Caps on cleaning, gardening go
The government is removing caps on two Support at Home services among reform changes underway as the Senate debates the new Act.
Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells has announced the government has removed caps on gardening and cleaning services under Support at Home to better support older people’s independence.
From 1 July 2025, the $4.3 billion and delayed Support at Home program announced in September will combine and replace the existing Home Care Packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care programs.
The program aims to help older people remain independent and at home through three types of services:
- clinical care – such as nursing care, occupational therapy and continence care
- independence – such as help with showering, getting dressed, taking medications, transport or respite care
- everyday living – such as cleaning, gardening, shopping or meal preparation.
It was originally planned to limit cleaning support to one hour a week and gardening support to 18 hours a year.
Many stakeholders have raised concerns about these caps including directly with Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler last week during a radio segment on ABC radio.
Ms Wells said on Tuesday the changes to remove the caps showed the government was improving aged care to meet the expectations of older people.
“We heard clear feedback during the Community Affairs Inquiry that older Australians want greater flexibility in the aged care they receive,” Ms Wells said.
“Cap-free cleaning and gardening services will enable older Australians to live safely and comfortably in their own homes.”
Consumers welcome change
The Older Persons Advocacy Network has welcomed the announcement and thanked the government for listening to older people.
“Older people have told us countless times that a cap of 52 hours per annum on cleaning and 18 hours per annum on gardening is woefully inadequate,” said OPAN director policy and systemic advocacy Samantha Edmonds.
“If you are an older person with continence issues, one hour of cleaning a week is simply not enough to keep your home at a hygienic standard. Older people may also require additional gardening for safety reasons, such as fire hazard reduction.”
Ms Edmonds repeated OPAN’s call for co-contribution payments on personal and respite care to be removed or capped to ensure older people did not decline these services due to cost.
“When older people avoid these services due to cost, it impacts their health and wellbeing and results in further pressure on the healthcare system when they need more advanced care.”
Minister backs transparency on wait times
The ABC is reporting that Ms Wells has indicated support for more regular publishing of wait times for home care – a situation affecting 76,000 Australians waiting for the home care package they’ve been assessed for.
A recent report from Anglicare Australia also highlighted the lack of clarity over wait times and had stakeholders calling for the new Aged Care Act to assign accurate waitlist times.
“Measures that improve transparency and accountability that will give people faith in a new system, we look to support where we can,” Ms Wells told ABC News.
“[But] that will be a question for my friends in the Senate as they work through each amendment, starting this morning, through the week.”
Opposition flags ‘significant’ amendments
Aged Care Bill 2024 is among legilsation being debated by the Senate this week.
While the Senate committee’s final report recommended the bill be passed, the coalition senators made 32 recommendations including “the Bill be passed with amendment”.
On Tuesday, Shadow aged care minister Anne Ruston told the Senate the inquiry process showed that substantial change was still needed for the bill to pass. She also again called for the release of subordinate legislation.
“It is clear that we are going to need to make substantial amendments to this bill to make sure it is delivering what it is. I will not be rushing this through this parliament,” Ms Ruston said.
“For that reason we will be making a number of amendments because we are going to act on the hard evidence that we heard during the committee’s process,” she said.
“We must be transparent about the release of the subordinate legislation.”
Last week the Department of Health and Aged Care published a consultation timeline for the rules that support the new Act.
The consultation underway related to Chapter 4 of the Act on funding for the Support at Home closes on 6 December. It followed the already closed round on service lists.
The third round due to commence in early February will focus on provider obligations, while the final consultation will cover everything that’s left across almost all chapters and get underway in early March.
Meanwhile during her announcement about the removal of caps on cleaning and gardening Ms Wells pointed to new consumer confidence protections that will be available on the My Aged Care website.
She said the protections will showcase how the reforms build transparency and accountability into the aged care system and give older people confidence they can access high-quality person-centered care where and when they need it.
“Our consumer confidence protections reflect these expectations and highlight how we are putting the rights and needs of older people front and centre as part of the aged care reforms.”
Next week is the final sitting week of the year for both houses of parliament. If the Senate reaches agreement on the bill it will need to return to the lower house for confirmation.
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