By Natalie Dillon
Known as Baby Boomers, over 5.6 million Australians were born during the mid-20th century baby boom that followed the end of World War II, between 1946 and 1964.
Now aged between 60 and 78 and representing approximately 21.5 per cent of the total Australian population, this generation has, throughout their lifetime, demanded change in the way services rise to meet their needs.
For the aged care sector, the time for transformation to meet the needs of this generation is now. Yet it’s been a slow burn.
After the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, many years of investigation, consultation and significant advocacy, a new Aged Care Act 2024 (the Act) will finally come into effect on November 1, bringing with it a range of reforms to enforce the rights of older people, improve equity and access to services and sharpen the focus on financial viability and accountability for aged care providers.
While the reforms are aspirational in their mission to place older Australians at the centre of service delivery, the steps to realise a functional and sustainable aged care system are both complicated and necessary.
A sustainable system for a generation and beyond
Uniting AgeWell, together with the UnitingCare Australia (UCA) network, has actively advocated for older people and sought to embrace the challenges and opportunities of change to help shape the future of aged care in this country.
In 2024, the aged care sector in Australia was at an impasse, with a financial injection desperately needed, including an increase to the minimum wage for many aged care workers to combat the chronic workforce shortage.
UCA network leaders, including Uniting AgeWell board Chair Raelene Thompson and CEO Andrew Kinnersly, brought their voices to Canberra in September last year to lead conversation and advocacy on a range of social and community issues, with aged care being a central point of discussion.
The UCA network CEOs including Andrew, then met with political leaders and their senior staff, taking every opportunity to discuss the importance of introducing a new Aged Care Act as an urgent priority to open the door to much-needed reform.
Perhaps coincidentally, the following day the Federal Government announced it would indeed table the new Act to Parliament, with bipartisan support from the Coalition.
The following month, on behalf of the network, Andrew addressed the fourth Public Hearing of the Community Affairs Legislative Committee on the Aged Care Bill 2024 to contribute to the final adjustments to the new Act.
“Older Australians deserve high-quality aged care services, and they deserve these services when and where they need them,” Andrew says.
“The new Aged Care Act is a very important step towards creating a viable and sustainable aged care system that meets the growing needs of our ageing population.
“I’ve always thought, and many people have thought, that older Australians deserve a five-star aged care system.
“Providers can’t deliver that with a two to three-star level of funding, and that’s something I think has been well addressed in the development of the Act to make the system more sustainable.
“Better financial outcomes for providers can lead to better resourcing, improved investment in facilities infrastructure, more staff employed, and greater staff retention given the aged care workforce are now paid at a more appropriate level.
“We can also expect an increase in service levels and this will directly impact on the time people have to wait to tap into these services.”
Golden Days radio presenter Loretta Simmons (left) shares her perspective with Jacinta Parsons on growing older her way in episode one of ‘The Ageing Ideal’ podcast.
What to expect
The Act shifts the focus to a rights-based framework, empowering older people and emphasising their choices and needs.
It aims to enhance aged care quality and safety, ensuring dignity and respect for older people and their carers, and introduces a Statement of Rights to ensure older people are treated fairly and respectfully.
The overall changes cover home care and residential aged care services and place the customer and their family front and centre of the services they need.
Under the Act, the Aged Care Quality Standards will be strengthened with the goal to improve the lives of older people accessing aged care services in their homes, community settings and in residential aged care and sharpen the accountability on aged care providers to deliver high-quality care.
Home care services will be delivered under the new Support at Home program, replacing Home Care Packages, and will eventually include services currently funded under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.
Home care services will be separated into three categories: clinical care, independence and everyday living, and there will be dementia and palliative care supplements available.
One of the biggest changes is that all customers will be required to contribute to the cost of their aged care services.
What you pay under Support at Home will depend on your income and assets and the types of services you need.
The good news is that the government will fully fund clinical care – including nursing, allied health, nutrition, clinical and restorative care management.
Fonda Voukelatos, Uniting AgeWell Deputy Chief Executive responsible for home and community care services, recognises the dual imperatives of the changes – the need to create an equitable system for all customers while ensuring well-managed service providers remain financially afloat.
