The Weekly SOURCE exclusively reported last Thursday older people are being told they will have to wait nine months for an aged care assessment.
Now the SOURCE can exclusively reveal assessment organisations, which have operated under the Single Assessment System (SAS) since 1 January 2025, are conducting assessments by phone or Telehealth to clear significant backlogs.
The SOURCE has learnt of an older couple who were assessed for aged care for the first time over the phone after a three-month wait. Each of them was asked to observe the other while getting in and out of a chair and provide feedback to the assessor. One was also asked to verify their spouse’s responses during a cognitive assessment.
The assessor told the couple there was limited Government funding for services and recommended the purchase of a robotic vacuum cleaner, although the couple were eventually able to get a referral code for domestic assistance.
It's generally considered that assessments conducted by Phone or Telehealth are not the best way to assess older people’s care needs, and were not the intention of the SAS.
The My Aged Care Website states, "Assessments are done in person, at your own home."
Yet the backlog has to be cleared. A spokesperson for the Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing told The Weekly Source there remains a backlog of assessments referred before 1 January 2025 and still outstanding as of 30 June 2025, however, more than 90% have been completed.
SAS "roadblocks" must be "urgently addressed"
Older Person's Advocacy Network (OPAN) CEO Craig Gear OAM (pictured right) told The Weekly Source that in recent months their call centre has seen an influx of calls from older people who have been advised by My Aged Care, local MPs and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to contact OPAN for assistance with assessment wait times and a lack of communication from SAS organisations.
“Roadblocks in the SAS, which was introduced to streamline the assessment process, must be urgently addressed," Craig told The Source.
“OPAN has heard from older people and our advocates on the ground that wait times are excessive. Our advocates have reported that older people have said some services are no longer answering or returning calls.
“Access delayed is access denied.
"Compounded by wait times of up to 15 months for an approved Home Care Package, these untenable delays are putting older people at significant risk of adverse outcomes.”
Phone assessments can't accurately determine aged care needs
This week, The Weekly Source has also seen a letter from Centacare, a faith-based Queensland provider of aged care assessments under the SAS, instructing assessors that all assessments are to be conducted by Telehealth due to a "significant backlog".
"In light of the current backlog of new assessments and review work, we are implementing a change to our assessment process," the letter states. "Effective immediately, future assessments are to be scheduled and completed via Telehealth. This approach will help us manage and address the significant backlog more efficiently."
OPAN has also heard that older people are being told by the assessment organisations that interpreters are out of scope, and there is a lack of knowledge among SAS staff about available services.
Another common complaint about the SAS assessments is double handling, where clinical and non-clinical assessments are conducted separately.
Staff are quitting
The Weekly Source spoke to two highly experienced clinical assessors this week who joined the SAS workforce at the beginning of the year, but have already left or plan to leave due to a lack of training, expectations they will complete two assessments daily, even in remote areas, and what they perceive to be a downgrading of clinical input in assessment decisions.
Delayed assessments compound problems already faced by older Australians
Roald Versteeg (left), Ageing Australia General Manager Policy and Advocacy, told The Weekly Source, “We have heard examples from members across Australia regarding extended wait times for assessment under the new SAS. This includes members providing residential, home and community care.
“We are raising these examples with the Department, to both alert them to the issue and get a resolution as soon as possible.
“Providers are keen to see these issues rectified, in order to support a smoother entry into care for older Australians. With a growing demand for aged care services, delays to assessment will only compound the issues older people face.”
The DOHDAC will be required to publish aged care assessment data from the commencement of the new Aged Care Act 2024 on 1 November 2025, but until then no data on assessments is published.
