Health officials in turmoil over 11th-hour backflip on aged care algorithm override powers, emails reveal
Summary
Health officials found out just before launching a new tool to decide home care funding for older Australians that the law did not allow assessors to change the tool’s decisions. This caused a last-minute meeting with health ministers to discuss the risks of removing human review powers from the system.Key Facts
- The tool uses an algorithm to decide government funding for home support for older people.
- Assessors answer questions about an older person’s life, and the algorithm calculates their support level.
- Officials had planned for assessors to override the algorithm’s recommendations when needed.
- New laws (Aged Care Rules 2025) made it illegal for assessors to change the algorithm’s decisions.
- The issue was discovered just days before the tool launched on November 1.
- A briefing was held with health ministers Sam Rae and Mark Butler about the problem.
- Department staff warned this could cause confusion since previous public statements promised override ability.
- The tool’s manual had to be updated to reflect that overrides were not allowed by law.
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