26/05/2026
A Spotlight on AGED CARE
This is a sad story from Steve, who is sharing his difficult and personal experience about his mother and problems with Aged Care services in Australia!
So many families are facing similar challenges with their elderly parents! It’s heartbreaking really. When responsible citizens who worked hard all their lives, they paid taxes, never really relied on government for anything before, then they got old, become vulnerable and finally need help and support, they are left waiting!!!
Newspaper Extract: Steve’s Story :
On Monday this week I sat down at the kitchen table of my 91-year-old mother with a young woman from My Aged Care.
Living on the full-age pension, she owns her own unit in suburban Adelaide and is no longer able to drive herself after failing a medical eye test. My mother – pension aside – has never relied on state or federal government support for anything.
We hoped that might change after our lengthy and probing question and answer session with the My Aged Care woman.
It seems we were kidding ourselves, just like hundreds of thousands of other elderly Australians – good, honest, taxpaying, salt of the earth Aussies. Because you see, the federal government is waging war on older Australians in something dressed up as intergenerational fairness.
What a joke.
Tell me what’s fair about sitting down for two hours, honestly answering everything from questions around your mental health (it’s outstanding for her age) physical capacity, diet, use of prescription drugs and the numbers of friends you have or clubs you attend, as well as how much you drink, only to be told this:
My mother asks how long it might be before the at home care package will be available for her to access given she is turning 92 in November.
Our polite public servant – I’m guessing that was what she was – replies: “I can’t tell you how long it will be”.
But the real kick in the guts was the revelation that if the assessor believed the computer-generated outcome was unfair to the elderly person, the department had told interviewers they were unable to protest the level offered.
In simple terms, the computer decision rules and face-to-face interviews by a human are simply to gather answers. They are not allowed, in any form, to appeal the decision of the algorithm.
Full article : The Advertiser
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/steve-price-the-government-is-waging-war-on-older-australians-it-came-for-my-mum-this-week/news-story/6805b13799d9173c742745384ea099a3
Something needs to change!
I understand that many peak bodies and advocacy groups are lobbying Government for faster access to aged care and support services. These are real issues that must be addressed!
