Govt cagey on Support at Home package release
Questions remain over Support at Home package rollout
- Budget confusion: Government provided limited detail on new Support at Home packages
- Package increase: Minister clarified 32,000 extra packages for 2026–27
- Waitlist concerns: More than 100,000 older Australians remain waiting for care
- Demand pressure: Experts warn package growth still falls short of need
In his address at the National Press Club last month, Health Minister Mark Butler made what was thought a telling statement.
He said the Government would "accelerate the release" of Support at Home packages, with further details to be released in the Budget.
Then on Tuesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers mentioned aged care in the first two minutes of his Budget Speech. Viewers and listeners could reasonably have expected the Government was about the announce the release of additional Support at Home packages - given the forewarning and the fact that more than 100,000 older Australians are waiting for the care.
But when the Budget papers were released, there was a notable lack of detail about the release of Support at Home packages, and working out how many packages the Government was releasing in 2026-27 has been far from straightforward.
There was an opaque reference on Budget night to "faster access to Support at Home places", which we already knew.
On page 95 of the 540-page Health, Disability and Ageing Portfolio Budget Statement 2026–27, the Government said it expects to fund 420,000 Support at Home packages in 2026-27, up 40,000 from the current year.
It wasn't until the Aged Care Minister Sam Rae's "clarification" appeared in The Australian, stating an extra 32,000 Support at Home Packages would be released in 2026-27, that the actual figure was known.
24,000 packages were already expected in 2026-27, which suggests the "faster access" refers to 8,000 packages being brought forward to next year.
Where does this leave the 300,000 packages within a decade promised in 2024?
Consultant and former Acting Inspector General of Aged Care, Ian Yates AM, told The Weekly SOURCE the lack of clarity doesn't stop there.
"Obviously it's positive to see additional packages apparently brought forward.
"But there is no information or projected data provided about what government thinks this will do to the wait times and numbers."
Yates is also concerned the additional packages are well short of meeting demand.
"At present it appears we continue to operate in what I have called for some time a system predicated on 'a calculated denial of service' to people who government has assessed as needing it," he said.
