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The passing of new aged care legislation and the Federal Government’s announcement of an independent review of the Integrated Assessment Tool are positive steps towards addressing the issues older people have been experiencing through the aged care assessment process, COTA Australia says.
Parliament must ensure changes to the aged care assessment system give assessors a clear and timely way to correct decisions that don’t reflect an older person’s care needs, COTA Australia says.
The Federal Government must urgently introduce consistent safeguards for automated decision-making, with aged care showing the risks of allowing technology to outpace protections, Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia says. COTA Chief Executive, Patricia Sparrow, said the private members bill introduced by Independent MP Kate Chaney today shows what practical safeguards look like in legislation and should provide further momentum for the government to deliver its promised whole-of-government framework.
COTA Australia broadly supports the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Bill 2026, including establishing a statutory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and making temporary aged care system modifications permanent.
Announcement that Commonwealth Home Support Program will be extented provides much-needed certainty, but the focus must now turn to ensuring the systems deliver for older Australians.
Last night’s Four Corners report put a human face to the experiences of older Australians navigating the reformed aged care system and highlighted the need for further improvements to aged care assessments, wait times and funding, COTA Australia says.
COTA Australia’s submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into the Support at Home Program supports the program’s rights-based objectives, but argues it is not yet reliably delivering timely, affordable and person-centred support for older Australians.
COTA Australia has welcomed the National Press Club address by outgoing Aged Care Inspector-General Natalie Siegel-Brown, saying it was a timely reminder that Australia’s aged care reforms must ultimately be judged by one measure: whether they improve the lives of older Australians.
The government today announced reforms to aged care assessment, including an escalation process to allow increased human oversight as part of determining the right level of support.
We’ve heard from many older people and their families about the impacts they’ve experienced since the Aged Care reforms commenced nearly 6 months ago. The 3 webinar sessionss will address a number of these issues.
Recent moves to address aged care wait times and concerns about Support at Home assessments are important steps, but the latest figures show too many older Australians are still waiting for the support they need, COTA Australia says.
Older people need strong pricing protections that genuinely reduce costs and stop older people being exposed to excessive or unreasonable pricing over the long term – not rushed measures that risk locking in inflated prices, COTA Australia says.