Aged Care Reforms

Aged Care Reforms

Learn more about the changes coming to Aged Care including how to stay informed and have your say.

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety tabled its final report 1 March 2021. You can read the report here.

The Government’s response to the Royal Commission’s final report

The Australian Government responded to the Royal Commission’s final report.  You can read their response here.

Reform to in-home aged care

The Australian Government will create a single Support at Home Program. This is replacing the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program, Short-Term Restorative Care Programme (STRC), and residential respite programs.

Learn more, including how to stay informed and get involved here.

Reform to residential aged care

The residential aged care sector will start operating as a more competitive and consumer-driven environment from July 2024.

Places will be assigned to senior Australians from 1 July 2024. This will provide people with choice over which provider delivers their care.

Bed licenses will end on 30 June 2024 and providers will no longer need an allocation of places to provide residential care.

This means providers will have greater control over their business decisions and their ability to develop high quality and innovative models of care and accommodation that best meet the preferences of senior Australians.

You can read about this change as well as others here.

Supporting people from diverse background and experiences

There have been a number of measures and reforms to support people from diverse backgrounds and experiences including:

  • People living with dementia and their carers
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • People from diverse backgrounds

Read more here 

Stay informed and Have Your Say

You can get involved in the reforms through the Department’s Engagement Hub and help drive change in aged care in Australia. There are portals for:

  • Older Australians, families and carers
  • Aged care workers
  • Aged care providers
  • Aged care experts and peak organisations

The Department is reporting on feedback received during this consultation period on their Ageing and Aged Care Engagement Hub.

You can also stay up to date with the Department of Health’s aged care sector newsletter and announcements.