Delayed Act not celebrated by all
Stakeholders are sharing their reactions to the delayed start date of the new Aged Care Act, and while most have welcomed the news, others have questioned what it means for those who were ready for 1 July.
Following the government’s shock announcement on Wednesday that the new Aged Care Act will be delayed until 1 November, providers, peak bodies and consumers are making their feelings known.
Most have welcomed the news and applauded the government’s willingness to listen to the sector, including Ageing Australia chief executive officer Tom Symondson. But others have questioned the fairness of delaying the start date when so many organisations worked tirelessly to reach the initial deadline.
UnitingCare Queensland, operator of not-for-profit aged care provider BlueCare, welcomed the decision, with UnitingCare Queensland’s interim chief executive officer and member of the National Aged Care Advisory Council Cathy Thomas saying they supported the “sensible” and “strategic” deferral.
“UnitingCare has been actively engaged in the aged care reform process and remains committed to working with government and stakeholders to ensure the transition to the new Act delivers real improvements in care quality, access and equity,” she said.
General manager Australia and New Zealand at AlayaCare Annette Hili was also among those expressing happiness of the delay, writing via LinkedIn that while the sector was aiming to be ready for 1 July, the extra time will allow the transition to be even better.
“For providers, it’s a moment to breathe and prepare. Many are still grappling with workforce constraints, internal change fatigue, and system transitions. This delay gives you space to engage more deeply and roll out changes in a steady and supported way,” she wrote.
“Let’s use this time strategically. With less pressure, we can all focus on achieving even better outcomes for providers and the communities they support.
“The path hasn’t changed – just the pace. And that’s a gift if we use it wisely.”
Adrian Morgan, the general manager of Brisbane-based home care provider Flexi Care, similarly welcomed the delay, calling the decision “sensible” and “wise” on LinkedIn.
“Just 27 days before the promised launch, Support at Home has been delayed along with the Aged Care Act until 1 November. I feel that this was the only sensible option given that the department was clearly not ready. And because the department was not ready, the sector could not be ready either,” he wrote.
While calling the circumstances unfortunate, Mr Morgan said delaying the start date would allow both the sector and the department to prepare.
But he also called for the department to publish an integrated timeline that shows the major steps required for 1 November, as critical documents needed for providers to plan service delivery remain incomplete.
“For instance, the Support at Home program manual (as released) has many sections marked with a bell symbol, meaning the entry is incomplete or subject to change,” he wrote.
“None of the rules which provide the legal basis for detailed operation of the Aged Care Act have been formally signed off by the minister. Nor has there been any indication of what has happened with the extensive sector feedback about the draft rules. The careful consideration of this feedback should be a pre-requisite to the formal adoption of any rules. And some proposed rules have not yet been publicly released for consultation.
“Further, the sector generally does not know whether the IT systems within Services Australia, MyAgedCare and the department have been fully built and robustly tested in association with each other and with IT vendors’ products,” Mr Morgan said.
“So many deadlines have been missed over the months and years, and there has never been a holistic plan published to guide our joint preparations. Transparency around the next steps and their timing would not only help practically but could also start the process of rebuilding the sector’s lost confidence,” he added.
‘Punishment on the prepared’
Others have been quick to question the decision, with Support at Home reform manager at not-for-profit provider Feros Care Ben Happ commenting on a celebratory post by Ageing Australia’s head of federal government relations Jay Moran that the delay will cause further administrative burden to those who were ready for 1 July.
Mr Happ wrote that while “certainly appreciative” of the advocacy work and supportive of the need for a delayed commencement of the Support at Home program, he “can’t help but feel that this is a punishment on the prepared.”
He noted how many providers have been “diligently” following the proposed transition guide timeline and now have just a few weeks to amend client communications, agreement variations, pricing changes, subcontractor agreements, systems alignment and workforce training.
“The sector was telling the government about the need for more time to transition back in November but instead they have waited until the last possible moment to defer. But let’s not kid ourselves that this announcement is for older Australians or providers’ benefit. The aged care assessors aren’t ready to create a SaH Support Plan and Services Australia [isn’t] ready to process a SaH claim,” Mr Happ commented.
UNSW and Queensland University of Technology Adjunct Professor Kathy Eagar was also among those questioning the celebrations, asking via LinkedIn why aged care providers and consumer peak organisations were both claiming credit for the delay, ultimately accepting responsibility for not being ready for the initial implementation timeline.
Delay puts budget and user-pay implications in spotlight
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In another post, Professor Eagar highlighted the delay’s implications on the federal budget – and older people’s wallets – writing that the four-month wait will cost taxpayers an estimated $1 billion more.
“In leading the cheer squad for the aged care reforms in 2024, very few stakeholder peak bodies seemed to understand that the purpose of the reforms was to save money, not spend it,” she wrote.
“This extra $1 billion is what consumers would be paying if not for the four month delay. It’s the extra that consumers will be paying every 4 months after the ‘reforms’ go live.”
Opportunity to get allied health, home mods right
Among those urging the department to use the delay to amend the gaps in the proposed reforms is Occupational Therapy Australia’s chief occupational therapist Michelle Oliver, who said it was “a critical opportunity to get it right.”
In particular, Ms Oliver has urged the department to recognise the clinical expertise of allied health professionals and properly fund home modifications.
“Occupational therapists are not optional extras in aged care. They are essential to keeping older Australians safe, independent and out of hospital,” Ms Oliver said.
Providers can expect less leniency after transition
Speaking to Australian Ageing Agenda at Ageing Australia’s Victoria state conference, LPA managing director Lorraine Poulos said the delay was “great news” for both providers and consumers. But providers should expect less leniency after the start date given the additional time to prepare, she said.
“Everyone at the moment that I come across in home care and in aged care in general is feeling very stressed, very worried… So this is great news and well done to all those that advocated for the timing to be stalled,” she told AAA.
“However, we do know that by starting it from November, one would expect that we will have to be ready. Whereas there was going to be an attitude of leniency if we weren’t quite ready for the first of July. So that’s just a risk that we will all have to manage.”
Ms Poulos’ advice on how providers can use the extra time and what they should prioritise can be found below.
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