13/02/2026
Seriously.
How to completely mess up aged care at home.
Three months into the new Support at Home program… and things are getting worse, not better.
Here is what we are actually seeing on the ground:
• Seniors assessed as needing care - then told they will be placed in a queue for 12 months or more.
• Finally receiving their Support at Home package - only to discover they must apply again to a completely different pot of funding for equipment and home modifications, and then wait months all over again.
• Receiving a letter granting $500 under the Home Modification program - but the OT report required to prescribe most equipment costs at least $800.
• Getting excited because you have gone up a level - only to find in the small print that you are funded at just 60% of that level. So in reality, you are still waiting.
• Self funded retirees who prepared responsibly for their future - now expected to contribute up to 80% of the cost of cleaning and gardening.
• AHPRA registered allied health professionals such as physios, podiatrists and speech therapists - already regulated to practise in the community - now required to provide police checks, indemnity, public liability and sign lengthy contracts for every provider relationship. Really?
• A system allowing everyone to take a bite - layering fees, clips and surcharges along the way.
• The process to become an aged care provider in Australia now so complex and expensive that even me, a Registered Nurse with over 30 years experience cannot realistically enter the system independently.
• A maximum aged care allocation of around $78,000 per year — while NDIS participants can receive hundreds of thousands annually.
• 63 days of respite granted each year - yet no respite beds actually available, now or in the foreseeable future.
• Pensioners required to contribute to essentials like showering, companionship and cleaning.
• Assessments increasingly driven by an algorithm, with no human assessor able to override the outcome.
• No longer permitted to charge per kilometre for client transport - so providers are forced to build transport costs into hourly rates.
• 60 page contracts handed to vulnerable seniors. When has that ever signalled simplicity?
This is not reform.
But somewhere along the way, common sense got left out of the parliamentary room.
If you are a senior, a family member or a professional feeling confused or frustrated - you are not alone.
However, we can help you get a package, guide you along the journey, fight your battles and get the most out of what you have been allocated.
Join us. Honest. Transparent. No BS.
☎️ 9408 1134
💻 admin@choicehomehelp.com.au
🚗 1/7 Prindiville Drive, Wangara - next to Kia
