Senate votes to launch two new inquiries

A motion moved by the Australian Greens to establish another two Senate inquiries into Labor’s aged care reforms has been agreed to in response to concerns the new Aged Care Act will fail older Australians.

The new inquiries will be chaired by Greens Spokesperson for Older People Senator Penny Allman-Payne, who chaired the inquiry on the impact of delaying the start date of the new Support at Home program in October.

The first of the new inquiries will investigate the government’s planned transition of the Commonwealth Home Support Program to SaH after 1 July 2027 and the expected impact of the transition, including:

• waiting periods for assessment and receipt of care
• the lifetime cap of $15,000 on home modifications
• time limits on the new end-of-life pathway
• thin markets with a small number of aged care service providers.

The first inquiry will also focus on provider and workforce readiness for the transition.

The second will investigate the ability for older Australians to access care under SaH, including:

• to services that allow them to live safely and with dignity at home
• the impact of contributions for independence and everyday living services on their financial security and wellbeing
• trends and impact of pricing mechanisms
• the adequacy of the financial hardship assistance
• the impact on the residential aged care sector and hospitals
• the impact on people transitioning from the previous Home Care Packages program
• thin markets
• the impact on First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae has “tried to hide the truth” of the aged care changes, but that now “reality is setting in and older Australians are waking up to new care arrangements they cannot afford,” said Senator Allman-Payne.

“Older people across the country – hundreds of thousands of whom are on fixed incomes – are copping increased costs for their care at home so that privatised aged care providers can make bigger profits. That’s a broken system,” she said.

“Older Australians are still dying waiting a year or more for care, and rather than boost needed supports like the Commonwealth Home Support Program, they’re planning to close them,” Senator Allman-Payne said.

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