The path through the system, plainly

For families

Home care grew 307 per cent in eight years. Residential grew 9.9. That is the aged care system you are choosing between

Between 2017 and 2025 home care went from 71,900 people to 293,000; permanent residential care went from 179,000 to 196,000. For every extra person in residential care, thirteen more were supported at home, and the growth skews younger.

For families

Someone can help you deal with aged care without taking over. The Act calls them a supporter

Part 4 of the Aged Care Act creates a role between doing it yourself and handing over power of attorney. A supporter gets your information and speaks your preferences but cannot decide for you, and the Act makes supporting too much a breach of duty.

For families

How to complain about an aged care provider, and what the law actually requires to happen next

The Complaints Commissioner must resolve your complaint and give you a written determination. The Rules allow 90 days, then 120, then further periods of 30 days with no stated ceiling. That office can compel a provider to investigate itself at its own expense. It cannot give a compliance notice, which is the instrument that orders a fix.

For families

The Aged Care Act gives you a right to stay connected with your pet. The Rules fund no help to do it

The Statement of Rights includes staying connected with a pet. The Rules exclude pet care assistance from funded services, under the heading General cleaning, while art therapy and music therapy are funded. Three of 48 submissions to the Senate review noticed. No provider did.

26 August 2026

For families

The Aged Care Act sets out your rights, then says they are not enforceable in a court

Section 23 gives every person in funded aged care a Statement of Rights. Section 24(3) says nothing in that Division is enforceable by proceedings in a court or tribunal. What the Act points to instead is a condition of registration and a complaint, and knowing which is the difference between a complaint that goes somewhere and one that does not.

For families

The End-of-Life Pathway pays $25,000 over 12 weeks, and stretches to 16 without anyone asking

The pathway pays a one-off $25,000 over 12 weeks for someone expected to live three months or less. Live longer and the period extends to 16 weeks automatically, with no review. Unspent money does not follow you.

6 August 2026

For families

The last award pay rise lands on 1 August. The regulator has already named three things providers cannot do about it

Standard two-hour minimum visits, after-hours rates charged on standard-hours work, and telling people an award change requires longer minimums. All three are unacceptable under any aged care award, and all three show up on a service agreement or an invoice.

For families

Self-managing a Support at Home budget does not put you on your own. The regulator has just said so

The Commission says complaints show some providers are not properly supervising budgets under self-management, and that they cannot treat it as hands-off. What your provider still owes you, including a duty to warn about overspending and to document that it did.

For families

Televisions pulled from empty rooms, volunteers’ concerts billed: the regulator is investigating how homes charge the new fee

The Commission has opened investigations into several providers over Higher Everyday Living Fees, citing homes that stripped out basic services then charged to reinstate them. What the fee can and cannot cover, the protections that apply, and how to raise a concern.

For families

The median wait for home care services has doubled to 245 days

The Productivity Commission’s own tables: eight months, typically, from approval to services starting. Where the time goes, who is prioritised, and what you can do while you wait.

18 July 2026