Backtracking Minister promises to act on human oversight of home care algorithm
- Government shifts: Minister signals human oversight for contested IAT decisions
- Senate pressure: Ruston's human override Bill passes with Labor opposed
- Consultation ahead: New oversight mechanism to be developed over winter
- Debate continues: Opposition says only legislation guarantees human review
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has been cornered into a promise his Government will introduce a new layer of intervention for Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) decisions.
The Minister said the Government will devise its own solution to oversight of on the IAT algorithm decisions.
The revelation comes as Liberal Senator Anne Ruston's Bill, which aimed to introduce human oversight of Support at Home assessment decisions, passed in the Senate this morning with only Labor voting against it.
The Minister told ABC radio this morning he will be consulting with the sector over the winter break on legislation that will allow the assessor delegate, the final reviewer of IAT decisions, to escalate cases to the System Governor, the Secretary of the Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing.
The System Governor would then be able to exercise their own discretion over the decision.
He said the "refinement" is only likely to apply to a "small number of people for whom the tool doesn't neatly capture their needs".
The Government has already introduced a tweak allowing intervention in IAT for Support at Home decisions, allowing assessment delegates to return a completed IAT to the assessor if they identify errors.
The IAT has been under heavy and consistent criticism from the Opposition, peak bodes and home care operators for not allowing human intervention on Support at Home assessment outcomes.
Labor's shift today comes after Minister Rae made unsubstantiated claims Senator Ruston's Bill puts the cost to implement "in the order of $6 to $11 billion" and extended wait times for older Australians to access care of "around five months".
Senator Ruston said she would like to see human override of the IAT enshrined in legislation.
"Let's be clear about what happened this morning. Facing certain defeat in the Senate, the Minister suddenly discovered he could tinker with the assessment process after months of telling us it couldn't be done — and now he wants until the end of winter to work out the detail," she said.
"Older Australians don't need another review sitting on a Minister's desk over the break. They need a Government willing to fight for them now, not one that only moves when the politics gets too hot.
"Our Bill has already passed the Senate. It puts human override into primary legislation today, not a Labor 'mechanism' that might materialise in a few months' time.
"We urge the Government to stop stalling, bring our Bill on for a vote in the House, and give older Australians the certainty they deserve," Senator Ruston said.
