The Department of Health and Aged Care has awarded digital consultants Liquid Interactive a $2.9 million extension on its contract to "operate and enhance" My Aged Care, the consumer portal for aged care services, making the total contract worth $26.5 million.
Of the extension, $1.7 million is to support the continued operation, maintenance, and enhancement of My Aged Care from 1 July 2025 for 12 months.
Another $1.2 million was to facilitate the delivery of the Strengthened Quality Standards, which form part of the aged care reforms coming in on 1 July 2025.
The contract with Queensland-based Liquid Interactive, which was founded and is now chaired by Michael Burke, has now been extended 13 times, and amounts to nearly $30,000 per working day over life of the three-and-a-half-year contract.
The Department of Health and Aged Care told The Weekly SOURCE that responses from a website user survey show satisfaction with My Aged Care has been increasing over the past 12 months, and is now at its highest level since introduction.
However, they noted that, "The department continues to work with the iLiquid Pty Ltd [which owns Liquid Interactive] to address user feedback."
In April last year, the Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care Ian Yates AM launched a review of My Aged Care, the first time the office had used its powers to investigate a Government entity in the aged care system. The review was set to be completed by the end of 2024, but a spokesperson for the Inspector-General said they now expect the review will be released this October.
The Department of Health and Aged Care's 2023-24 Annual Report showed only 56% of surveyed users said they were satisfied with the My Aged Care website, well below the 95% who were satisfied with the My Aged Care Contact Centre and below the Department's own target.
In the Government's assessment of its Care Finder Program, My Aged Care was found to have gaps in information and inaccuracies about service availability. Media reports have also identified My Aged Care as a "minefield of mistakes", reporting RADs of $22 million when in fact the figure was $2.2 million.
