The New Aged Care Act: What Is Changing, When It Starts, and What Older People and Families Can Do Now
Australia’s aged care system is about to take its biggest step forward in a generation. A new, rights-based Aged Care Act will reset how care is accessed, delivered, and overseen across the country, with a strong focus on dignity, choice, and safer, more consistent services.
Below is a clear, practical guide to the key changes, what they mean in real life, and how older people, families, and carers can get ready. We have also included a link to a trusted community resource from OPAN (Older Persons Advocacy Network) at the end so you can dig deeper with plain-English explainers and FAQs.
The short version: five things to know
Start date: The new Aged Care Act begins 1 November 2025. Parliament passed the Aged Care Bill 2024 on 25 November 2024, and it received Royal Assent on 2 December 2024. The start date was shifted from 1 July to 1 November to give the sector and community more time to prepare.
A Statement of Rights replaces today’s Charter: The new Act puts a Statement of Rights at the centre of aged care. It sets out older people’s rights to independence, choice, safe and quality care, privacy and information, and the ability to speak up without fear of reprisal. Providers must act consistently with these rights.
Supported decision-making, not automatic substitution: The Act presumes older people can make their own decisions and introduces a registered supporter role to help when needed. This is about helping people decide, not deciding for them.
In-home care is being reshaped: From 1 November 2025, a new Support at Home program will replace the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program and Short-Term Restorative Care. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) will stay in place until at least 1 July 2027, then transition.
Who pays what is changing: There will be a clearer contributions framework for non-clinical supports, including a lifetime cap of $130,000 across home care and residential non-clinical contributions, with hardship protections and a “no worse off” principle for those who genuinely cannot afford to pay. Clinical care remains government-funded.
Why a new Act?
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety called for a new rights-based Act that puts older people first and fixes fragmented rules that made the system confusing and, too often, unsafe. Government has now legislated the change and set a firm commencement date, with intensive preparation work underway across providers, regulators, and My Aged Care.
What exactly is changing?
1) A rights-based foundation
The Statement of Rights is not a poster for the tea room, it is the organising principle of the new system. It includes rights to:
Independence, autonomy, and freedom of choice
Equitable access to funded aged care services
Safe, high-quality care
Privacy and access to information
Person-centred communication and the ability to raise issues without reprisal
Access to advocates, significant people, and social connection
Providers must make sure the way they operate is consistent with these rights, from the front desk to the boardroom. The new Statement will replace the current Charter of Aged Care Rights on 1 November 2025.
2) Supported decision-making
Under the new Act, older people are presumed capable. If someone wants help to understand options, attend assessments, ask questions, or weigh up choices, they can register a supporter. Supporters help a person express their will and preferences, they do not take control. This shift is important for people with cognitive impairment who can still participate in decisions with the right support.
My Aged Care has guidance on how existing representative arrangements will transition and how the new registered supporter role will work in practice. If a formal substitute is still needed, that will rely on state or territory guardianship or administration laws as it does today.
3) Access and assessment will be simpler and faster
A redesigned entry pathway will triage requests more quickly, including urgent and GP-led referrals where appropriate. Assessment will move to dedicated organisations with clear legal delegations from the System Governor so decisions are timely and consistent. There will also be a First Nations Assessment Pathway, reflecting the need for culturally safe, locally led approaches.
4) In-home care: Support at Home
From 1 November 2025, Support at Home becomes the single national program for most government-funded in-home supports. It merges today’s HCP and Short-Term Restorative Care, with a later and carefully planned transition for CHSP from no earlier than 1 July 2027.
What should people expect?
More responsive access and less duplication
A simpler service list, with clearer definitions
Consistent national rules for contributions, hardship, and caps
A stronger focus on reablement and helping people stay independent at home longer
Government has released fact sheets, videos, and case studies to help families and workers see how it will work.
5) Residential care: clearer responsibilities and fairer funding
Residential care will continue to be regulated under the new Act and the Aged Care Quality Standards. Policy changes emerging from the Aged Care Taskforce and related government responses aim to make the sector financially sustainable and transparent while protecting residents. In practice, that means clinical care remains publicly funded, non-clinical living costs are means-tested with clearer rules, and consumer protections include hardship relief and a lifetime cap across settings.
