How many home care upgrade requests is the Govt’s IAT rejecting?

When older Australians respond to escalating care needs and submit requests to the Government for higher level Support at Home, providers say rejection rates are climbing.

Queensland home care provider Flexi Care, which has about 800 home care customers, is seeing applications for higher Support at Home funding rejected at a rate of 50%, up from 37% earlier this year.

The trend underscores growing concern about the Government’s Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) and the removal of human oversight of its decisions for Support at Home.

The concerns have escalated to the extent that last week the Commonwealth Ombudsman announced it would investigate the tool.

Deidre McGill, Chief Operating Officer, Home and Community Support at Bolton Clarke, which delivers around 3,000 Support at Home packages across Australia, told The Weekly SOURCE they are seeing a similar trend.

“We’re definitely seeing examples of applications for higher levels of care rejected, and reassessment outcomes are slow,” she added.

19 weeks with 60% funding

Bolton Clarke is also seeing a rise in the number of Level 1 and Level 2 Minimum Support Offerings, also referred to as Interim packages, where the Government delivers only 60% of total package funding for a period of approximately 12 weeks.

As a consequence, the $10,731 L1 package becomes only $6,438.60, and the $16,034.45 L2 package drops down to $9,620.67 for a period of approximately three months, although the timing remains uncertain.

These packages now make up a “large percentage” of Support at Home admissions, said Deidre.

“Clients having only 60% of their funding available does seem to be having an impact on how people access services, particularly with timing for the conversion to Full Service Offering (FSO) unknown,” she said.

Adrian Morgan, General Manager at Flexicare, said they are seeing customers wait up to 19 weeks before Interim packages are converted to the full offering.

Decline in service hours

Flexi Care has also experienced a 17% decline in Support at Home service hours provided over the last two months compared with the two months prior to the introduction of Support at Home on 1 November 2025.

The decrease reflects consumers opting out of Support at Home due to higher prices, consumer co-contributions, and the initial receipt of Interim funding.

Interim funding is “not enough to pay for what they are already getting,” Adrian said. Letters from the Department also “bewilder, intimidate and frighten” customers with bureaucratic language, causing consumers to reject offers they don't understand.

Also concerning Adrian is the fact that Flexi Care customers are still waiting “many months” to get an assessment, and about 30% of assessments are being conducted by phone.

The $3 billion aged care package announced yesterday by the Government – including financial support for new residential aged care, promisd more Support at Home packages, and $1 billion for personal care – may address some issues caused by last year’s reforms. Many issues remain.

Any amendments to the IAT or reversal on human oversight of the tool’s decisions would have a cost to the Government.