The Senate inquiry into the Government’s delayed aged care reforms has revealed some staggering and deeply concerning statistics.
The home care package waitlist is now more than double what we initially thought, and in the past financial year nearly 5,000 older Australians have tragically passed away while waiting for care.
As of July, new data presented at the inquiry on Friday, revealed 121,596 people are still waiting for an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) assessment. In addition, there are 87,000 individuals already assessed and waiting for their home care package.
This means that more than 200,000 older Australians are currently stuck in a system that is failing to meet their needs.
Just as alarming is the revelation that no new home care packages have been released since 1 July.
As it stands currently, for an older Australian to access a home care package they must wait until someone has died or gone into residential care.
For those waiting for medium priority packages – including Level 4, the highest level of care – the wait times are now anywhere from 9 to 12 months.
But there’s more at play. As currently funded, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) is fully subscribed with no capacity to meet demand.
It is also not designed to meet the needs of individuals eligible for home care package services. Instead, its purpose is to offer minimal intervention to older Australians to allow them to maintain their independence and delay or reduce the need for more intensive home care packages or residential care services.
We supported the government’s decision to push back the implementation of the new Aged Care Act to 1 November, hoping it would allow providers like Juniper the time to embed necessary cultural, operational, and governance changes. What we did not anticipate was such a significant delay in the release of essential home care packages.
This growing waitlist needs to be addressed immediately. There’s no reason the government can’t release at least 20,000 home care packages before the commencement of the new Aged Care Act on 1 November.
Older Australians deserve to be treated with the dignity and respect they have earned through years of hard work and contribution to our society. We should be delivering care when it is needed, not forcing people to wait for months, if not years.
This current system is not just flawed, it is damaging. Failure to act on the waitlist crisis immediately is only going to make matters worse.
The government’s decision to delay the commencement of Support at Home and withhold home care packages, is having a massive impact on our broader health system.
If older Australians don’t get the appropriate care at home it leads to reduced independence, greater risk of being admitted to hospital and unnecessary and premature entry into residential aged care.
People in home care situations are more likely to be admitted to hospital than those in residential care, but we are not giving them the support they need to stay there.
We know WA’s hospital system is already under strain, with the state recording its highest-ever ambulance ramping figures in July 2025. Around 250 hospital beds a day in WA are currently being used by people who are eligible for home care or residential care.
Older Western Australians are waiting an average of 10 extra days in hospital and 16 additional days for an aged care placement. The situation is considerably worse in regional areas.
This is not the answer for older Australians eligible for home care or residential care.
For families and carers, there’s also the increased burden of responsibility – both emotionally and financially. For providers like Juniper, it only adds to workforce challenges and financial pressures.
Older Australians and their families deserve better and we, as providers and carers, along with the broader community, must continue to give voice to those who often go unheard.
The Senate inquiry into aged care delivery is due to report its findings on 15 September. We await the findings with anticipation and hope the government acts quickly and effectively.
Because this isn’t simply an aged care issue, it’s a societal one.
Russell Bricknell
CEO, Juniper Aged Care
Read Juniper’s submission to the Senate inquiry into aged care delays
Juniper submission to Senate inquiry into aged care service delivery August 2025
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