David Pocock leads cross-party push to overhaul Support at Home

An “avalanche” of constituent concerns has prompted politicians across the political divide to sign a letter to Aged Care Minister Sam Rae urging changes to Support at Home.

The letter, signed by 21 Senators from the Liberals and crossbench, was instigated by Independent Senator David Pocock, his office has confirmed to The Weekly SOURCE.

The letter highlights concerns about higher fees, the effectiveness of the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), and rationed care.

The politicians are calling on the Government to:

• Restore human oversight to aged care needs assessments,
• Re-categorise bathing, showering, dressing, continence management into the Clinical Care category,
• Review the impact of the current 10% case management fee cap, which is reportedly driving up service prices, and
• Provide transparency about when Support at Home price caps will become mandatory and how they will operate.

“Changes to the Support at Home Program are necessary and urgent and we seek your commitment to pursue these reforms,” the letter concludes.

Read the letter in full here.

Minister “missing in action”

LNP Senate Anne Ruston, a signatory to the letter, said: “When parliamentarians from across the political spectrum unite on an issue, it speaks volumes.

“This is a damning indictment of the Governments failed Support at Home rollout and the real harm it is causing vulnerable older Australians.”

The introduction of Interim Packages, where only 60% of funding to meet assessed care needs is released, is making matters worse, Senator Ruston said.

There are currently more than 234,000 older Australians waiting for support, including more than 131,000 waiting to receive their Support at Home package after being assessed as needing the support.

Senator Ruston said Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has been “missing in action” and appears to have “no plan” to address the issues highlighted.

Keeping the focus on aged care

Senator Pocock was one of the driving forces behind last year’s campaign to have the Government reverse its delay of 83,000 Home Care Packages when the rollout of the new Aged Care Act was postponed.

Ultimately, the Government committed to the release of 20,000 Packages by 1 November, a further 20,000 by the end of 2025, and another 43,000 by mid-2026.

The Senator was also instrumental in getting the Government to amend Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) Grant Guidelines to allow funding for cottage respite services in the ACT, after he revealed Canberrans were no longer able to access services at Burrangiri Aged Care Respite Centre services after the new Aged Care Act took effect.

The letter signed by politicians coincides with a News Corp campaign highlighting the impact of higher aged care fees and charges on older Australians.