The Morrison Government is responding to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety by increasing transparency and information on home care prices.
For the first time information has been published relating to the median prices charged for common home care services to help people to make more informed decisions.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the information is a vital part of empowering senior Australians and their families to take greater control of their care.
“This new data will help to show senior Australians, their carers and family the median prices of common services across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas and by state and territory” Minister Hunt said.
“It gives those looking to access care a very important insight into what common available prices and where providers may be charging premium prices.
“We want senior Australians to be able to shop around for their care providers, knowing this will keep downward pressure on prices.”
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said the information is compiled from aged care provider information as they are required to report their prices to the Government.
“As part of the early announcement in response to the Royal Commission’s report on 1 March, the Government included significant steps to improve transparency and comparability of pricing, and empower senior Australians with greater choice when it comes to their care,” Minister Colbeck said.
“Since 1 July 2019, all home care providers are required to publish their pricing information in a standardised schedule published on the My Aged Care website. This new data table gives greater visibility of median prices.
“Our Government has invested $200.1 million to deliver a star rating system, and as we progress to it we will see increasing levels of information becoming available to help guide choice, empowering senior Australians to vote with their feet in the hunt for affordable, high quality and appropriate care.
“We expect this information in the hands of senior Australians will encourage providers to enhance their service offerings, while also helping to put downward pressure on unjustified charges, in particular administration charges.”
The publication of the data table shows median prices for services including nursing, in-home respite, personal care, and cleaning and household tasks. It also includes pricing data for care management and package management.
The My Aged Care website already allows users to compare reported pricing at up to 3 providers, however this newly released data will provide additional scope for their decision-making.
The data is updated quarterly and can be found here.
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