The Albanese Government’s decision to delay the start date of the new Aged Care Act is a welcome move, writes Laura Haylen. Source: Catholic Health Australia.
Last week the Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler and the new Aged Care Minister Sam Rae announced that the commencement date of the new Aged Care Act will be delayed to November 1.
This announcement comes after months of advocacy by CHA and its members, raising concerns about the significant challenges being faced by both older Australians and providers in transitioning to the new Act, including the new Support at Home program.
CHA and its members, as providers of mission-driven, person-centred care, have been committed to ensuring that older people and their families are informed, supported, and transitioned to Support at Home as smoothly as possible.
However, we had remained concerned about the ability of providers to get new service agreements in place for existing clients of home care and for older people and their families to make informed decisions about their services under the new Support at Home program.
Much of the detail surrounding the new Act also remains draft or incomplete, leaving significant challenges for our members to navigate implementation.
Reform of this magnitude and importance should not be rushed and we welcomed the announcement made. Delaying the transition will allow older Australians to seek advice and make informed decisions before signing a new agreement and support providers to continue delivering high-quality care throughout this process.
CHA will be working closely with the Government and the department on understanding the details surrounding the change.
Laura Haylen is director of aged care policy at Catholic Health Australia.
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