Government delays Support at Home program until 2025

The new scheme, which was touted to begin in July 2024, will now not begin until July 1, 2025.

Aged care advocates fear the delay will exacerbate problems in the home care sector.

"This delay risks perpetuating the service gaps that older people are currently experiencing," said Older Persons Advocacy Network chief executive Craig Gear.

"Adequate care at home is what older people deserve, and they shouldn't have to wait for it."

Mr Gear said his organisation is "ready and willing" to work with the government to ensure no home care recipient is left unsupported.

Council on the Ageing chief executive Patricia Sparrow was also disappointed.

"Older people want to remain living in their own homes and often have to wait for months before they can get the support they need," she said.

"However, it is good to see an increase of 9500 home care packages and the foundations for a new home care program being laid with work continuing on a single assessment system."

The postponement came as no surprise to the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association given the complexities of merging the Home Care Package Program with a quarter of a million clients and the entry-level Commonwealth Home Support Program with more than 800,000 clients.

"The government was rightly criticised for not providing detail of what it was planning for its long-time-coming Support at Home program," said association policy manager Paul Versteege.

"It now seems the detail was simply not available even to itself."

A new Aged Care Taskforce will inform the final design of the Support at Home program.

Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler said the 2025 start date would ensure aged care service providers are well prepared for the change. Existing grant arrangements for the Commonwealth Home Support Program will be extended for a further 12 months to June 30, 2025.

Catholic Health Australia welcomed the extension, saying it looked forward to co-designing the new program with the government. "The extra year was critical to ensure that the new system would provide quality, sustainable services that support people to remain in their own home for longer," its Aged Care director Jason Kara said.

Aged care funding in the budget includes:

$11.3 billion to fund the Fair Work Commission's interim decision for a 15 per cent pay increase

$72.3 million for a new regulatory model and framework for a new Aged Care Act

$12.9 million to strengthen food and nutrition reporting, expert dietary advice to providers and improved dining for aged care residents

$1.7 million to appoint an interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner

$1.3 million to begin monthly care statements

$126.7 million to enhance star ratings for better data quality and analysis

$11.9 million to expand the existing quality indicator program to in-home care services

The budget also provides for 9500 extra home care packages to be released in 2023-24 and new aged care assessment arrangements from July 2024.