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Better Place Australia’s response to the Senate Community Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Support at Home Program 

The Senate Community Affairs References Committee is examining whether the Support at Home Program will help older Australians access services to live safely and with dignity at home, including the impact of co-contributions, service availability, support for vulnerable groups, and the transition from existing aged care programs. 

Better Place Australia welcomed the opportunity to respond to the Senate Community Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Support at Home Program. Drawing on experience from our Care Finder practitioners, the submission highlights barriers older people face when trying to access timely and appropriate aged care services, and outlines opportunities to strengthen the new program.  

We believe urgent consideration should be given to: 

  • Improving consistency and transparency of assessment outcomes.
  • Allowing experienced assessors greater clinical discretion to override algorithm-generated classifications where appropriate. 
  • Reviewing the priority tool to ensure urgency and risk are adequately reflected.  
  • Reducing delays associated with reassessment and review processes.  
  • Strengthening CHSP funding, service availability and transparency with waitlists.  
  • Monitoring the impact of co-contributions on financially vulnerable older Australians.  
  • Strengthening culturally safe and equitable access to aged care services for First Nations and CALD communities through targeted workforce initiatives, enhanced interpreter and translation services, greater flexibility in service delivery models, and improved provider capacity to support older people with complex care needs and diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. 

Read Better Place Australia’s Response to the Senate Community Affairs Committee Inquiry Here

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