Once-in-a-generation reforms
As announced on 12 September this year, $5.6 billion will be invested in the largest improvement to aged care in 30 years, including:
- $4.3 billion to deliver the Support at Home program from 1 July 2025
- essential changes to improve funding, viability and quality of residential aged care
- new laws to protect older people accessing aged care, with stronger powers to investigate bad behaviour and civil penalties for breaching the Quality Standards
- $900 million for rural, remote and specialist aged care providers, to ensure older people in Australia can access quality aged care services, no matter where they live with
- $300 million in infrastructure funding through the ongoing Aged Care Capital Assistance Program (ACCAP)
- 2-year thin market grant to support eligible Support at Home providers.
As recommended by the Aged Care Taskforce, reforms will also be delivered to help residential aged care providers attract investment, keep aged care homes open, improve quality and build new facilities, including:
- larger means tested contributions from new residents
- a higher maximum room price that is indexed over time
- retention of a small portion of refundable accommodation deposits (RADs) by providers.
Valuing the aged care workforce
$3.8 billion will fund the Fair Work Commission Aged Care Work Value Case Stage 3 decision, announced on 17 September this year. This funding will benefit about 340,000 aged care residential and home care workers to be paid fairly and valued for the important work they do.
This funding also builds on the previous $11.3 billion committed in 2023, to fund the 15% award wage increase determined by the Fair Work Commission.
Improving aged care for all
Over 500,000 older people annually seeking aged care will get timely, quality and consistent assessments nationally, regardless of their level of need. $596.8 million over 7 years is committed to make it easier for older people to access aged care through the Single Assessment System.
For older people seeking in-home care support, $101.7 million in 2024-25 will release 7,615 additional Home Care Packages (HCPs). This will reduce wait times, focusing on level 3 and level 4 medium priority packages, before the Support at Home program starts in July 2025. This builds on the 24,100 packages announced in the 2024-25 Budget.
Aged care residents will get better care with care funding linked to care minutes performance. This will increase care minutes compliance in aged care homes.
Residential aged care providers will transition to receive payments in arrears from 2026. Paying residential care providers on services delivered is not only simpler, it improves payment integrity by removing discrepancies between funding to providers and their entitlements. This change does not impact funding for any aged care residents. It also does not affect the amount paid to any residential aged care providers.
Residential aged care providers will also be supported to:
- plan and manage COVID-19 outbreaks in 2025 with $157.8 million committed
- improve the quality of food through Maggie Beer Foundation training extended with $1.7 million invested.
A focus on aged care for older First Nations people will be delivered with:
- $88.1 million over three years from 2025-26 to uplift funding for 17 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program services in very remote First Nations communities
- $4.1 million to extend the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner funding for finalising the permanent Commissioner recommendations for government consideration.
Supports for dementia training and services will be further extended with:
- $7.7 million to enable the Dementia Training Program to maintain training levels established in response to the Royal Commission in Aged Care Quality and Safety
- $1.7 million for the Australian Dementia Network to continue to prepare the health system for new developments in diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
The National Dementia Support Program (NDSP) will be expanded to include support for people with younger onset dementia, enabling access to services and support.