Aged Care Act turns one – let’s make the right to care a reality
October 31, 2026
One year after the new Aged Care Act promised to put the rights of older Australians first, too many are still waiting for the care they need.
One year after the new Aged Care Act promised to put the rights of older Australians first, too many are still waiting for the care they need.
Ageing Australia has welcomed bipartisan progress on aged care legislation that will establish a permanent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and introduce an escalation pathway for incorrect aged care assessments, alongside a commitment to an independent review of the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), following sustained advocacy by Ageing Australia and its members.
Ageing Australia is descending on Canberra this week, calling for urgent action on aged care funding, growing waitlists and a critical shortage of residential aged care beds directly to politicians from across the political spectrum.
Aged care spending came in $1.4 billion below budget even as more than 106,000 older Australians wait for ongoing Support at Home funding and thousands remain stuck in hospitals because appropriate care is unavailable.
More than 3,000 planned aged care beds have now been shelved as a direct result of the Australian Government’s decision to deliver a real-term cut to residential aged care funding.
Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson highlighted the urgent need to improve access to care for older Australians, during today’s public hearing of the Senate Inquiry into Support at Home.
It’s time for aged care workers around the country to strike a pose, because Ageing Australia wants to showcase photographs of the best in our sector. So many people contribute in such positive and amazing ways to the care of older Australians that Ageing Australia is holding a Humans of Aged Care photo competition.
Aged care providers across Australia have cancelled plans for over 2,000 new beds, and counting, as a direct result of the Federal Government’s decision to implement a real terms cut in residential care funding earlier this week.
Ageing Australia, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) are calling on Governments at all levels to head off a looming national crisis in aged care capacity, which is spilling over to hospitals and community-based healthcare.
Ageing Australia has labelled changes to the 2026-27 Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) price as “unacceptable”, saying aged care providers won’t be able to make ends meet, let alone build new beds as a result.
Ageing Australia congratulates the Albanese Government for listening to aged care providers, in today’s decision to extend the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) as a separate entity for a further two years until 30 June 2029.
Ageing Australia is calling on the Federal Government to urgently act to reduce Support at Home wait times, provide packages that better reflect the full cost of older people’s needs, and ensure human oversight is at the core of assessments.
From a woman who escaped pirates leaving Vietnam after the war to a team fighting for people with dementia, Ageing Australia is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 You are ACE! Awards.
Ageing Australia invites all Australians to celebrate the incredible contributions of aged care workers across the country for Aged Care Employee Day, today Friday 7 August.
Ageing Australia invites all Australians to celebrate the incredible contributions of aged care workers across the country for Aged Care Employee Day, tomorrow Friday 7 August.
