Aged care reform – your voice needed
How are the new aged care reforms going? NSA is your voice to government, and we want to know what’s going right and wrong with the new Support at Home program.
Join our new aged care consumer reference group
As part of our commitment to raising the issues faced by older people, National Seniors Australia (NSA) is forming a new Aged Care Consumer Reference Group.
This group will form part of our ears on the ground and, as such, we are asking for expressions of interest from NSA members with direct experience of aged care.
If you are receiving aged care services or are caring for someone who receives aged care – either at home or in a residential care setting – please click here to download the EOI for further information.
To apply, click here to download an application form and send to policy@nationalseniors.com.au by 21 December 2025.
Aged care reforms came into effect on 1 November, ushering in a new funding model including increased co-payments, enhanced consumer rights, and a new Support at Home Program, among other changes.
National Seniors Australia (NSA) expected there would be teething issues, but it’s still early days and many people are not yet fully transitioned to the new system.
Consumer feedback is critical to ensure that any systemic problems can be communicated to government and hopefully rectified.
Progress?
A little more than a month after the reforms were enacted, aged care stakeholders – including the Parliament, the public, and NSA – are endeavouring to gauge the success or otherwise of the reforms and the impact on the very people they purport to benefit: older Australians.
So far, it’s a mixed report. Promises of more choice, greater investment in aged care, higher quality, and improved rights and services will take time to flow through the sector. However, most immediate commentary is about consumers having to contribute more to the cost of their care.
An often-quoted complaint is that the new co-payments mean some people are forced to pay more per hour from their packages for help with showers, meals, and basic care at home.
There is no limit on the amount providers can charge for home care fees until 1 July 2026. Aged care economic advisor StewartBrown has advised providers to increase their fees by between 30% and 38%.
This increase is partly in response to a 10% cap on management fees introduced in response to providers charging management fees of up to 40% of the cost of a package.
While, in theory, rising hourly costs shouldn’t reduce the total amount of care a person can access, we are hearing that this change has resulted in less care in some instances.
But without detailed evidence and comparisons, it’s difficult to know fact from fiction. That’s where you come in.
Your feedback needed
NSA is monitoring public experiences with the reforms and will continue to push the Federal Government to address shortfalls and make improvements.
Recently, we were told of the experience of an older person who changed provider and is struggling to get information about what happens to the funds and whether they will be transferred to the new provider, and if so, how much will be transferred.
This has led us at NSA to look at what the legislation says, and it is unclear how this works. It appears the legislation does not cover this situation. It is something we will take up with the department and is a real-life example of how the experiences of older people and their families can provide us with insights on an issue, which we can then pursue.
Bear in mind, the reforms and the issues arising from them are complex, making it difficult to understand. But the more we learn from you, the better equipped we are to be your voice into government, and other stakeholders, as monitoring and fine tuning of the reforms progress.
Senate inquiries
Our parliamentary representatives also are hearing public concerns. The Senate has established two further inquiries into the reforms.
The inquiries will:
Investigate the government’s planned transition of the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), which currently serves more than 800,000 older Australians with at-home supports through “block funding” to providers like Meals on Wheels.
Investigate the ability for older Australians to access care under the Support at Home program, including the impacts of new pricing mechanisms and co-payments.
Committed to voicing what older people have to say and want, we’re developing submissions to these inquiries. Including your real-life experiences and concerns about the reforms, those underway and those proposed, will give greater power and focus to what we will tell government.
It is unrealistic to have expected such major reforms to work well immediately. This is an opportunity to use your real-life experiences to point us, and government, in the right direction.
You can share your personal experience by emailing policy@nationalseniors.com.au.
If you are experiencing difficulties, help is available through the Older Persons Advocacy Network, which is funded to provide free, independent and confidential support to older people receiving government-funded aged care.
Related reading: Support at Home Inquiry, Transition to Support at Home, Greens, My Aged Care, Aged Care Equality, OPAN
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