalise bad behaviour by providers.
