Aged care taskforce to overhaul at-home cleaning, gardening

Home care package participants largely avoid contributing to the cost of cleaning, gardening, mowing lawns, maintenance and meal delivery.

In contrast, at residential aged care premises, recipients pay about 85 per cent of the single age pension towards everyday living services such as meals, cleaning, transport and utilities. They also contribute an accommodation bond and daily accommodation charge.

Costs surging

The federal government’s total cost of aged care is projected to surge from $24.1 billion in 2021-22, to an estimated $36 billion in 2023-24, to $42 billion by 2026-27.

The rising cost of aged care reflects the wave of Baby Boomer retirements and the government’s aim to improve the quality of aged care to fix shortcomings identified by the royal commission.

The government must decide if taxpayers foot the higher bill, or recipients of aged care support, both in aged care homes and at-home, make more of a financial contribution.

Even under the existing system, recent and future retirees would be paying more out of their own pockets for aged care than their parents’ generation, who were overwhelmingly taxpayer-funded.

University of Technology Sydney professor of health economics Michael Woods said people at home should pay more for basic domestic support services such as cleaning, gardening, mowing lawns, meals and transport, while receiving taxpayer support for more intensive at-home care for health and personal care as they age.

“There is a strong argument people should be paying a lot more for these domestic support services,” he said.

“We’ve been advocating for domestic services and home maintenance to be primarily funded from the pension.

“There is a role for the taxpayer as people get older they will need more help from nurses, allied health and personal care workers to shower, get dressed and cook.”

Professor Woods is a former head of the Treasury for the Australian Capital Territory.

Speculation that the review could lean on superannuation funds to invest in aged care or develop insurance-like aged care funding products such as annuities is not a major area of focus for the review, sources said.

Instead, the review is focusing on improving the existing aged care funding system, so changes can be implemented swiftly.

The 16-member taskforce is chaired by Ms Wells and includes former senior Treasury official Nigel Ray and Mike Baird, a former NSW premier who is now the chief executive of aged care service provider HammondCare.