Topic - Opinion

Home care hellscape: why the wait list should be the new Minister’s first priority

On paper, Australia’s home care system is expanding. Another 107,000 Home Care Packages are set to be rolled out from 1 July. But for many older Australians, that help will come too late – if it comes at all. As we report in this issue, average...

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Lauren Broomham

29 May 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

Opinion

Fix it or fail: Australia’s health system can’t last another five years

Last week, I was fascinated by the Fin Review’s latest ‘Lunch with the AFR’ interview with Chris Blake, CEO of St Vincent’s Health Australia. His prediction? Australian hospitals, in their current form, have only about five years left to survive – and the aged care sector may face collapse even sooner.

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Lauren Broomham

22 May 2025

Opinion

No, Prime Minister: aged care isn’t ‘fixed’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled his new Cabinet this week – and aged care has been relegated to the outer Ministry. Is this a signal that the Labor Government believes aged care is no longer a problem?

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Lauren Broomham

15 May 2025

Opinion

Coalition’s pledge to cut home care wait list to zero is too little, too late

With just days until polling day, aged care has finally entered the political spotlight, with Shadow Minister for Aged Care Anne Ruston pledging a Coalition Government would cut home care wait times to zero, but making no commitment to release more Home Care Packages.

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Lauren Broomham

01 May 2025

Opinion

Aged care isn’t fixed – so why are we not talking about it?

If you tuned into yesterday’s National Press Club debate between Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler, and Shadow Minister, Anne Ruston, hoping for a meaningful discussion on aged care – you would have been sorely disappointed.

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Lauren Broomham

24 Apr 2025

Opinion

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t: aged care on a collision course with care minutes

With just 12 months until care minutes are linked with funding, residential aged care providers are facing a lose-lose scenario: lose funding if they understaff but fail to be compensated if they exceed targets, says Shalain Singh, Managing Director and CEO of Arrow Advisory Group.

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Lauren Broomham

17 Apr 2025

Opinion

Scape moving to acquire Aveo is good news – here is why

It was revealed in the Financial Review this week that Australian student accommodation giant Scape is now the exclusive bidder to buy Aveo, for an indicated $3.5B. They will bring fresh thinking to the retirement village sector. Take a step back...

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Chris Baynes

15 Apr 2025

Opinion

Is Trump the golden ticket for aged care?

Hear me out – here’s the thinking. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen the headlines: US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on imports have rattled global financial markets – Australia included.

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Lauren Broomham

10 Apr 2025

Government Policy

Aged Care Industry Labour Agreements require review: NoosaCare CEO Grant Simpson’s ‘political wishlist’

The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreements (ACILAs), introduced by the Labor Government, are costly and the structure is “limiting”, says the CEO of two aged care homes on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

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Caroline Egan

10 Apr 2025

Opinion

Political wishlist: Innovation a blueprint for the future with Govt support, says Natasha Chadwick, CEO NewDirection Care

Natasha Chadwick, CEO of NewDirection Care, which developed the innovative MICRO TOWN® model of dementia care in 2017, would like to see the next elected Government fund and promote innovation in aged care and establish an ‘Aged Care Innovations Hub’ where new ideas can be developed.

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Caroline Egan

03 Apr 2025

Opinion

No winners if there is a race to the bottom on Support at Home prices

Media headlines are calling out the new pricing for home care as “outrageous”, but the reality is home care providers must increase their prices – or face financial oblivion.

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Lauren Broomham

03 Apr 2025

Opinion

Small is good – and faster in retirement living, but what does that say about the future?

Today we cover Mark Bindon and Franco DePasquale announcing their re-entry to the retirement village sector with three separate village projects of around just 25 homes each. Meanwhile Adrian Puljich announced at the LEADERS SUMMIT his new Aliri...

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Chris Baynes

01 Apr 2025