Report: 2024 Final report of the Aged Care Taskforce

The Aged Care Taskforce (the Taskforce) released the Final report of the Aged Care Taskforce in mid-March 2024. This report proposes recommendations “to support an aged care system that is sustainable, fair and facilitates greater innovation in the sector.”

The aged care workforce

The Taskforce notes that there are issues with the aged care workforce and that several investments have been made, including minimum care minutes and wage increases for aged care workers. There is a note for increasing further investment, which is ongoing and outside of the scope of the Taskforce.

Structural changes to the sector

The new Support at Home Program will be introduced in two stages, replacing the current Home Care Packages (HCP) Program. Changes to the new program commence from 1 July 2025 and are phased, including the rolling out of the Commonwealth Home Support Program from 1 July 2027. The revised program aims to streamline and improve access for older Australians accessing these services.

The Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) has recently commenced the provision of aged care pricing advice on subsidies and supplements to be paid for residential aged care, including for rural and remote areas.

Aged care funding principles and recommendations

There are seven funding principles and 23 recommendations made in the report, including (recommendation 7) establishing a fee-for-service model for Support at Home that ensures participants only pay a co-contribution for services received. It is unclear how this will apply to osteopaths working in aged care and allied health professionals in general.

Recommendation 8 introduces co-contributions for Support at Home participants based on the type of service accessed. Once again, it is unclear how this will apply to osteopaths working in aged care and allied health professionals in general.

Recommendation 11 outlines that residents and providers should have better negotiation powers for:

• publishing prices and services

• only allowing agreement to higher fees for agreed services to be made after a participant has entered care
• a cooling off period and regular review opportunities to ensure the resident still wants the services and can still use them.

Recommendation 18 outlines the continuation of block funding in thin markets where appropriate and necessary. Other supports necessary should be considered to ensure access to care in under-serviced markets.

Support older people to age in place

The majority of older Australians prefer to age in their own home for as long as possible.

The report acknowledges that the current home care programs do not meet the demands of older Australians. The new Support at Home Program will aim to address the existing issues in the current home care programs. This includes:

• greater choice and control
• easier and more timely access
• flexibility to adjust services over time as needs change
• better value for money through controls on unreasonable administration fees
• better clarity and transparency around fees and how funding is used.

Inclusions and exclusions of the revised program are outlined in the following table:

 

Equitable and sustainable funding

The report notes that the cost of aged care services is forecast to rise substantially in the foreseeable future. Potential solutions include:

• superannuation as a means to support older Australians with the rising cost of aged care services
• older Australians make a co-contribution to the cost of their aged care based on their financial situation. The Taskforce suggests the Age Pension status of the participant, with some additional tiers for part-pensioners and no-pensioners, is a fair and simple way to determine participant co-contributions. Additional tiers may be required, and future analysis work is needed to explore these options.

The Taskforce recommends three classification service lists within Support at Home Program services:

1. Clinical supports – government contributions would be highest, and consumer co-contributions would be lowest (if any) to prevent declining health (for example, allied health services) *NOTE: The Taskforce recommends that these services should be fully funded by government.
2. Independence – a middle tier that includes items to support independence and reablement (for example, personal care services)
3. Everyday living – participant contributions would be highest (for example, general house cleaning).

The report proposes a fee-for-service model, where older Australians pay for the services they receive. A detailed service list is required to be developed.

Strong funding arrangements are in place for older Australians who do not have assets, and this has been recommended to be preserved.

The report suggests government funding focuses on assessed care needs and residents make greater contributions to non-care components. If government does not fully fund care, the Taskforce recommends the review of current arrangements for care fees removing annual caps and reviewing lifetime caps.

Key findings

A key finding from the Taskforce’s consultation was the suggestions for a reablement model of care with specific funding for allied health care.