“The reality is that not all aged care providers will be able to meet the demands of the new Act,” explains Fonda.
He also notes that by responding to the demand for home care services, Uniting AgeWell’s growth in this area has been exponential, increasing by 300 per cent in revenue over the past five years, and growing from 5000 to over 15,000 home care customers served each year.
This growth also reflects the trust placed in Uniting AgeWell by customers, who recently voted it the most trusted brand for home care in Victoria and Tasmania in the 2025 Readers Digest Trusted Brands Survey.
“What matters most to us are the most vulnerable in society – older people,” says Fonda.
“We must meet the challenges of the future by continuing to do the right thing by our customers and respect their choices in absolutely everything we do.”
A helping hand
As many Australians begin to navigate changes to the aged care system they know, or start the journey of navigating this new system, Uniting AgeWell is supporting them through the changes that lie ahead.
Fonda anticipates that some people will find some of the information challenging.
“Our goal is to make information as accessible as possible and to work in partnership with our current and future customers to ensure they get the best possible outcome,” he says.
“We also know that while initiatives like our new website make it easier for people to find the services they need, and it’s easy to pick up the phone and speak to our customer care team, many people prefer face-to-face conversations about their care.
“It’s why we’re now hosting regular ‘drop-in’ sessions across all our home care offices and community hubs so people can pop in for a cuppa and a chat.”
Customers’ voices matter
Providing people with the platform to voice their experiences, concerns, challenges and successes has underpinned the advocacy that has helped craft the new Act.
Uniting AgeWell’s podcast, ‘The Ageing Ideal’, launched in February this year, is also bringing the issues facing older Australian to the forefront of the conversations that will continue to shape change.
Hosted by ABC broadcaster and author Jacinta Parsons, ‘The Ageing Ideal’ is not just for seniors, it’s for anyone who wants to know more about how we can live and age well and challenge traditional perceptions of ageing and aged care.
It’s not how old you are, but how you are old that matters.
The name and concept for the podcast was the idea of Uniting AgeWell General Manager Marketing and Community Relations, Rebecca Ryan, in response to the need for real conversations about ageing and aged care, recognising how individual and unique those experiences can be.
“As an organisation working at the frontline to bring services to older people, we see first-hand what some of the challenges and joys of ageing are and some of the frustrations and concerns people have,” Rebecca says.
“It makes sense to create a platform where we can have authentic conversations, share experiences, improve awareness of services and supports and hopefully bring people along on the journey.”
Click here to listen, search and follow ‘The Ageing Ideal’ on your favourite podcast app or to find out more
Ken Lloyd has been able to remain living at home on his beef farm at Greta thanks to the support of Uniting AgeWell and his care advisor Tina Manousaki.
Ken’s an inspiration to others
Ken Lloyd barks with laughter at the thought of ever leaving his sprawling Greta beef farm where he’s lived for the past 25 years.
“Me – live in town? I wouldn’t know what to do with myself, it would drive me bloody mad,” the 85-year-old exclaims.
“The cars, the noise and all the people … just horrible.”
Ken loves being woken by the sounds of the cattle and the early morning chorus of the birds which act as an alarm clock for his first duty of the day, heading down to the paddocks in his ute to inspect the cattle and his horses, his beloved kelpie dogs coming along for the ride.
“I had a heart attack a few years ago and I never thought I’d reach this age,” laughs Ken.
“But here I am. I’m absolutely determined to carry on living here for the rest of my life.”
He’s on track to do just this, thanks to the government-funded home care services he receives through Uniting AgeWell.
He’s been working closely with his care advisor Tina Manousaki to ensure he has the right support and his home is safe and comfortable as he gets older.
Tina organised a personal alarm for him to wear, in case he falls and urgently needs help.
She also arranged for Ken to be assessed by an occupational therapist, resulting in the lounge room carpet, considered a tripping hazard, being replaced with floating floorboards.
He also gets domestic help around the house.
And in sharing his story publicly in recent times, Ken’s experience is now inspiring others in regional Victoria and Tasmania to reach out and get a hand.
