Greens to Lead Aged Care Cost and Future Inquiries

The Senate has voted to establish two further Senate inquiries into Labor's aged care reforms, amid concerns that the new Act which came into force on Saturday will fail older Australians. (See background on the new Act here)

The previous Senate inquiry into Aged Care Service Delivery , which explored the transition period leading up to the new Act on 1 November, revealed that the aged care waitlist was more than double what had previously been reported (with over 200,000 Australians waiting for care). That previous inquiry was instrumental in forcing the early release of 20,000 home care packages needlessly withheld by the government.

Now that the Act is in force, two new inquiries have been established today:

The first inquiry will investigate the government's planned transition of the Community Home Support Program (CHSP), which currently serves more than 800,000 older Australians with at-home supports through "block funding" to providers like Meals on Wheels.

The second inquiry will investigate the ability for older Australians to access care under the Support at Home program, including the impacts of new pricing mechanisms and co-payments.

The government intends to transition CHSP into Support at Home and has only funded the program up until 30 June 2027. The government has failed to answer previous questions about the impacts of closing CHSP on demand for Support at Home packages, leading to concerns that existing services will be forced to close their doors and waitlists for aged care will only blow out further.

As with the previous inquiry, both the newly established inquiries will be chaired by Greens Spokesperson for Older People, Senator Penny Allman-Payne.

Full terms of reference for the inquiries are below.

As stated by Greens Spokesperson for Older People, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:

"Older people across the country - hundreds of thousands of whom are on fixed incomes - are copping increased costs for their care at home so that privatised aged care providers can make bigger profits. That's a broken system."

"Labor's Minister for Aged Care, Sam Rae, has tried to hide the truth of these aged care changes, but now the reality is setting in and older Australians are waking up to new care arrangements they cannot afford."

"Older Australians are still dying waiting a year or more for care, and rather than boost needed supports like the Community Home Support Program, they're planning to close them."

"Our parents and grandparents need leaders who will fight for them and their right to care, but instead Labor and the Liberals are shaking pensioners down for cash while propping up the profits of privatised aged care."

"The Greens will ensure older Australians and their advocates are heard, and fight to fix this system so that everyone can access the care they need at the time that they need it."

Community Home Support Program Inquiry

That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 April 2026: the transition of the Community Home Support Programme to the Support at Home Program, with particular reference to:

1. the timeline for the transition of the Community Home Support Programme to the Support at Home Program after 1 July 2027;
2. the expected impact of this transition, including on:
   1. waiting periods for assessment and receipt of care;
   2. the lifetime cap of $15,000 on home modifications;
   3. the End-of-Life Pathway time limits; and
   4. thin markets with a small number of aged care service providers.
3. aged care provider readiness for the transition, including their workforce; and
4. any other related matters.

Co-payments inquiry

That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by the Tuesday of the last sitting week of November 2026: the Support at Home Program, with reference to:

1. the ability for older Australians to access services to live safely and with dignity at home;
2. the impact of the co-payment contributions for independent services and everyday living services on the financial security and wellbeing of older Australians;
3. trends and impact of pricing mechanisms on consumers;
4. the adequacy of the financial hardship assistance for older Australians facing financial difficulty;
5. the impact on the residential aged care system, and hospitals;
6. the impact on older Australians transitioning from the Home Care Packages Program;
7. thin markets including those affected by geographic remoteness and population size;
8. the impact on First Nations communities, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities; and
9. any other related matters.