If you work in Allied Health, chances are you’ve already felt the rumble of the aged care reform coming our way. On 1 November 2025, the new Aged Care Act and the Support at Home program officially kick in — a major shift for how older Australians access services and how we, as providers, fit into that picture.
The good news? The reform is trying to make things clearer and fairer. The challenge? There’s a lot for us to get our heads around, particularly when it comes to pricing, registration, and accountability.
So, let’s break it down — what’s changing, what’s staying, and what it means in practical terms for those of us who deliver therapy, support, and care in people’s homes and residential settings. Bear in mind, this is our understanding of the reforms.
The Aged Care Act – Before and After the 2025 Reform
1. Legal Framework
Before:
Aged care was governed by multiple statutes — the Aged Care Act 1997 served as the central framework, supplemented by the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018, among others. Together these regulated funding, quality, safety, regulation, rights, oversight, and transitions.
After (from 1 November 2025):
The Aged Care Act 2024 replaces the old framework with a single, unified piece of legislation. It replaces the earlier Acts mentioned above, consolidates many regulatory and oversight functions, aims to reduce duplication, and shifts the legislative focus toward the rights, needs, and preferences of older people.
2. Philosophy and Intent
Before:
The Act was written around provider approval, funding, and service delivery. Older people had a “Charter of Rights,” but these weren’t enforceable in law.
After:
The system becomes rights-based. A new Statement of Rights sits at the heart of the Act, giving older people enforceable legal protections. The focus shifts from “how providers operate” to “how people experience care.”
3. Rights and Decision-Making
Before:
Clients had rights under the Charter and could complain through the Commission, but those rights didn’t carry strong legal force.
After:
Rights are now legislated, meaning providers must uphold them. There’s a stronger emphasis on supported decision-making, advocacy, and redress where rights are breached.
4. Provider Registration and Approval
Before:
Providers needed separate approvals for each aged care program — Home Care, Residential Care, CHSP, etc. Each came with its own rules and paperwork.
After:
A universal registration model replaces multiple approval systems. Providers delivering funded aged care services register once under the new Act. (Note here that most Allied Health Businesses will continue to be brokered through an existing Registered Provider).
5. Quality Standards and Oversight
Before:
Providers had to meet the Aged Care Quality Standards set by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. These focused on safety and service delivery but didn’t always reflect person-centred practice.
After:
The Quality Standards are being strengthened and rewritten to align with the new rights-based approach. Oversight will increase, with stronger enforcement powers and clearer accountability.
6. Assessment and Access
Before:
People entered aged care through multiple assessment pathways — ACAT for higher-level care, RAS for home support — and each program had its own eligibility rules.
After:
A Single Assessment System will handle all aged care pathways, covering residential, in-home, and community services. This aims to create consistency and reduce duplication.
7. Funding and Service Delivery
Before:
Home Care Packages, CHSP, and Short-Term Restorative Care operated as separate programs with their own rules, funding structures, and client contribution arrangements.
After:
The Support at Home program replaces HCP and STRC from 1 November 2025, with CHSP joining later (no earlier than July 2027). Funding models, co-contributions, and service categories are unified.
8. Pricing and Cost Transparency
Before:
Providers set their own prices, often bundling travel, admin, and documentation into hourly rates. There were few rules about transparency or “indirect” time.
After:
Providers can still set prices but must show clear distinctions between direct (face-to-face, including travel) and indirect (documentation, planning, coordination) time. The Department will monitor pricing behaviour, and price caps are expected from July 2026. Transparency is now mandatory.
9. Provider Accountability and Compliance
Before:
The Commission could audit and sanction providers, but its powers were limited, and enforcement varied.
After:
The new regulatory system is risk-based, meaning higher-risk or larger providers will face greater oversight. The Commission gains stronger compliance and enforcement powers, including proactive monitoring of pricing and governance.
10. Consumer Protections and Complaints
Before:
Complaints processes existed, but the focus was mostly on service quality rather than individual rights.
After:
There are stronger legal protections, easier complaint pathways, and explicit recognition of advocates and “supporters” who can help older people navigate the system or raise concerns.
11. Program Structure and Scope
Before:
Each program operated in isolation — different forms, systems, and funding rules created complexity for both clients and providers.
After:
Programs are unified under one legislative and policy framework. Language, rules, and quality expectations are consistent across aged care, whether services are residential or home-based.
12. Transition Arrangements
Before:
Clients under existing programs continued under old arrangements until they moved programs or their package changed.
