Aged care reforms falling short of their promise, warns COTA Australia

COTA Australia says the rollout of the federal government’s new aged care reforms – including the Support at Home program – is failing to deliver on key promises to older people, with early feedback pointing to widespread shortfalls in funding, transparency, and service access.

The consumer advocacy organisation has raised the alarm following reports from older Australians during the first month of the new Act’s implementation, as well as evidence presented at Senate Estimates revealing that 93 per cent of Support at Home packages released so far are only interim packages. These provide just 60 per cent of the funding older people have been assessed as needing.

Patricia Sparrow, Chief Executive Officer of COTA Australia, said older people are facing an unexpected combination of reduced package value, higher prices and shrinking service levels.

“Embedding a rights-based framework is essential, and these reforms were needed,” Ms Sparrow said. “But the reality is that the implementation phase is leaving many older Australians worse off. One month in, we’re not seeing the improvements people were promised.”

Interim packages causing confusion and frustration

Ms Sparrow acknowledged the federal government’s decision to release additional home care packages in November to help meet demand, but said the discovery that these packages were only interim has caught consumers by surprise.

“It was never clearly communicated that people would not receive the full value of their assessed package,” she said.

“Many have already endured long waits for assessment, followed by months waiting for allocation. Now they’re learning they’re getting only 60 per cent of the funding they were told they needed.”

Reports of price hikes, reduced services and pressure to sign contracts

COTA Australia has been receiving reports of significant challenges for consumers under the new system, including:

• Sharp price increases, in some cases doubling, which has forced substantial cuts to service levels.

• Long queues for reassessment, with many older people applying for higher-level packages simply to maintain the level of support they previously received.

• Pressure from some providers to sign contracts immediately, despite consumers having 90 days from their Services Australia determination letter to do so.

Ms Sparrow said these issues undermine the government’s “no worse off” principle.

“While this principle caps what people pay out of pocket, providers are still free to set their own fees—and we’re now seeing significant increases. For many older people, that means fewer hours of care for the same contribution. They’re telling us they feel worse off, not better.”

The slow rollout of mandatory pricing transparency has further complicated matters.

“Providers have been slow to publish their prices, and while it’s good to see the government and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission enforcing this, older people still had to make decisions without the information they needed,” Ms Sparrow said. “Providers were granted extra time to publish their fees, but older people weren’t given any extra time before signing contracts. That imbalance isn’t fair.”

Calls for urgent action to restore trust

Ms Sparrow said the federal government must ensure the reforms deliver on their promise.

“Older people expected better, and they deserve better,” she said. “After years of fighting for rights-based aged care, it’s disheartening that so many now feel anxious and distressed.”

She added that ensuring the reforms achieve their intended outcomes remains “mission-critical” for COTA Australia.

“We recognise it’s still early days, but we need to see stronger action—quickly—to ensure older Australians truly benefit from the changes.”