Home Care Reforms | More Transparency and Choice for Seniors

If your organisation is one of the many impacted by the recent government reforms to the funding and delivery of home care to older Australians, you’re probably knee deep in trying to understand and implement the changes.

To help you wrap your head around it all, we’ve put together this overview on what is new and why.

Preparing to shift to the Support at Home Program in 2023

From July 2023, a proposed new program called Support at Home will start helping more older Australians to stay living independently in their own homes for longer, replacing the:

  • Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
  • Home Care Packages (HCP) Program
  • Short Term Restorative Care (STRC) Programme

The Australian government’s decision to introduce Support at Home came out of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – specifically recommendation 35, to implement a new aged care program, and recommendation 118, to introduce a new funding model for care at home.

“Most people want to stay in their homes for as long as possible, so it’s imperative that reforms to in-home aged care bring genuine improvements for older Australians in the long and short-term,” said the Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells.

So how will home care change?

CHSP providers to receive support through this transition

Organisations funded to provide Sector Support and Development (SSD) under the CHSP have been tasked with assisting other CHSP providers as they make the move to the new in-home aged care system.

This reform, in effect from July 2022, resulted from a review by KPMG of the CHSP Sector Support and Development (SSD), requested by the Department of Health.

Now at least 75% of government funding received by SSD providers is to be used for activities focused on supporting other CHSP providers during the transition.

From the Commonwealth Home Support Programme Program Manual 2022-2023 (pg 61), these activities can include:

  • Embedding wellness and reablement and restorative care approaches into service delivery.
  • Embedding diversity practices and inclusivity within provider service delivery.
  • Developing and disseminating information on the CHSP and its interaction with the broader aged care system or aged care reforms.
  • Brokering, coordinating and delivering training and education to service providers, workforce and consumers.
  • Developing and promoting collaborative partnerships within the CHSP and across the broader aged care service system.

Would you like to know more?

Watch this space for updates and news on the reforms and what they mean for you.

And if you’re interested in further reading now, take a look at: