On paper, Australia’s home care system is expanding. Another 83,000 Home Care Packages are set to be rolled out from 1 July. But for many older Australians, that help will come too late – if it comes at all.
As we report in this issue, average wait times for Home Care Packages have worsened across all levels over the past six months – see below.
Speaking recently to the CEO of a home care provider in the NSW Hunter region, clients are now waiting up to eight months just to be assessed. That’s before a Package is approved – before they even join the queue.
For those already receiving a Package, the situation is hardly better. People are stuck on lower-level Packages for months, burning through their budgets and going without critical care or equipment.
Even when Packages are available, the workforce is not. Chronic staff shortages – especially in regional and rural areas – mean essential services can’t be delivered. There simply aren’t enough nurses, allied health professionals, or carers to meet demand. Providers are forced to either subsidise care out of pocket or turn people away.
In most Government systems – health, education, disability – once you’re assessed and approved, you receive the service. In aged care, it’s just another hurdle.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) services are at capacity, and many providers are already stretched to their limits.
So, what happens under the new Support at Home program?
How quickly will the promised new Packages be delivered – and to where?
According to the latest Home Care Package Program report, an average of 2,575 packages were released each week in the December 2024 quarter.
Today, over 81,000 older Australians are still waiting for their approved Package. That’s an estimated eight-month backlog – and that doesn’t include new entrants.
Is this acceptable?
If we can’t deliver timely assessments now, how will we manage under a more regulated model?
This is the reality families face when their mum or dad falls, is discharged from hospital, or simply needs more help at home. They expect care. What they find is a system built for delay.
For the new Aged Care Minister, fixing home care must be priority number one, before the sector collapses further – and before more lives like that of Cyril Tooze (pictured top) are cut short while waiting for basic support.
Older Australians deserve better. They deserve care when they need it – not when the system gets around to it.
