What you need to know 

The new Act responds to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and will bring several changes, including: 

• A Statement of Rights to ensure older people are treated with dignity and respect. 
• Changes to who can access aged care services and how they are funded. 
• The introduction of the Support at Home program, which focuses on helping older people live independently. 
• Stronger Aged Care Quality Standards, ensuring safer and higher-quality services. 
• Increased powers for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to oversee providers and ensure compliance. 

These changes and the new Support at Home program bring several changes that significantly impact our in-home community services model. 

Information about the Support at Home program 

You can learn more about what the Support at Home program means at the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

The Support at Home handbook provides a range of information about assessment for services, accessing a service provider and a list of services.

The Support at Home program manual provides more extensive information. 

What does this mean for In Home Community Care at the City?

Eventually, all in home aged care services in Australia will be Support at Home.  
  
The first changes will take effect from 1 July 2025.  
  
In response to the significant changes introduced by the Commonwealth Government, the City engaged independent consultants to inform and assist the Councillors in making a decision about the City’s future involvement in the community care sector.  
  
Council voted to continue providing in-home community care services at its meeting 27 May 2025. 

Following the decision by Council, the City is preparing the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the new reforms, which will require a major shift to the way the service is managed and delivered in alignment with the new model established by the Commonwealth Government, including IT upgrades, the increased integration of health services into in-home aged care, strengthened quality standards and the implementation of the provisions in the new Aged Care Act.  

These measures require significant additional expenditure, and the City will continue to advocate to the Federal Government in good faith for additional recurrent transition funding to support the changes. 

The impacts on each client’s service are being worked through individually, and all clients will be contacted in due course to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.  

What you need to do 

At this stage, there are no changes to the care we are providing, and our clients will continue to receive the same services as usual.  
 
We will be speaking to clients individually and working with employees to explain exactly what's changing for their service under these reforms. 
 
We understand that uncertainty can be difficult, and we appreciate your patience.  
 
We will be here to guide everyone through any changes. 

Need help?

We are here to support you. If you have any concerns or need assistance, please reach out to us at 5272 5272 or [email protected].