Productivity Commission Inquiry into Aged Care

Caring For Older Australians

Australia's aged care system needs a major overhaul to meet the challenge of an ageing population and
improve the wellbeing of older Australians, according to a draft report released by the Productivity Commission.

The government funded Aged Care system assists over one million older Australians. Its range and quality of services have improved over the last decade but the system suffers several weaknesses. It is difficult to navigate and the quantity of services is limited. Quality can be variable and there are gaps in service coverage and limited choices for care recipients.

The system will be further challenged in the coming years by an increase in the number and expectations of the baby boomer generation. These represent those babies born in the 16 years after World War II - from 1946 to 1961 – of which there are now 4.4 million, 22 per cent of the population. The boomers started reaching the minimum retirement age of 55 in 2001. By now, almost 30 per cent of them are 55 or older.

This analysis of the aged care system by the Productivity Commission is consistent with research recently conducted by Home Instead Senior Care. Our national research project,  was responded to by family carers and recipients of care services in their own home. This research showed that despite increased government funding, over 26% of primary carers are still concerned about the current level of care services being provided to support older people at home.

The ease and ability for people to navigate the aged care system is also under review.  The Productivity Commission proposes a new system to enable older Australians to access aged care services through a simplified ‘Gateway’, at a local level, where the assessment of care needs, entitlements and financial
constraints can be managed and coordinated.

Importantly, the commission emphasises that care should be ‘centred’ upon the person receiving the care and that their services must change as their needs change over time, with the central focus of services being upon enhancing the wellbeing of older Australians by promoting independence, connectedness and choice.

The Productivity Commission focus on choice continues to reinforce testimonials and feedback that Home Instead, the leader in Australia of private non-medical home care and companionship services, with a personal focus on client’s needs, receives from our clients and families. 

Accordingly, Home Instead supports the commission’s inquiry into promoting independence. We believe it is imperative that clients are supported to remain independent in their own home, enabling them to continue to be connected to family, friends and their community, in turn reducing feelings of loneliness, isolation and depression. Home Instead research also identified that 86% of seniors considered it to be extremely important
to stay home, and their number one fear of getting older is the loss of independence. This research reinforces the commissions view that there needs to be a strong focus upon promoting the independence and wellness of older Australians and their continuing contribution to society.

Another key issue raised by the Productivity Commission, and debated frequently in the industry is that the aged care system should be ‘consumer directed’ to allow older Australians to have choice and control over their lives. One of the implications here is that clients should be able to receive care from a service provider of their choice. This emphasis upon choice is also consistent with Home Instead research findings which identified that many older Australians would like to take this further whereby over a third (37%) of primary carers and clients would
like to receive the funds themselves and choose their own form of senior care assistance and another 22% wanting
to explore this further.

Finally, the commission proposes a building block approach that consists of a foundation of basic support such as home helper services including housekeeping, meal preparation and transport. Thereafter personal care services and a range of more specialised services such as dementia care are made available based on an individual’s needs. This proposal is a significant change from the current model of standard packages of care services. It will however provide flexibility in the range of services available to help older Australians stay in their home longer, and enable them to be supported by informal and paid carers so that they can stay connected with their community, and avoid frequent visits to hospital, early entry into higher cost residential care and reduce the
cost pressures on the health system more generally.