Senate inquiry into Home Care Package delays
You told us you want it fixed, and Canberra is listening.
NSA – representing you in Canberra
NSA CEO, Chris Grice, Chair, Ross Glossop, and Deputy Chair, Marcia Griffin, were in Canberra this week for the first sittings of the new parliamentary term.
Over two days, NSA met with parliamentarians including Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care, and Shadow Minister for Disability and the NDIS, Senator Anne Ruston; Shadow Minister for Social Services, Senator Kerrynne Liddle; and Independent Member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie.
In addition to putting forward NSA’s policy recommendation around Home Care, NSA also put forward policy recommendations to help ease cost-of-living pressures for older Australians and to help protect retirement income – key issues our NSA community has told us are important.
NSA appreciates the time all parliamentarians gave NSA and looks forward to continuing our work with all sides of politics to defend, protect, and promote the interests of older Australians.
National Seniors Australia’s (NSA) ongoing campaign to cut wait times for Home Care Packages (HCP) through the delivery of more packages is resonating in Canberra.
Giving voice to our members and supporters around the nation, we’re calling for the immediate release of additional packages, while the Federal Government restructures its multi-billion-dollar aged care system.
Access to home care, along with provider transparency, were two issues that received strong support in a recent survey of NSA members and supporters.
Releasing additional packages will help to reduce wait times and stem the number of older people forced into hospital or residential aged care while they wait for care.
The Senate crossbench has agreed to inquire into the home care delays after government rejected calls for the release of the additional packages.
NSA has welcomed the Senate inquiry, with our CEO, Chris Grice, saying while the delay to the new Aged Care Act, from 1 July to 1 November, was understandable to ensure the sector was ready, it shouldn’t delay the release of new packages, which was set to begin on 1 July.
“The new Act acknowledges older people want to stay in their own homes for longer so they can remain healthy, active, and socially connected. It also acknowledges older Australians increasingly want the freedom, support, and choice to remain in the home and community they love,” Mr Grice said.
A key advocate for the Senate inquiry, Senator David Pocock, said older Australians are suffering.
“Australians are dying waiting to receive home care packages and we’re hearing report after report about bedblock,” he said on X. “The (crossbench) asked the government to bring forward 20,000 packages to help with the 87,000 backlog and the minister said no.”
Elderly Australians are waiting up to 15 months for care they have already been deemed eligible for, and Mr Grice said helping older Australians age safely and independently in their homes is not possible without the urgent release of more home care packages.
“We need to remember when we’re talking about packages, we’re talking about people. Vulnerable people in desperate need of support at home; support to stay out of aged care; support to leave hospital; support to relieve family members who have become carers; and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say support they need to survive.”
Clearing the waiting list was a recommendation of the Aged Care Royal Commission, and one that NSA sees as a top priority for the Federal Government.
“We support the Senate inquiry and look forward to making a submission on behalf of every older Australian waiting for care, their families, and carers.”
Tell us your story
We know many older Australians are waiting for home care services.
With a Senate Committee now investigating the impact of the wait list on older people, we want to ensure your voice is heard.
Have you or someone you care for:
- Been waiting too long for either an assessment or for a Home Care Package?
- Had difficulty getting help through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme?
- Felt that you or a loved one’s well-being, independence, or health has been affected by delays in accessing care?
- Found it hard to understand or access the aged care system?
NSA is preparing a submission to speak up for older people, and we need your help. By sharing your experience, you can help us demonstrate the real impacts on older Australians and their families. We need as much detail of your experience as possible but please know that any information you share will be used anonymously in our submission.
Please send your story to policy@nationalseniors.com.au by 6 August 2025.
Alternatively, you can make your own submission directly to the senate inquiry (which can also be anonymous) by clicking here.
Meanwhile, industry insiders warn the HCP wait list could blow out to 100,000 by the end of the year if nothing is done.
The warning follows the release of updated figures by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), showing that while fewer than expected people are joining the wait list, the list has grown to 83,000 people.
The AIHW figures showed nearly 300,000 were accessing Home Care packages, with 35,613 packages released over the March quarter compared to 33,474 in the three months to December 2024.
Aged care providers say the growth is due to the Federal Government delaying the release of promised places until the introduction of the Support at Home program in November, combining HCP with the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP).
Speaking to The Australian, Australian Unity, a member of the government’s Aged Care Transition Taskforce, warned a waitlist of that size could result in the taking up of 600,000 avoidable hospital bed days a year from falls and other complications that home support could prevent.
Australian Unity is a provider of home care packages and said the fact those on the waitlist were medium and high needs and were therefore likely to be hospitalised two to three times a year for falls and would stay in the hospital for about seven days.
It also warned that the 600,000 figure didn’t take into account the impact of flu season or hospitalisation for any other reason.
“We see the personal toll of this every day. People’s health and quality of life are deteriorating while they wait. Families and carers are left to fill the gap, stepping in where the system continues to let them down. As a country we can – and must – do better,” Australian Unity Group Executive and Home Health chief executive, Prue Bowden, said.
Related reading: Guardian, David Pocock, NSA, NSA Budget Submission, The Australian
More information about HCPs is available here.
