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Background
CHA supported the introduction of the Aged Care Act 2024 and recognises its importance in driving long-term reform of the aged care system. CHA remains committed to working with Government to ensure the Act underpins a safe, high-quality and equitable system that supports older Australians to age in place, regardless of income or location.
The transition of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) to the Support at Home program is the largest and most complex reform yet undertaken in home and community-based aged care. With more than 830,000 older Australians and over 1,200 providers involved, even modest disruption would have material impacts on access to care, particularly in thin markets and for vulnerable cohorts.
Lessons from the Home Care Packages (HCP) program to Support at Home program transition demonstrate that there are significant risks to major reforms in the aged care sector. Fortunately, they also provide a road map for managing these risks by ensuring adequate time, funding, workforce capacity and system readiness is provided to prevent service disruption, provider exit and harm to older people. The CHSP transition must include stronger safeguards than have been applied to date.
This submission addresses the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference by examining sector preparedness, access to timely and appropriate care, service viability, workforce and administrative pressures, and the continuity of care for vulnerable cohorts.
CHA’s recommendations are focused on ensuring that the CHSP transition improves outcomes for older Australians without destabilising the services they rely on – through mixed funding, targeted transition and thin-market support, and administrative and assessment systems that function at scale.
