Another Victorian council to ditch aged care services in 2023
“It’s the regular contact and the social contact, and the reminder to have your lunch when it arrives. If you have to get your meal out of the freezer, you might forget,” she told The Age
Macedon Ranges Shire Council in Victoria has announced that it intends to cease providing a range of aged care services, including personal care, respite, meals, and domestic assistance from 1 July 2023. The Council says the move is due to changes to the sector following the Federal Government’s aged care reforms.
“Council has been reviewing its own service delivery in aged care since reforms began to be introduced 10 years ago, which includes the way home support programs are funded, planned and delivered,” said Bernie O’Sullivan, Macedon Ranges Council CEO. “The aim of these reforms is to increase the number of service providers and create more choice and flexibility for clients. These reforms encourage providers to have size, scale and efficiencies, making it difficult for councils to continue delivering direct care services. “Making this decision now, before the Commonwealth’s proposed shift to the new Support at Home model, ensures our valuable clients and dedicated staff will be as prepared and supported as they can be for the change,” he said.
A staff consultation process is underway between the council and those workers affected by the decision.
“We are committed to providing whatever support we can to both staff and clients over the coming 10 months, as we prepare for this change,” Bernie said.
The council has said that the current Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) provisions will remain in place until July 2023.
“Council has committed to working with the Commonwealth Government to negotiate timing and transition processes that will protect the interests of clients, their families, staff and the broader community,” it said.
Macedon Ranges Mayor Cr Jennifer Anderson (pictured) said that the council will continue to provide a range of other services to the ageing community, including infrastructure projects, social connection community inclusion, and more.
“Currently, less than five percent of the almost 10,000 people aged 65+ living in the shire are accessing commonwealth supported aged care services through Council, including cleaning and respite. Council is keen to expand the reach of the work we will do in the future to support an increased number of older people in different ways, outside of the commonwealth’s Support at Home model,” she said.
This comes at the same time as other Victorian councils announce they are cutting back on Meals on Wheels services. Two councils in the state’s north, Shepparton and Benalla, are planning to replace the daily Meals on Wheels delivery with a weekly delivery of frozen meals. This follows a similar decision from another two Victorian councils earlier in the year, when Moorabool and Golden Plains switched from Meals on Wheels to a fortnightly frozen meal delivery. As with Macedon Ranges Council, both decisions were based on the Federal Government’s aged care reforms, and their impact on what councils are now expected to deliver under the CSHP. Sarah Russell, Aged Care Matters’ director, is concerned that the move away from daily deliveries could have a serious impact on residents’ quality of life.
“It’s the regular contact and the social contact, and the reminder to have your lunch when it arrives. If you have to get your meal out of the freezer, you might forget,” she told The Age.
Local governments, particularly in Victoria, are increasingly withdrawing from aged care services due to the upcoming Support at Home changes.
