Simple maths tells you the government is asking too much of both home care providers and their clients.
We need to talk about the unrealistic expectations the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has about home care providers’ timeframes for getting their clients’ Support at Home agreements finalised.
Let’s talk about the co-contribution letters currently being received in terms of grade three maths.
Under the transitional rules providers have 30 days to finalise Support at Home agreements from the date the letter was issued.
Issued letters started to arrive on the 20 November and are dated 3 November 2025. So that is 17 days lost in transit for starters.
That is the first part of our equation. Stick with me here – 30 – 17 = 13 days.
From 20 November to 2 December there were two weekends – 13 – 4 = 9 days.
That leaves providers nine days to discuss service requirements, finalise budgets, and negotiate agreements, with each client.
Let’s continue the maths lesson for the government. This now is grade six level maths.
The average working day is 7.6 hours long – 9 days x 7.6 = 68.4 hours (4104 minutes).
The average number of packages a care partner oversees is 100 – 4104 ÷ 100 = 41.04 minutes per participant.
This doesn’t include allowing for: bathroom breaks, responding to day-to-day case management activities, getting a drink, consulting team leaders or managers, or seeking directions from the Department regarding any unclear matters relating to the recent changes, of which the list is long and varied.
Does the government realistically believe that 41.04 minutes is an adequate amount of time to complete the required paperwork that complies and meets guidelines?
Remember this equation doesn’t include the travel time needed to get to each client – that is a lesson for another day.
Sophie Morell is CEO of home care and NDIS provider My Support Australia in Gippsland, Victoria.
This article was first published on Ms Morell’s LinkedIn feed. Read the original here.