In the Headlines

PLAN T: Why aged care and retirement living needs a full-scale transformation – revealed in SATURDAY’s special 100th edition

Jun 09 2025 Updated 5 hours ago

Ian Horswill

1 min read

In this milestone 100th edition of SATURDAY, we expose the perfect storm brewing in Australia’s aged care and retirement living sectors: 90,000+ waiting for home care, beds at 95% capacity, and Baby Boomers flooding the system from 2027. Traditional fixes won’t cut it – bricks, workforce, and funding alone won’t meet soaring demand.

Industry leaders like ex-IRT CEO Patrick Reid and Ian Yates (ex-COTA Chief Executive and former Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care) agree: the system needs a radical rethink of care models, standards, and strategy – led by the sector, not just Government.

Plan T calls for bold vision, shared standards beyond minimums, and a united push with political savvy to drive genuine transformation. Because just “making the system better” won’t be enough.

Discover how Plan T could reshape aged care – and retirement living – in our special 100th edition of SATURDAY. Subscribe here.

Breaking news: Government delays new Aged Care Act

Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler and Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae announced this morning that commencement of the new Aged Care Act on 1 July 2025 will be delayed four months until 1 November 2025.

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Caroline Egan

04 Jun 2025

Opinion

Why the delayed Aged Care Act is a double-edged sword

Just 17 business days out from its long-awaited start, the Federal Government has delayed the new Aged Care Act – again. It’s the third time the legislation has been pushed back, and while the pause has been welcomed by peak bodies and providers, make no mistake: this delay comes at a cost.

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Lauren Broomham

05 Jun 2025

Opinion

Scape - the disruptor that will turn the retirement living sector on its head

“As we think about senior housing, that sector in itself is too fragmented and it needs a bit of leadership from someone to kind of disrupt,” Stephen Gaitanos, co-founder, Managing Director and Group CEO of Scape Australia told Mingtiandi’s...

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Ian Horswill

27 May 2025

Legal Issues

Mandatory Code of Conduct introduced as major reforms to Victoria’s Retirement Villages Act pass

The Victorian Government has passed the most significant reform of the Retirement Villages Act 1986 to date, reshaping the economic and operational foundations of retirement villages across the state. The main details: 1. Standardised contracts and...

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Ian Horswill

30 May 2025

10 sector CEOs react to four-month delay of new Aged Care Act

The shock announcement in Adelaide yesterday morning by Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae, flanked by Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler, to delay the new Aged Care Act from 1 July to 1 November has revealed there are major...

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Ian Horswill

05 Jun 2025

Aged Care

“Don’t take the foot off the pedal”: aged care leaders respond to reform delay

Tom Symondson CEO Ageing Australia, Charles Moore CEO BaptistCare, and Russell Bricknell CEO Juniper reflect on the Government’s decision to delay implementation of the new Aged Care Act by four months.

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Treasurer puts cost of delaying new Aged Care Act at $900M

The Federal Government’s decision to delay the start of the new Aged Care Act to 1 November 2025 will cost around $900 million over the forward estimates, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed following yesterday’s (4 June) unexpected announcement.

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SATURDAY 100th issue reimagines care: Can your home be the new hospital?

With aged care under strain and hospitals stretched thin, Amplar Health is leading a quiet but powerful revolution: delivering hospital-level care at home.

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Lauren Broomham

05 Jun 2025