How you can make aged care better

My Aged Care is the online entry point for people to access Australian Government-funded aged care services.

An older person cannot receive aged care funding or services without an assessment to establish that care is needed. My Aged Care enables this assessment. 

It was first launched in 2015, and last reviewed and overhauled in 2019. 

After preliminary aged care community consultation, My Aged Care has been found to be difficult to navigate, hindering access by older people and their families. 

So, the Acting Inspector-General of aged Care, Ian Yates, has announced a review of My Aged Care.  

Specifically, the review aims to assess whether the online gateway enables older Australians to start the assessment process required to enter the aged care system in a timely manner regardless of a person’s location, health requirements, cultural background, identity, or prior knowledge of the platform. 

People who have used the My Aged Care system for an assessment of care in the past five years are invited to share their experience. 

Feedback on the system is sought especially regarding difficulties due to personal circumstances, technological barriers, language barriers, or any other issues that have hindered easy access.  

People who have had a positive experience using My Aged Care are also invited to submit feedback. 

The Inspector-General’s office says it will also collect and consider feedback from government entities and their My Aged Care partners. 

The review marks the first time the Office of the Inspector-General will use its powers to investigate, make recommendations, and report to parliament on the performance of a key component of the aged care system. 

Submissions are open until 14 June 2024. 

A final report with recommendations to government is expected to be made public by the end of the year. 

When making a submission you can request that this be confidential. 

Submissions can also be sent directly by email to submissions@igac.gov.au or post to:  

Office of the Inspector-General of aged care  

PO Box 350  

Woden ACT 2606 

For information on the review and how to make a submission click here.

Separately, the government has just announced an evaluation of the new Star Ratings system, which was introduced in December 2022 to provide an easy way for older people and their families to compare the quality of residential aged care homes and make informed decisions about their care.

As part of this evaluation the government has commissioned an independent consulting firm to gather evidence about the effectiveness of the Star Ratings system.

National Seniors Australia will participate in this evaluation and is seeking feedback to help in this process.

Below are two questions which we would like to get feedback from you on to shape our response – even if you haven’t had to select or help select a residential care home for yourself or a loved one.

If you have other specific feedback about Star Ratings to share, please email policy@nationalseniors.com.au