Australia’s Support at Home program was designed to modernise in-home aged care, simplify funding, and help older Australians live independently for longer. On the ground, however, a growing number of older Australians, carers and healthcare professionals are reporting the opposite.
The traditional model of formal education — its curriculum, delivery style, assessment methods — remains grounded in the industrial-era ideal of efficiency, uniformity and standardisation. That model has barely changed, even as population needs, workforce demands and our understanding of human development have transformed.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in 2022 there were 290,900 Australians diagnosed with autism (about 1.1% of the population), a 41.8% increase from 2018. The rise is most pronounced among younger people: autism prevalence is higher for people under 25 years (3.1%) than those over 25.
Physiotherapy has long held a respected place in Australia’s healthcare landscape: a university-trained allied health discipline focused on restoring movement, function, and quality of life. Yet over the past decade, questions are emerging about whether the profession has lost some of its shine — its distinct identity, professional status, and long-term career appeal.
The Aged Care Act 2024 is set to usher in one of the most significant regulatory shifts the sector has seen in years. While its intent—to strengthen accountability, quality, and safety across aged care—is laudable, its new associate provider compliance requirements could have unintended consequences, particularly for the allied health professionals who underpin much of the sector’s service delivery.
As the Aged Care Act 2024 ushers in a new era of reform, aged-care providers are re-evaluating how they deliver allied health — a critical pillar of reablement, functional independence, and quality of life for older Australians.
In recent years, Australia’s healthcare landscape has begun to shift in subtle but significant ways. Two of the country’s largest private health insurers — Medibank and Australian Unity — are no longer just paying for health services. Increasingly, they are also delivering them.
We’re keeping people occupied, but not always helping them stay mobile, engaged, or as independent as they could be. And it’s not because we don’t care—it’s because the system is stuck in an outdated model that over-relies on social engagement and under-delivers on rehabilitation.
The Australian aged care sector is at a crossroads. With growing pressure from an ageing population, widespread workforce shortages, and increasing demand for personalised, multidisciplinary care, the industry must embrace new models of service delivery. Telehealth and virtual care are no longer emerging innovations—they’re becoming essential infrastructure.
As Australia prepares to implement the Support at Home program, aged care providers and policymakers have a rare opportunity to reimagine what care at home could—and should—look like. At the heart of this reform lies an important but often misunderstood concept: restorative care.
