New report highlights need for Aged Care Act to mandate accurate waitlist times.
A new report released today estimates that older people are waiting more than 15 months for home care - raising fears that the Federal Government's estimates of 9-12 months are false and misleading, COTA Australia says.
The Anglicare Life on the Wait List report released today highlights some concerning findings, including that older people are waiting an average of 15 months for home care and that the wait list for care has ballooned to 68,000 which is double what it was just one year ago.
The Anglicare Report builds on a recent UTS Ageing Research Collaborative which found 'hidden' delays are not published by the government or included in estimates, and a COTA analysis that found only 1 in 3 home support providers have availability for new clients.
Acting CEO of COTA Australia - the leading advocacy organisation for older people - Corey Irlam says that while the Anglicare report highlights the crucial importance of the Federal Government's recent Support at Home investment, it also shows the need for the new Aged Care Act to mandate an accurate and complete waitlist report.
"With over 68,000 older Australians waiting for care, there's no question that the new Support at Home scheme will be a game-changer, but we need to make sure its benchmarks are based on real data and that it is being set up for success," Mr Irlam said.
"When the Federal Government released its Aged Care Act legislation last week, it announced that by 1 July 2027 people will have to wait no more than three months for support at home, however we now know that the government's wait time estimates don't show the full picture, which is very concerning.
"The figures the Federal Government is using are misleading at best. They don't include the full waiting period from application to service commencement – only the middle waiting period from the time assessment is completed until a place is allocated to an individual.
"We're talking about older people waiting for services, they need to be able to live their life with dignity and in the way they want to. We can't have a situation where the government is trying to fudge the figures on how long people are having to wait for the support they need."
Mr Irlam said the Federal Government needs to ensure its three month wait time benchmark is achieved on the definition of from application until service commencement – not just the misleading waiting period in the middle between assessment and place allocation.
"We're not talking about a difference of a week here and there - we're talking about many, many months of an older person's life. With reports of around 10,000 people dying a year on the waitlist, sadly that's often time people don't have," Mr Irlam said.
"Not only will we be pushing the government to ensure it's not fudging the figures on how long people are actually waiting for care, but we'll also be calling on the Parliament to ensure the new Aged Care Act has a legal requirement for Government to publish a full waitlist report making the entire waiting journey transparent from application until your aged care services commence."
The Anglicare report shows that all the providers they spoke with indicated they would have the capacity to deliver more Home Care Packages if they were funded to do so, with two out of every three Home Support providers citing a lack of funds from the government as the biggest barrier to delivering more services. Half of the providers cited workforce issues as a major factor, including challenges recruiting staff for allied health services and a lack of qualified staff in regional areas.
Mr Irlam said COTA Australia has long advocated that no one should have to wait more than 30 days, from application to service assessment, for their care.
"The Federal Government's commitment to ensuring older people get the support they need to age in their homes will change the lives of countless older people and their families. We just need to make sure we get it right from the outset."
