For families

Parliament gave the new second look at Support at Home assessments an end date: it covers decisions made from 11 January to 31 December 2027

Parliament passed the escalation pathway with two Opposition amendments that stop it applying to any decision made after 31 December 2027. It starts on 11 January 2027, so it covers a 355-day window of decisions. The right to ask for reconsideration does not end.

22 October 2026

For families

Draft rules would give assessors 14 days to ask for a second look at a Support at Home assessment; only the assessor, with your consent, can ask

The draft rules for the new escalation pathway give the assessor 14 days to ask for an additional review and the department 28 days to decide. Only the assessor can ask, with your consent, and the bar is a risk of significant harm. The bill passed both Houses on 15 October.

15 October 2026

For families

Personal care has been fully funded under Support at Home since 1 October. Under CHSP, extended to 2029, the September manual lets providers charge a contribution

About 830,000 people use CHSP, which the government believes should remain standalone. Its contributions are set by each provider; the department’s 2026-27 guide puts personal care at $7.22 to $13.71. The consultation on contributions was not on the department’s hub as at 9 October.

9 October 2026

For families

Family members can no longer complete an aged care resident’s quality surveys unless they are authorised to act for the resident under the Aged Care Act

Guardians, court or tribunal appointees and attorneys only, under a September Rules change. Staff can no longer step in either, and where a resident needs a proxy and has none, the department’s manual says no survey can be completed.

8 October 2026

For families

From 1 October, Stolen Generations redress payments are excluded from the residential aged care asset test, however much of the money remains

Six named schemes, any payment date, and the full amount comes off assessed assets even if some has been spent. If you were assessed before 1 October, the change reaches you at your next assessment, so it is worth telling Services Australia about the payment.

7 October 2026

For families

From 8 March 2027, people still at home after 12 weeks on the End-of-Life Pathway will continue for a further 12 weeks

Automatically, without reassessment, with approximately $25,000 more, the department says. Nothing changes before 8 March, eligibility does not change at all, and the department has not yet said how people already on the pathway that day will be treated.

4 October 2026

For families

Aged care terms, each one defined by the body that runs it

AN-ACC, the basic daily fee, the refundable accommodation deposit, accreditation and the Statement of Rights, every definition quoted from the authority that administers it with the date we read it. Including the four terms the Department’s own consumer glossary does not define, one of them the name of the programme people are being moved onto.

2 October 2026

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