Ageing Australia and Palliative Care Australia have welcomed a Senate committee recommendation to remove funding and time limits from the Support at Home End-of-Life Pathway. The proposal calls for a clinically guided, needs-based model that allows older Australians with life-limiting illnesses to receive appropriate care at home based on individual needs rather than predicted life expectancy.
Sector leaders say the current pathway can leave some people without adequate support because eligibility depends on a prognosis and fixed funding periods. They believe a more flexible approach would improve access to palliative care, better support families, and help reduce avoidable hospital admissions while enabling more older Australians to remain at home during their final stages of life.
The organisations plan to present a proposed needs-based model as part of their submissions to the ongoing Senate inquiry into the Support at Home program, with the aim of helping shape future aged care reforms.