CHSP merger prompts second thoughts on council-run aged care
CHSP merger sparks first council review
- First mover: Queenscliffe reviews its home care future
- New reality: Aged Care Act raises compliance and reporting demands
- Warning sign: Previous review found the service unsustainable
- Bigger trend: More councils could follow as CHSP ends
Five years after it weighed up exiting its aged care services, a Victorian council is again putting its CHSP services under the microscope.
The Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) is scheduled to be merged with Support at Home in 2027.
The Borough of Queenscliffe on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, a magnet for seniors, is the first council to announce a review of its home care services delivered through the CHSP ahead of the merger.
The Council say it is seeking to ensure the delivery of quality services meeting community need while maintaining financial sustainability.
The Borough previously reviewed its provision of aged care services in 2021. An independent consultant found at the time that the council’s ability to provide a competitive service was “limited and not sustainable”.
The consultant recommended the Council transition out of in-home aged care, however, councillors voted to continue providing in-home aged care.
The Council committed to revisiting the matter once reforms stemming from the Aged Care Royal Commission were in place.
At a meeting on 27 May, a Borough of Queenscliffe spokesperson said the new Aged Care Act imposed greater obligations on providers, and the service should be reviewed.
“The council needs to conduct due diligence to fully understand the higher compliance requirements, stronger clinical obligations, new funding models and mandatory reporting requirements,” they said.
The review comes after dozens of Victorian councils decided to exit home care ahead of the introduction of Support at Home last year.
