{"id":105633,"date":"2025-08-29T19:35:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=105633"},"modified":"2025-08-29T19:20:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T09:20:25","slug":"aged-care-overhaul-australians-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/aged-care-overhaul-australians-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Aged Care Overhaul \u2018Flawed at Its Core\u2019\u2014Delays Could Put Thousands of Older Australians at Risk, Expert Warns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The federal government\u2019s Support at Home<\/em> program<\/strong>, intended to replace existing aged care packages, is facing mounting criticism from sector leaders and health experts. Originally scheduled to launch in July, the rollout has now been delayed to November, prompting concerns over its readiness and long-term viability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative is part of a broader strategy to allow elderly Australians to live independently for longer. But a Senate inquiry has heard testimony suggesting that poor program design, funding issues<\/strong> and growing demand could undermine those goals \u2014 and further strain an already stretched healthcare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expert Raises Concerns Over Increased Hospital Demand and Safety Risks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kathy Eagar<\/a>, former adviser to the aged care royal commission, told the inquiry that the new scheme risks significantly increasing pressure on public <\/strong>hospitals<\/strong> <\/a>and residential care<\/strong> facilities<\/strong>. According to Eagar, structural flaws in Support at Home<\/em> are likely to lead to greater rates of falls, medication errors and malnutrition among older Australians due to service delays <\/strong>and inflexible care provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsumer co-payments are too high, assessment is a bottleneck, package wait times post-assessment then create a further bottleneck and there is not sufficient capacity to flex services up and down,\u201d Eagar said. She noted that it was \u201cinevitable\u201d that preventable hospital admissions would rise if the current model proceeds unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inquiry also heard that over 87,000 people<\/strong> are currently waiting for home care packages. Without additional immediate resources, that figure could climb to 100,000<\/strong> by November. Eagar further criticised the government’s claim that the program would cut demand for residential care, calling it \u201cnot credible\u201d and based on \u201cunverified assumptions\u201d about older Australians\u2019 financial capacity to contribute to their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Inquiry Highlights Growing Inequality in Access to Aged Care<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Critics have also warned that the revised payment structure could entrench a two-tier aged care system. Under Support at Home<\/em>, wealthier recipients will face higher out-of-pocket contributions, while those dependent on government subsidies may find themselves at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracey Burton<\/a>, chief executive of Uniting NSW and ACT<\/em>, told The Guardian Australia<\/em> that the disparity between private payments and government subsidies is creating a \u201cstrong disincentive\u201d for facilities to admit supported residents. The refundable accommodation deposit model could further discourage providers from accepting patients with limited financial means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspector General of Aged Care Natalie Siegel-Brown<\/em><\/a> described the delay to the program as \u201cappropriate\u201d but noted the lack of new package releases was \u201cdisappointing.\u201d She urged the government to make additional care places available as early as possible to prevent further delays in access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Aged Care Minister Sam Rae<\/em><\/a> told Parliament that demand for in-home support is growing \u201cvery, very fast\u201d, and confirmed that additional care packages would be delivered from November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s new aged care program was meant to keep elderly people safe at home. But leading voices are warning it may do the opposite. With delays mounting and system flaws emerging, pressure is growing on the government to act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":105635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105633"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105636,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105633\/revisions\/105636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}