Government finally to cover full cost of showering under home care program

From October people will no longer have to pay to receive help with showering, dressing and support in managing continence, in changes to home care packages to be announced by Health Minister Mark Butler on Wednesday.

Under the aged care reform program brought in by the Albanese government, clinical care is free but showering and similar personal help fell into the category of services for which the person is charged a co-payment.

From the start, it was pointed out by stakeholders that showering is essential and should belong in the free category.

The government says in a statement, “The changes respond directly to feedback from older Australians, their families, advocates and providers, who have made it clear that these personal care services are essential for people’s independence and ability to stay at home”.

When he was asked on The Conversation podcast last year why showering wasn’t being entirely funded as a necessity, Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said: “We’ll be monitoring this very closely.

"We want to make sure that every single older person gets the care that they need and that they deserve. So there are very modest co-contributions associated with some services, such as showering, that we are asking people who have the means to contribute to, to do so.”

In the statement announcing the changes, Rae says:“Showering, dressing, continence care – these aren’t optional extras. They’re the basics of ageing with dignity, and no older Australian should miss out because of cost.

"Older Australians, their families and providers told us these services needed to be protected. We’ve listened, and we’re acting.

"As our population ages, we’ll keep doing the work to make sure the system is strong enough, and fair enough, to meet the moment.”

Butler will announce the cost of the aged care changes on Wednesday, when he appears at the National Press Club to outline the government’s overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The NDIS changes are to cut the scheme’s unsustainable growth in cost and number of entrants. Currently the cost is growing at 10% annually, even after earlier reforms to rein it in. The government wants to cut this to 5% annually.

On Tuesday Treasurer Jim Chalmers met his state counterparts in a virtual conference for preliminary talks about managing the scheme. The states need to take extra responsibilities for disability services as the Commonwealth pulls back, but they have proved difficult to persuade.

Queensland has not signed up to the “Thriving Kids” program that followed earlier reforms to shift some of the burden for disability services to the states.

The states said after Tuesday’s discussion that they had been given little detail of the coming round of changes.