Perth-based Not For Profit provider Community Vision says nearly 450 of its customers remain stuck on waitlists for Home Care Packages, despite being assessed as needing higher levels of care.
CEO Yvonne Timson (pictured above) told The Weekly SOURCE the delays have forced the provider to “over service” Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) clients – a practice made more difficult since the system moved to payments in arrears in 2022.
“We’ve seen additional demand for CHSP for the last year when [the Government has] been holding back on any new packages coming out, and nobody can get a Package because of wait lists,” Yvonne said. “A lot of other providers have closed their books.”
The Government has promised 20,000 new Home Care Packages by 31 October, but these have not yet begun to flow. Nationally, 70,000 CHSP clients were waiting for Packages as of 31 March, according to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Providers under strain
The challenge is not unique to Community Vision. BaptistCare at Home, now one of the largest home care providers in Australia following its merger, said it is also “going above and beyond” to support CHSP clients, with 1,400 people waiting for Packages.
For Community Vision, the pressures are compounded by the administrative load of incoming reforms. Yvonne said the Department fails to recognise the additional time and resources required.
“We’re happy to increase reporting if the Department acknowledges the increase in time [required to comply] and pays for that, and we’ll spend the time giving them all of the data they want,” she said.
Compliance burdens and backflips
Yvonne pointed to recent examples of policy inconsistency adding to providers’ workload. Community Vision updated its meal preparation and transport reporting systems to meet a 1 July deadline – only to later receive an apology from the Department, which advised the changes were not required until October.
“From a provider perspective, we want to do this reform,” she said. “But when they only give us a 2.2% uplift on our contract, while direct delivery costs have risen 4.5% just in salary and wages, and we’ve got an increase in reporting obligations and compliance, it’s a real challenge.”
Wider sector concerns
Community Vision’s frustrations come as several providers exit the home care sector – including Annecto, Community Options ACT, and Community Services #1.
Sector leaders have also raised alarms about the Support at Home reforms, particularly around higher consumer contributions, reduced funding for care management, and pricing pressures that could make services unsustainable for many operators.