The Albanese Labor Government has broken its promise to senior Australians, short-changing them on the delivery of new home care packages, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said today.

The Coalition secured an agreement in September 2024 to pass aged care reforms subject to a ‘no worse off principle’ on fee arrangements for those in permanent residential aged care before 1 November 2025, or those receiving or approved for a Home Care Package as of 12 September 2024. 

“Mallee constituents are telling me their providers are increasing prices, meaning older people receiving less care and, in some cases, co-payments are being demanded for services to continue,” Dr Webster said.

“Just like Mr Albanese’s shallow mantra nobody held back, nobody left behind, the aged care ‘no worse off’ principle is proving to be very shallow indeed. It is an undignified mess.

“I call upon Aged Care Minister Sam Rae to commit that the Government will intervene in every single case for my constituents where home care package recipients are, in fact, worse off.”

The ABC reported recently that some providers are coercing their suppliers to offset their losses due to capping of administration fees at 10 per cent of package budgets, given up to 30 per cent of recipient funds were previously being spent on administration.

From 1 July next year, provider prices for services will be regulated and capped but until then, they are not.

“Labor’s mismanagement of the rollout of the new home care system breaches the compact the Coalition reached with them just over a year ago,” Dr Webster said.

“We secured grandfathering arrangements for those that were in the system up to 12 September 2024, but Labor appear to be breaching the spirit of that deal.”

“The Coalition also secured an additional 83,000 home care packages for the older Australians that were on a wait list at that time – but I am horrified to hear they too appear to have been short-changed.”

The Coalition unearthed in Senate Estimates last week that 93 per cent of 83,000 Support at Home packages this financial year have been ‘interim packages’, providing only 60 per cent of the assessed care needs of older Australians.

The Department also confirmed that when those 83,000 older Australians eventually transition to a full package after up to 17 weeks, their care funding is not backdated, meaning they permanently lose weeks' worth of support.

“There was no indication last November that the packages would be half-baked, short of the funding and care older Australians deserve,” Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said.

“When the Minister fronted cameras and promised 83,000 new packages, he failed to mention older Australians would only get 60 per cent of what they need and deserve,” Dr Webster said.

“This is a clear broken promise and a fundamental breach of trust with older Australians.”

Dr Webster also expressed concern at the slow rollout of assessments of eligibility for home care packages.

“The slow rate of assessments means that people needing care are not getting it, and people needing residential aged care are dying waiting for the assessment. Furthermore, the assessments are being done by phone!”

“It cannot be described as anything short of a crisis”.

During Senate Estimates last week, departmental officials confirmed the Government had inserted a provision into the Support at Home rules allowing the Minister to downgrade packages to 60 per cent of funding ‘when demand exceeds available funding’, and that the determination to provide the ‘interim packages’ was made by the Minister in consultation with the Finance Minister.

The mechanism which allows rationing of care based on budget pressure rather than assessed need, was not disclosed to the sector, to the Parliament, or to the public.

Dr Webster said that the Government’s secret provision was brought to the Coalition’s attention after distressed older Australians began receiving letters which advised they would receive only 60 per cent of their approved package.

“Older Australians had no idea their promised care could be quietly cut to 60 per cent just because the Government has made a budgetary decision. This is not transparency, it is a hidden cut to protect Jim Chalmer’s budget bottom-line,” Dr Webster said.

“Labor told Australians they would put the care back into aged care. Instead, they have left 238,000 waiting for care and now they are secretly rationing new packages.

“Older Australians deserve transparency and the care they need, not a government that hides cuts in the fine print and breaks the commitments it made to them.”