My Aged Care “akin to navigating a maze”: Inspector-General
The review reveals that My Aged Care is acting less as a gateway and more as a barrier to timely, equitable support.
The Inspector-General of Aged Care, Natalie Siegel-Brown – who appears on the cover of this week’s edition of SATURDAY, out Friday – has delivered a blistering assessment of the Government’s aged care front door, finding that “the system fails before care even begins.”
Her 104-page inaugural review, tabled in Parliament after being handed to Government in September, scrutinises whether My Aged Care is fit for purpose. The answer, she writes, is clear.
“For many older people, it is not and does not… Whilst My Aged Care is intended to provide the ‘front door’ to the aged care system, for many the experience is more akin to navigating a maze.”
The review, first announced in March 2024 by former Acting Inspector-General Ian Yates AM, reveals that My Aged Care is acting less as a gateway and more as a barrier to timely, equitable support – failing to meet the rights-based access promised under the new Aged Care Act.
“Not well known, onerously complex, not equitable”
The report identifies five core failures in the current system:
- Low public awareness
- Insufficient promotion
- Onerous complexity
- Lack of personalised support
- Inequitable access
Despite a $30 million Government contract with Liquid Interactive to deliver the My Aged Care website – which has undergone multiple upgrades – the offering still does not “appropriately target older users”, Siegel-Brown warns.
The central issue: older Australians confront a system too complicated, too narrow and too exclusive before care even reaches them.
Seven recommendations – and only partial acceptance
The IGAC sets out seven headline recommendations, which Government has accepted in part:
- Improve public awareness of the aged care system
- Improve awareness and understanding of My Aged Care
- Reduce system complexity
- Increase capacity and capability of the My Aged Care workforce
- Expand access to navigational and face-to-face supports
- Enable equitable access
- Commit to action
However, a number of concrete actions sitting under these – including a national multimedia awareness campaign for My Aged Care, a full digital overhaul (website, app and live webchat), stronger integration with programs like Carer Gateway and the NDIS and expanded navigation support services – have only been “noted” by Government at this stage, not fully endorsed.
In other words, many of the practical changes older people say they need most are still sitting in the “maybe” pile.
Siegel-Brown says the recommendations should be implemented “in full” and as “an immediate priority.”
Some changes have already been made: My Aged Care underwent a significant update on 1 November 2025, with the introduction of the Aged Care Act 2024. The new website contains 80% updated content, new tools, and a refreshed look.
But will the Government throw more money behind its aged care portal to ensure the door is open to all older Australians?
SATURDAY’s cover story this week takes readers inside Natalie Siegel-Brown’s broader agenda – from fixing the front door to pushing for a system redesigned around prevention, equity and real-world access.
Download the full IGAC report here.
