User Profile

Government spending on aged care external contractors grows by another $68 million

The Weekly SOURCE takes a look at some of the most significant recent Australian Government contracts awarded by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Independent Hospital and Aged Care Pricing Authority, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, totalling.$68 million.

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Home Care

Home care leaders on not having any new Home Care Packages

New Home Care Packages are only being released when someone on a package passes or enters residential aged care. With 87,597 older Australians waiting for the level of Home Care they have been assessed as needing in the March quarter, providers are bearing the brunt.

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Aged Care

It’s only in SATURDAY: RetireAustralia provides the future of village care without compromise

When RetireAustralia launched The Verge at Burleigh on Queensland’s Gold Coast 12 months ago, it set out to answer a challenging question: how do you deliver care without losing the feeling of home? To discover how their Care Hubs achieved that aim, read SATURDAY.

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Development

Opal HealthCare’s St Ives Botanica Care Community on Sydney’s Upper North Shore approved

Australia’s largest residential aged care provider has secured its second NSW State Significant Development (SSD) approval, marking another major milestone.

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Aged Care

Providers “walk tightrope” between care minute compliance and funding: Mirus

The latest survey by aged care advisors Mirus suggests compliance and costing of care minute targets is a major concern for aged care providers, with their survey finding 28% said their greatest concern was overspending on workforce, and 28% said their biggest concerns was missing care minute targets.

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News & Issues

WA Premier to Canberra: “Do better on aged care” as hospitals overflow with older patients

Hospital ramping has reached a record high in Western Australia, leading the state’s Premier Roger Cook to lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Federal Government. Data showing ambulances were ramped for a record 7,009 hours outside Western Australian hospitals in July prompted questions to Premier Cook about the treatment of an 84-year-old man who took a maxi taxi to hospital on 25 July after being told there was a 130-minute wait for an ambulance.

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Development

VIC Govt completes construction of largest public aged care home

The Victorian Government has finished construction on its largest ever public residential aged care facility – the $139.6 million Boollam Boollan Aged Care Centre in Heatherton, 19km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD.

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VIC moves to ban PCWs from administering key medications in aged care

The Victorian Government has introduced new legislation that would ban personal care workers (PCWs) from administering certain medications in residential aged care.

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New aged care laws face second Senate grilling

Two new aged care reform bills – the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 and the Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Levy Amendment Bill 2025 – will face fresh scrutiny in a second Senate inquiry.

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Development

Whiddon adds three beds in $1.2M expansion to Bourke aged care home in far-northwest NSW

Whiddon has announced a $1.2 million upgrade of its 11-bed aged care home in the far-northwest town of Bourke, and has bought a neighbouring property for staff accommodation. CEO Chris Mamarelis said the expansion will strengthen access to aged care in the town.

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Legal Issues

Echo Law’s class action against Bupa Aged Care like ‘wrestling jelly’

Federal Court Judge Catherine Button adjourned Echo Law’s class action against Bupa Aged Care, giving it three weeks to submit an ‘Amended Statement of Claim’ to clarify their application. Bupa Aged Care sought to have the class action dismissed. comparing the evidence like “wrestling jelly”.

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PM, Health Minister avoid Opposition leader’s question on 87,000 seniors waiting for correct level of care

Opposition leader Sussan Ley asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in question time on Tuesday how he would describe the 87,000 seniors on the Home Care Waiting list when now Health Minister Mark Butler called 60,000 on the wait list a “national disgrace” in 2022.

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