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By Laura Haylen
Catholic Health Australia Director of Aged Care Policy
It’s been a busy few weeks with the Department continuing to release tranches of Rules for the new Aged Care Act. CHA has been heavily consulting members and developing submissions to contribute to these processes.
We are also continuing to work with the Transition Taskforce (led by Steve Teulan, Deputy Chair of CHA and Sonya Smart, CEO of VMCH) to raise member issues and provide feedback on key change documentation prior to its release to the sector. We are expecting further guidance material to be released by the Department shortly for both providers and older Australians, including on pricing under the Support at Home, which CHA has been confidentially consulted about.
We remain concerned about key policy issues embedded in the Rules which could impact the implementation of the reform and the overall success of the Act. CHA’s CEO and Chair met with Minister Anika Wells to discuss issues and potential solutions developed with members. During these discussions we shared our gratitude for the significant work and leadership to pursue these reforms, but noted that several key issues remain that could hinder its success.
Topics covered included:
- Support at Home transition and the need for more time and funding to support implementation of the new program
- Care management and the need to increase the cap to support the transition period and minimise risk to workforce
- Higher Everyday Living Fees and allowing existing clients of additional services to choose whether they move to HELF on 1 July 2026
- Removal or alternatively adjustments to the interim budget arrangements under Support at Home to ensure the aged care system supports the assessed needs of older people
- Shifting the grandfathering arrangements under Support at Home to 1 July 2025.
We have also been engaging with Minister Butler’s office and directly with the Department. While the timing of the election will pose a challenge to pursuing these issues, CHA will continue to hold discussions to work to a common ground.
Laura Haylen is Director of Aged Care Policy at Catholic Health AustraliaLaura Haylen
Laura brings nearly a decade of aged care, social and health policy experience to the position of Director Aged Care Policy, including roles at Commonwealth and State level.
