The Albanese Labor Government has pushed back a critical start date for pricing changes – including home care service price caps - in their new Support at Home Program, showing they were not ready for significant home care system reform, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health Dr Anne Webster said.

Pricing changes were planned to come into effect in July 2025, after the Albanese Labor Government promised Parliament that they would be ready to release critical information on Support at Home Program pricing changes in time. Now, the Government has admitted they will delay the pricing start date by a year to July 2026 – resulting in government price caps will not come into force until then.

“The Albanese Government rushed their Aged Care Bill through Parliament in the final sitting fortnight for 2024 with empty promises to older Australians, and now it is clear that they were not ready,” Dr Webster said.

“The Coalition tried to amend the Aged Care Bill to avoid adverse impacts for older Australians and the sector, including ensuring providers had 12 months to prepare for the Support at Home reforms. However, the Government voted down all of our amendments that dealt with this issue, now admitting they need more time.

Dr Webster said that the Albanese Government had proven themselves unready to deliver their own reform package for older Australians.

“The Albanese Labor government created massive stress and uncertainty for the aged care sector, particularly in regional communities with their one-size-fits-all approach to regulation. Now they have admitted that they cannot deliver on promises they made only weeks ago in the Parliament,” Dr Webster said.

“If the Albanese Labor Government are not prepared to release information on home care pricing changes, what other promised reform are they also not prepared to deliver?

“The lack of transparency around this delay is particularly concerning, with the Government not even discussing the issue with their own Transition Taskforce. If the Government is serious about their aged care reforms, then they must get serious about transition.

“The Coalition continues to call on the Government to be transparent and release the aged care reform Rules - withholding them prevents Australians from being able to understand and prepare for the full impact of these changes.”

Large home care providers had been warning Labor’s initial July 2025 price-change timeline would have had an adverse impact on the financial sustainability of the home care sector.

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