Paying for aged care under the new framework
The reforms separate clinical care from everyday living supports.
Clinical care: Funded by government.
Everyday living supports: People contribute based on means, with hardship protections and a lifetime cap to prevent charges from accumulating without limit. Government’s Support at Home material confirms a combined $130,000 lifetime cap across Support at Home and residential non-clinical contributions. It also outlines a “no worse off principle” for those unable to pay and provides examples so you can see how it applies.
It is worth stressing that existing residents are not retrospectively charged more because of these changes. If you or a family member is already in care, your existing arrangements continue unless you change circumstances. For people who enter care after 1 November 2025, the new rules apply.
What is happening to CHSP?
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme continues as a block-funded system until 30 June 2027, with updated manuals and guidance for providers and clients. Its transition into Support at Home will not begin before 1 July 2027. That gives local services, volunteers, and councils time to adjust while ensuring meals, transport, social support, and home maintenance keep flowing for older people.
Complaints, oversight, and quality
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission continues as the independent regulator. With the new Act, the Commission’s regulatory tools align more directly to the Statement of Rights, making it easier to link what is happening day-to-day with what the law expects. Older people, families, workers, and advocates will have clearer pathways to raise issues without fear of reprisal, and providers must ensure communications are accessible, including interpreters and communication aids where needed.
What older people and families can do now
1) Learn your rights
Download the plain-language Statement of Rights and talk about it with family and your service. Ask how your provider is aligning policies, care planning, and complaints handling to the new rights.
2) Consider a “registered supporter”
Think about who you trust to help you navigate care when you want support. Read how the registered supporter role works, how it differs from a substitute decision-maker, and how current representative arrangements will transition.
3) Get across Support at Home
If you are on a Home Care Package or thinking about applying for help at home, read the Support at Home fact sheets and watch the short explainer videos. If you rely on CHSP services, know that they continue as usual through to mid-2027.
4) Ask about fees early
Before you sign or switch services, ask providers to explain what you may contribute under the new rules, how hardship is assessed, and how the lifetime cap works in your situation. Use the government fact sheet on participant contributions to ground the conversation in accurate policy.
5) Keep your documents current
Make sure your Medicare details, pension or income information, Enduring Power of Attorney or guardianship papers (if any), and advance care planning documents are up to date and easy to find. This helps assessments and services start sooner.
6) Use advocacy
Free, independent advocates can help you navigate choices, prepare for assessments, sit in on meetings if you want them to, and escalate concerns. OPAN’s national network is designed for exactly this purpose, and their resource hub below is updated as the reforms roll out.
What workers and providers should be doing
Map policies and practice against the Statement of Rights. Staff training, supervision, and consumer engagement all need a rights lens.
Refresh communication: Make service information easier to read, translate it as needed, and ensure people know how to complain safely.
Prepare for registered supporters: Update forms, CRM fields, and privacy settings to record a supporter and work with them appropriately.
Explain contributions clearly: Have scripts and calculators ready so conversations about fees are transparent, consistent, and compassionate.
Strengthen cultural safety: The new Act and the First Nations Assessment Pathway call for respectful, locally led ways of working.
Where to get trustworthy help
OPAN – Older Persons Advocacy Network: A continually updated, plain-English hub on the new Act, with webinars and “top 20 questions” from older people and families. This is an excellent starting point if you want the changes explained without jargon.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: Official pages on the new Aged Care Act, the Statement of Rights, and Support at Home, including fact sheets, videos, and resources for both consumers and providers.
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission: Consumer-friendly material on the Statement of Rights and what to expect from providers, plus how to raise concerns.
My Aged Care: The national entry point for information and referrals, including explainers on contributions and upcoming changes to funding.
Final word
The spirit of the reform is simple: put older people first, with clear rights, stronger voices, and a system that is easier to navigate. The detail is complex, and it will take a little time to bed in. If you remember only one action from this article, make it this: learn your rights and get the right help early. That alone can make care safer, fairer, and far more personal.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Always check your personal circumstances with My Aged Care, an independent advocate, or a qualified adviser.
