Yet another Victorian local council will abandon home care

Manningham Council, in the northern eastern suburbs of Melbourne, is the latest Victorian council to announce it is reviewing its home care service offering. It will make a decision on the matter halfway through the year. Under the Government’s reforms, the council would have to work across a large geographic region and increase the range of services it offers, including allied health and in-home palliative care. Dozens of Victorian local councils have announced they will cease delivering home care services in the wake of Government reforms. Manningham Mayor Councilor Deirdre Diamante reassured residents that if the council can’t continue to offer in-home aged care services, the Government will ensure their older clients still receive the services they need.

“Council is considering this issue very carefully and thoughtfully. We need to look at what is best for our community in the long term. We are not looking at ‘outsourcing’ our in-home aged care services – the contract model is changing, and we have to respond to it.” “If the final decision is to change in-home aged care services, this would happen towards the end of 2023. “Even if we can no longer provide in-home aged care services, we would continue to offer other services that support healthy and positive ageing, like community transport and social connection activities.”