After:
The new Act includes built-in transitional provisions. Clients and providers will move gradually, with protections in place to prevent disruption to existing services or entitlements.
13. Digital Systems and Reporting
Before:
Providers interacted with several disconnected platforms (My Aged Care, program-specific portals), which created duplication and inefficiency.
After:
A digital uplift will roll out across the sector, aiming for one integrated system with unified data reporting and better interoperability between provider software and government systems.
14. Risk and Regulatory Flexibility
Before:
Regulation applied the same way to all providers, regardless of size or risk profile. This often meant small providers carried the same compliance burden as large ones.
After:
The new system introduces risk-based regulation. Oversight intensity will scale with provider size, scope, and risk. This means potentially more flexibility for low-risk or smaller providers, and more targeted enforcement for those at higher risk.
Key Takeaways for Allied Health Providers
- Allied Health services are formally recognised under “Allied Health and Therapy Supports” in the Support at Home program.
- Transparent, documented pricing is required — especially distinguishing direct and indirect work.
- Quality Standards and compliance expectations will focus more heavily on governance, cultural safety, and outcomes.
- The move to a single Act and unified systems should reduce red tape in the long run, but the first 12–18 months will bring adjustment pressures and heavier documentation demands.
What This Means in Practice
From Packages to Programs
Right now, most of us interact with aged care through Home Care Packages (HCP), Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC), and maybe CHSP grants for lower-level supports.
From November, Support at Home replaces both HCP and STRC, with CHSP moving across later — no earlier than July 2027.
It means fewer separate programs, one entry point, and one funding model. That part makes sense. What’s still being ironed out is how the details translate day-to-day — especially for Allied Health, which doesn’t fit neatly into a “care hour” model like personal support or domestic help.
The Single Assessment System
The Single Assessment System is already live, replacing the old ACAT and RAS split. That means one pathway and one referral stream across the entire aged care ecosystem — residential, in-home, and community.
If you’re already seeing referrals shift in format or wording, that’s why. The plan is for these assessments to connect directly to the new Support at Home service list, which includes specific categories for Allied Health and Therapy Supports (think physio, OT, speech pathology, dietetics, psychology, exercise physiology, etc.).
So in practice, your referral and service language will need to match the new categories. This is something to get ahead on — small tweaks now will save you admin headaches later.
Pricing: The Big Talking Point
One of the most eye catching (and potentially confusing) updates came with the October 2025 fact sheet on Allied Health and nursing prices.
For the first year of Support at Home, we’ll still set our own prices, but there are now clearer rules around what’s considered direct versus indirect work.
- Direct time = your hands-on, face-to-face service delivery — and it must include travel.
- Indirect time = planning, documenting, report writing, care coordination, case conferencing.
Providers can choose to either combine these costs into a single hourly rate or separate them into two distinct line items. Either way, you’ll need to be able to justify your pricing structure and keep records that show how your rates were set.
Why? Because the Department has made it clear they’ll be monitoring for “unreasonable pricing” — and from 1 July 2026, we’ll likely see price caps introduced.
This is where things get real for Allied Health. For years, the admin, travel and coordination time we’ve quietly absorbed into our billables have been invisible to the client. Now, transparency is the rule — and that’s both a blessing and a bit of a risk.
So What Does This Mean for Us, Practically?
Here’s what we think are the takeaways for Allied Health businesses and practitioners:
- Map your services to the new categories. Start using Support at Home language in your service descriptions and reports.
- Rework your pricing model. Decide how you’ll show direct vs indirect work and make sure your cost base is defensible.
- Prep your systems and templates. Your invoicing, quoting, and progress note templates will need updating.
- Keep an audit trail. Hold on to costing assumptions, time records, and service documentation — transparency will be expected.
- Train your team. Everyone should understand the Single Assessment System and how referrals flow under Support at Home.
A Call for Discussion
There’s no doubt the reform is a big step toward consistency and accountability — and, if implemented well, could finally bring Allied Health the visibility it deserves in aged care.
But there’s also a real risk that price caps, overregulation, or rigid program rules could make it harder for smaller providers to stay viable — or for clients to access the flexible, person-centred therapy they actually need.
So, how are you preparing?
Are you planning to separate your direct and indirect pricing, or keep it all together?
Do you think the new system will finally give Allied Health a stronger foothold in aged care — or just add another layer of red tape?
The most successful providers will be those who prepare, not react.
If you want to understand how ready your Allied Health business really is to thrive under the new Aged Care Act, take our Biz Quiz.
It’s free, fast, and gives you a clear picture of where to focus next — from systems and pricing to team and strategy.
