COMMENT

If your mother needs help getting out of bed tomorrow morning, a government promise about January offers very little comfort.

That is what I keep coming back to after the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s damning investigation into Australia’s aged-care assessment system.

Behind the arguments about algorithms are older Australians trying to get enough support to keep living at home. When that support falls short, families may find themselves filling the gap, sometimes while struggling to manage their own health or hold down a job.

The Ombudsman has raised serious concerns about a system in which assessors cannot override automated outcomes, even when they consider them clinically inappropriate. The department disputes aspects of the findings.

There is an important distinction here. The investigation did not establish that the algorithm’s results were clinically wrong, but surely we should expect a workable safeguard when a qualified professional believes an outcome does not reflect someone’s needs.

The government says it has heard the concerns. Parliament has passed an escalation pathway allowing a person to review and, where necessary, change an outcome when an assessment has not fully captured someone’s circumstances.

It starts in January, an independent review is also due to report in the first half of 2027.

My question is: what happens between now and then?

We are heading towards Christmas. A daughter worried about her father falling in the shower needs to know what help she can get before the holidays and she should not have to spend those weeks trying to work out which part of the system might listen.

I accept that changing legislation and preparing staff can take time. I want the government to explain why January is the earliest this pathway can operate, and what arrangements will protect people in the meantime, especially when it’s been a major problem for so long already.

Who can urgently reconsider a disputed outcome today? What happens when an assessor flags a serious concern and how quickly can a family expect an answer?

Those are reasonable questions for a government asking Australians to have confidence in its reforms.

If the permanent safeguard cannot be ready before Christmas, tell families what you will put in place now. Make the instructions clear enough for an exhausted carer to follow.

Older Australians should be able to trust that someone with the authority to help will listen when an assessment appears to have missed something important.

Their need for care will not wait until January.

Read the ABC investigation here and Commonwealth Ombudsman Report here