All About Aged Care

20/05/2026

For some months now, I have been complaining about how government's changes to the Aged Care Act have led to the present crisis, where many people who need residential aged care are simply unable to find a place.
Aged Care finance guru, Rachel Lane, in her SMH Article today sets out with great clarity how we have got to this sad situation and why government efforts to fix the problem are likely to be too little, too late.

Senior Australians have been waiting for a change in policy to help them access the care they need. The federal budget will take them halfway there.

13/05/2026

Yesterday the Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers handed down his budget for the coming year. Aged Care received some an additional $3.7 billion to help fund new beds for residential care, and better care and fewer co-contributions for Support at Home recipients. Industry response to these measures largely has been muted.
The major complaint is that the additional funding will do little to reduce the current critical shortage of beds for supported residents.
The below article from the Hello Leaders Newsletter expresses this well.

For a budget that was touted as most “ambitious” in 25 years, aged care has little to show for it. Five provider CEOs, who have earned insight from years striving to deliver best, share that fragmented positives are not a whole solution. Much more must yet be done.

22/04/2026

Mark Butler the Minister of Health & Ageing today announced adjustments to the Support at Home program, introduced in November 2025.

A controversial measure required co-payments by recipients for personal care services such as showering and dressing.

There has been significant community criticism about this with some participants facing hourly charges for essential daily support. and many elderly recipients complaining that they were being forced to choose between showering and eating

The Government has now confirmed that these services will be reclassified as clinical care from October 2026 and will no longer attract direct fees.

While the change restores full coverage for these services, it will not apply retrospectively, meaning individuals who have already paid under the current arrangements will not be reimbursed.

19/03/2026

The latest Half-yearly Indexation of Aged Care Fees and Charges will take effect from 20 March 2026 until 20 September 2026.
The Basic Daily Fee for Residential Aged Care increases to $66.80 which is the same daily fee which will apply to Respite or Transitional Care.
The Maximum Prescribed Interest Rate on unpaid Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RAD) increases to 7.96% p.a.
A significant change which appears to have escaped much scrutiny until now, is that while the asset cut-off level for partially supported residents increases to $214,884.00 -after which a resident must pay a RAD - this now only relates to people moving into a facility that has been significantly refurbished or newly built. [These facilities are rarely available to supported residents]
For other residents moving into a facility that is not significantly refurbished or newly built the maximum asset amount is reduced to $162,572.00.
The full schedule is attached.

22/02/2026

In our post last week, we highlighted the need to get early advice.
Because "life is not meant to be a fish and chips lunch followed by a 2-nil home win" (per Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch) sometimes, despite all the planning, things don't work out as planned.
The facility you have chosen may not have any suitable vacancies at the moment that you need it, or care needs may have changed, or myriad other reasons.
If you are in this situation, please remember that we can help.
We may be able to source respite as an interim step or find a good alternative placement.
Navigating these challenges can be difficult and stressful.
This is when and where a good system navigator proves his or her worth time and again.

16/02/2026

Nobody tells you this about aged care until it’s too late.

Most families wait too long.

Not because they don’t care.
Not because they’re neglectful.
But because they’re hoping things will “settle down.”

They won’t.

Falls increase.
Medications get missed.
Hospital visits become more frequent.
And suddenly you’re making urgent decisions in a crisis.

Aged care decisions made in panic rarely feel good.

The best outcomes happen when families plan before it becomes urgent.

You don’t need to move your loved one tomorrow.

But you do need to understand your options early.

Calm decisions beat crisis decisions. Every time.

If you know you need advice but also know you are delaying the inevitable, give us a call and let's work on this together.

28/12/2025

Happy New Year to all our clients, friends and colleagues. May 2026 be a year of good health, happiness and success for all of you.

Thank you to all of you for your support, friendship and collegiality.
2025 had many challenges and we relied on all of you to navigate them.

We hope that 2026 will see a return to some sort of normality and more beds will become available, especially for concessional residents.

The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has published it new fees and charges schedule for 1 January 2026. A copy is attached.
https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-12/schedule-of-fees-and-charges-for-residential-care.pdf

08/12/2025

How Will The Social Media Ban Impact Grandchildren Communicating with Grandparents in Aged Care?
This Wednesday sees the landmark introduction of Australia’s teenage social media ban.
This legislation is and will be controversial. Most pundits expect tech savvy teens to easily circumvent the law.
As with all legislation there are likely to be unintended consequences. One of these could be that it might restrict the ability of grandchildren or great grandchildren to communicate with their grandparent.
Messaging and communication such as WhatsApp are exempt though, as it is considered a messaging app and not a social media platform for the purposes of this law. Other apps exempt from the ban include Messenger, Discord, Roblox, YouTube Kids, and Google Classroom.
As long as our clients in care remain on these apps rather than on Tik Tok they will still be able to communicate online with their loved young ones.

08/12/2025

My Aged Care Review

The new Inspector-General of Aged Care Services, Natalie Siegel-Brown last week delivered her first formal review. She sought to answer whether My Aged Care, as the single-entry point to the aged care system, is fit-for-purpose in facilitating timely access to aged care services and supports for all older people in Australia, regardless of their location, background and life experiences.

Her review addresses questions like:
Is the doorway into aged care open to everyone? Is it easy to find, easy to use, and fair? And crucially: Does it reflect the rights and dignity now enshrined in the new Aged Care Act 2024 (the new Act)?

Her report concluded:
“The findings are clear: for many, it is not and does not. Enhancements have been made and a lot of effort invested in improving the doorway, but still, many older people — particularly those from diverse backgrounds, remote communities, or with limited digital literacy, struggle to access and navigate the system. “

If you are seeking to place a loved one in the Perth metropolitan area, and are struggling to navigate the system, give us a call on 9429 8830. We can help.

https://www.allaboutagedcare.com.au/

17/11/2025

Much has been written recently about the shortage of beds in aged care and the effect this is having on hospital beds. Simply put, hospital administrators say that there are thousands of elderly patients who are occupying hospital beds who should be relocated to a bed in an aged care facility. These patients are being unkindly termed “bed-blockers”.

Unfortunately, there are insufficient available beds in aged care facilities to allow this to happen.

This is not the whole truth. There are beds available for most would-be residents provided they are able to pay the Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) or Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP) required by the facility.

Unfortunately, the subsidy paid by the government to facilities for supported residents is usually less than half of what a facility can receive from fee paying residents. This means financially straitened facility operators have little incentive to offer supported beds.

There is an obvious (but not complete) answer to this problem. The government needs to allocate enough money to aged care so that subsidies match the economic realities.

If you need help for a loved one in this increasingly difficult environment, please book a consultation here https://calendly.com/lewis-chiat

10/11/2025

Last week saw the new Aged Care Act 2024 come into force.

It has been hailed as the biggest change in aged care in Australia in a generation.
It is said to usher in a new “rights-based charter” for elderly Australians needing care, either in their own homes or in residential facilities.

While this noble goal may be achieved eventually, at present what we are seeing is confusion and concern.

A particular concern is the new fees and charges which have been introduced and the requirement for co-payments from most new consumers.

The changes are not easy to understand, and the government’s messaging has been slow and added to the confusion.

Now, more than ever, consumers need to reach out to an industry expert for help.
Contact us if you or a loved one needs advice or help to navigate the maze