As ACAT approvals for Home Care Packages (HCPs) surged 21% in nine months and the HCP waiting list stood at seven months, the Department of Health and Aged Care chose to release only 24,100 Packages in the 2024-25 Federal Budget, knowing wait times would be six months on average by 30 June 2025 according to new bombshell information.
The wait times for Level 1 HCPs were expected to blow out from one week as of March 2024 to six months by 30 June 2025, according to advice provided by the Deputy Secretary Department of Health and Aged Care, Michael Lye, to the Office of Impact Analysis, which helps the Government assess the impact of changes in Government policy.
The advice, submitted on 13 May 2024, one day prior to the 2024-25 Federal Budget, acknowledged it was "not possible" for the Government to meet the recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to reduce average wait times to one month.
It noted that after 9,500 HCPs were released in 2023-24, average wait times were on track to blow out to 12 months as of 30 June 2025.
The advice was that "six month wait times are achievable by 1 July 2025 with a one-off investment" of 24,100 HCPs, at a cost of $512.8 million in 2024-25.
The advice also acknowledged increasing waiting times for HCPs were already having negative consequences.
"Complaints and escalations are increasing as the community start to realise that access to the HCP program is uncertain," it said.
80,000 HCPs under Coalition
From 2021-22, under the Coalition Government, the Department delivered 80,000 HCPs over two years, a move that showed there was "latent workforce supply", according to the advice.
In a statement released on Monday, Shadow Minister for Aged Care Anne Ruston labelled the decision to knowingly issue HCPs that would result in six-month wait times as "outrageous".
"This government promised to put the care back into aged care, but they are failing where it counts,” she said.
“At a time when we know the next generation of older Australians want to stay independent in their own homes for longer, this government must start taking immediate action to bring wait times down.”
Last week, we reported that more than 3,300 older Australians died in 2023-24 waiting to receive the level of HCP they had been assessed as needing.
There were 76,000 older Australians waiting for a HCP as of 30 September 2024.
As the negative headlines around home care mount, and likely about six months away, all eyes will be on the Government's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, likely in December, for an announcement on any new HCPs.
