Government to commission aged care assessment tool review

The Australian Government has announced that it will commission an independent review of the aged care classification and prioritisation assessment mechanisms. The announcement follows feedback from older Australians, their families and stakeholders since the commencement of Support at Home, on 1 November 2025 — in particular about how the Integrated Assessment Tool works.

“We have made refinements where people’s experience of the system shows it is needed. We’ve changed the Aged Care Rules to help more people receive care faster, to ensure the accuracy of assessment inputs and to recognise Motor Neurone Disease as a discrete, specific condition warranting urgent priority for Support at Home,” the government said.

“This review will build on that work and respond to feedback that while these changes have made improvements, the assessment systems are not always getting it right. The government will set out a clear plan to ensure the classification and priority mechanisms reflect the care needs of older Australians.

“With nearly 12 months of real-world assessments now completed, this independent, clinically informed review will examine how the classification and prioritisation mechanisms work, building on the refinements already made to get it right for every older person.”

To ensure the assessment mechanisms appropriately allocate care based on an older person’s circumstances and priority, while maintaining sustainability in the broader aged care system, the reviewer will be empowered to recommend what changes, if any, are needed. While an expert advisory group will also be convened, bringing together experts in gerontology and assessment, to ground the review in clinical expertise.

In the coming weeks, Terms of Reference will be released, the government said, with the review to report to the government. The report will published in full and tabled in parliament, in the first half of 2027.

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