26/08/25
On Friday 8 August, Baptist Care Australia's CEO Dr Robyn Sampson and our Head of Policy and Advocacy Charlie Dane appeared at the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bills 2025 or ACOLA bill hearing. The stream of the hearing can be accessed here, with our appearance starting at about 56:00 and running for 45 minutes. The BCA opening statement is at the 1:02 mark.
Building on the general framing that providers need certainty due to the complexity and scale of implementation, our key points were on the following:
- These bills must be prioritised for passage in the first sitting week in August and the Rules published immediately after
- Concerns regarding ICT readiness of government systems due to cascading effect on providers prior to go-live date
- Care management cap should be returned to 20%, particularly for the transition period
- Immediate release of additional home care packages
The final report from the Inquiry can be found here.