Why the Senate is scrutinising the delay in aged care reform

Waiting for support

Aged care service delivery remains a critical area of focus for the Australian Parliament, constantly under the microscope of the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs. These committees are responsible for scrutinising government activity across the vital portfolios of Health, Disability and Ageing, and Social Services.

One of the most pressing recent inquiries referred to the Community Affairs References Committee concerns the profound implications of the Government’s decision to delay major aged care reforms.

The core inquiry into delaying support at home

The Senate inquiry, titled “Senate committee evidence, parliamentary privilege and Royal Commissions,” was referred on 28 July 2025, with a report due date of 1 October 2025. Submissions for the inquiry closed on 22 August 2025.

The focus of this investigation was the government’s choice to push back the commencement of the new Support at Home program until 1 November 2025. Compounding this delay, the Government also withheld the release of any additional Home Care Packages (HCPs).

This move triggered significant concern regarding the implications for older Australians, their families, carers, service providers, and state and territory health systems.

Key areas of Senate scrutiny

The terms of reference for the inquiry highlight several crucial issues that the committee is examining:

• Impact on waiting Australians: The direct impact of the delay on older Australians waiting for support at home, including unmet care needs and the overall wellbeing of seniors and their carers.
• Service capacity and workforce strain: The ability of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) to manage the increased demand for support at home prior to 1 November 2025, and the impacts on aged care service providers, particularly concerning their workforce.
• Health system consequences: The ripple effects of delayed home care access on the broader medical system, specifically the impacts on hospitals and state and territory health systems.
• Future reform feasibility: Determining the feasibility of achieving the Government’s target to reduce waiting times for Home Care Packages to three months by 1 July 2027.
• Digital transformation and assessment systems: Reviewing the adequacy of governance and accountability frameworks supporting the digital transformation projects necessary for the aged care reforms, and the readiness of the single assessment system to support timely assessment now and beyond 1 November 2025.

The response from Aged Care Reform Now

We provided a submission to this inquiry on 18 August 2025.

ACRN contended that the situation involving over 87,000 people waiting for home-care packages is a national emergency. We challenged the Government’s delay, asking how it can justify placing a hold on new home-care packages while recognising the rights-based approach as vital to responsive service provision.

ACRN identified several profound consequences resulting from the lack of action:

1. Involuntary movement: Many older people are required to move involuntarily and prematurely to residential aged care due to the absence of HCPs, which is a violation of their right to choose where they age and increases overall costs.
2. Higher future costs: A lack of assistance risks a deterioration in individuals’ health status, meaning that when they eventually receive packages, their needs will be greater, placing more demand on the aged-care budget.
3. Hospital system failure: The lack of adequate home care means the elderly sick end up in emergency units and cause hospital bed-lock, contributing to the system being placed under pressure. ACRN notes that in Western Australia alone, an estimated 200 beds a day are taken up by people eligible for aged or home care but unable to access it.
4. Ageism and elder abuse: Media reports blaming the elderly for hospital ramping or bed-lock exacerbate ageist attitudes and potentially heighten the risk of elder abuse.
5. Intergenerational toll: Family members, particularly women, are required to step in to provide care, often resulting in them moving to part-time work or taking early retirement, which risks widening the gendered superannuation gap and causing financial insecurity.
6. Undermining productivity: ACRN views the provision of home care as a cost-effective solution and a vital investment in prevention, arguing that withholding packages as a cost-saving measure is “extremely misguided”.

Immediate demands for packages and funding

We made several urgent calls for action focused on alleviating the immediate crisis

• Urgently release home-care packages to assist the more than 87,000 people on the waiting list.
• Allocate emergency funding as a priority to provide additional home-care packages now.
• Speed up the process of assessment so that needs are met as soon as they arise.
• Ensure that packages are provided at an appropriate level.

System capacity, transparency, and workforce reform

ACRN is concerned about the sector’s capacity to cope with the backlog due to a lack of transparency from the government. We called for a detailed explanation of the reasons behind the withholding of new packages and the urgent release of detailed figures on the current backlog.

Regarding workforce, we saw no evidence of effort towards expanding the workforce and enhancing training programs. ACRN’s specific calls for systemic reform included:

1. Urgent action to increase the size of the workforce.
2. Urgent action on a mandated national registration and training system for aged-care workers.
3. A national screening clearance system for workers across the care sector to prevent unsafe individuals from moving between agencies.
4. Re-inclusion of criminal penalties for individuals and providers who breach the Act, noting they were disheartened when this provision was taken out of the draft Act.

Concerns over the new Aged Care Act

We also raised several specific concerns about the principles underpinning the new Act and its implementation:

• Co-payments: We disagree with the introduction of co-payments, especially for pensioners and people on low incomes, arguing it is inconsistent with a rights-based approach like the NDIS. We call for the elimination of co-payments for these groups.
• Contracts: We are worried that individuals will be required to sign complex contracts and call for the Government to fund free legal advice to help people understand and negotiate them.
• Inclusions and Exclusions: ACRN is alarmed by the exclusion list in the new Support at Home program, noting that necessary items like supportive footwear or kitchen aids are no longer funded, undermining independent living. We call for a reassessment of inclusions and exclusions.
• Home modifications: ACRN calls for the removal of the $15,000 lifetime cap on home modifications, arguing this amount is inadequate and modifications should be assessed solely on need.
• Service pricing: We advocate for realistic caps placed on the prices providers can charge for services to prevent artificial inflation.
• Palliative care: ACRN calls for better incorporation of training in palliative care into the workforce and for flexible funding for palliative care based on assessed need, rather than arbitrary determinations.

ACRN concludes that the only way to respond to the likelihood of chaos upon the new system’s introduction is for the Government to recognise the crisis and provide immediate emergency funding to rectify it.

Read the full submission by downloading it below:

You can also access other submissions from the government website: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Agedcareservice/Submissions