July 14th, 2025Aged care: The ugly, the bad & the good

Australia is suffering a crisis in aged care and Hepburn Shire is not exempt. Here are just a few of the people and their lives. Below are the responses and perhaps some good news.

The ugly

Somewhere in Daylesford a 92-year-old woman is bed-ridden. She has been end-of-life for some time and her choice is to die at home.
One of her daughters, retired, has moved in to be her full-time carer. Her other daughter lives and works in Melbourne but comes every week to help out.
The elderly woman is under the care of Central Highlands Rural Health. She receives four hours of respite care a week, three bed baths, incontinence products and some hospital sustenance.
It is just not enough. The two daughters are at breaking point, and don’t know if they can fulfil their mother’s wish to die at home. As one says, it’s a disaster.
“I cannot fault the workers on the ground, the girls that come and visit mum, they’re fantastic. There’s just not enough of them.”
She says when her mother was assessed as needing a higher class of care, the amount of money they received actually dropped, due to higher fees. She had been receiving 16 hours’ respite, along with shopping and housework.
At one stage they had to place her into Hepburn House for two weeks to save money to get her income up again. “There’s a monthly amount and when it’s gone, it’s gone.”
The daughter said on occasion her sister also helped with bathing her mother because sometimes only one carer arrived while two were needed to perform that task.
“It makes me worried for those people in Daylesford and district who are elderly and have high needs and their advanced care directive says they want to die at home.
“What if they don’t have family to assist them? What’s happening to those people? I’m pretty sure we’re not the only people in Daylesford who have had this problem. “I guess the only thing you can hope for is a terminal disease and you can hope for euthanasia. That is how bad it is.
“Our mother’s wish is that home is where she wants to be. Absolutely, but it’s coming to the point of can we do this, and for how much longer?”

The bad

An 86-year-old in Daylesford reflects ruefully on his experience with Benetas. “As I watch Benetas’s slick TV advertising I cannot but wonder how it can, in conscience, spend money on this sort of promotion when it says it does not have any for a basic service.
“The service I mention is a rail to help with steep steps. An occupational therapist came from Ballarat and during a longish appointment agreed the railing was needed, and even seemed concerned. Nothing happened until we received a call to say the rail was outside the Benetas budget.”
Oddly, he says, the next call was from another occupational therapist seeking an appointment for the same reason. She seemed confused when told her colleague had already been.
Benetas, which was founded by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne in 1948, provided a sizeable glossy document that says that for over 70 years it had been “providing exceptional quality care and support” to older Victorians.
Within, a card with a picture of a jolly older fellow slicing an avocado, watched by a badge-wearing younger bloke using a grater, carries the message: “Home care your way, tailored support to help you stay at home longer.”
Elsewhere, it says: “Benetas Home Care puts you in control, providing the support you need to safely stay at home, remain connected to your community and live your best life as you age.” The in-home services, it says “will relieve some of the stresses of everyday life, giving you more time and peace of mind to enjoy living at home longer”.
Spotting that garden maintenance was on the list, this would-be client thought he might get help with his large, steep block. So began phone calls, including some to interstate.
“There’s 1000 people on the waiting list,” he was repeatedly told by one of the “caring consultants”. One interstate adviser regaled him with her joy for beach walking, while telling him he had dipped out.
Worn by weeks of failure, the applicant and his wife decided to plough on together, although he did get some help: podiatry every nine weeks.
In Creswick, a woman suffering from crippling pain due to fibromyalgia has spent months trying to get home help.
On a pension, and only 67, the woman has just spent a week in bed. Today is her first day up. That took half an hour but she is determined to get her exercise in – walking up and down the hall.
Living alone, she is qualified for aged care packages but has been told numerous times everything is “booked out”. “I was hoping to get some house cleaning – just the floors and bathroom done – and home maintenance – I really need a rail for my steps because I fall – but nothing’s available anywhere. I have tried everyone – Central Highlands Rural Health, Benetas…”
The woman, who also suffers from bi-polar, said because she could not guarantee when she would be home, thanks to numerous medical appointments, even meals were not available. “I asked if they could leave it on the porch but they won’t do that.
“The system’s broken. I will have to pay for a handyman to come and put a safety rail in for my stairs but I am on a pension.”
The woman said for some years she had a home carer from Hepburn Shire Council before the organisation stepped away. “She was fabulous but then it changed. I got used to being really good friends with my carer. Sometimes she would sit with me for 15 minutes after she finished and we would just have a cuppa.
“I know you don’t have answers but I just wanted to share my story. I’m not asking for a lot.”

The good

A Daylesford woman said her father was lucky; as a returned serviceman he had a Gold Card and help through Vasey RSL.
“They were absolutely fantastic. The care and support we got from different agencies was so good. They would have a carer come in twice a week for two hours and we’d (she and her husband had moved into her father’s Mornington Peninsula house) go for a bike ride while they were there. Can I put in a thank-you to Mary, Raylene and Michelle from Vasey?
“We also had a psychologist who would come in and see Dad and just check that everything was going OK – he had full-blown dementia. And Dad had a guardian as well, who was a retired lawyer and with the Office of the Public Advocate and he was fantastic, with Dad’s best interests at heart.”
“We also had the support of local doctors and allied health – so he would go to the gym twice a week with personal trainers.”
Louise and her husband looked after her father for two years before finding an aged-care home as his dementia worsened. There, still being active, he appointed himself as carer for all those needing help for visits back and forth to the toilets.
“He was a wonderful man and it was a real privilege to look after him.”
And then on one of his carer details, he fell and broke his hip. “That was pretty much the end, but he had a good life.”

The responses, and can community help?

Central Highlands Rural Health

The Local spoke with CHRH@Home Manager Jo Cocks with queries about the 92-year-old woman having less services despite being on a high package.
“With the cost of services it is frustrating for families because people have an expectation about how far their money will go and sometimes it doesn’t align with what their funding is.”
Ms Cocks said a percentage of fees were taken out so “it would look like more money is coming out (of her funding) because she’s got more money in her package”.
Ms Cocks also said service fees for the carers had also risen on July 1 in line with the CPI and CHRH had also asked for another 2.8 per cent on top of that.
Ms Cocks said staffing was sometimes difficult especially in rural areas and being winter. “It’s the same challenges that all services have. But all our services, the personal care is done in house, we provide it all and don’t contract out our personal or home care.”
But despite those assurances Ms Cocks agreed that the amount of home care the woman was now receiving would continue into the future. “That’s what they can afford. There’s only so much money.
“The aim of support at home and home care packages is to keep everybody at home for as long as they’re safe and, well, we say independent. But obviously they’ve got people around to help them stay at home past that independent stage. There’s a set amount of money and that’s what they’ve got to pay for services to keep them at home longer.”
Because of privacy legislation she could not explain why when the woman was assessed for a higher level of care, she received less services.
“That said, I’m more than happy to clarify any general queries or correct any misunderstandings about the care we provide. I’m also open to discussing matters directly with the client and/or their nominated representative.”
A schedule of fees sent shows that on a Level 3 package, of the $41,847.25 from government, $8190.60 went to care management fees, $6142.95 went to package management fees with $27,513.70 left for the client. On a Level 4 package, of the $63,440.65 from government, $12,413.65 went to care management, $9311.15 went to package management and $41,715.85 was left for the client.
Ms Cocks said feedback was always welcome and regular surveys were carried out. Information sessions for those on the packages were also on the way.
“We take it really seriously. Feedback is important. I collect all of that and attend meetings with sector development and other groups more globally, and then it goes up through that channel.”

Benatas

The Local contacted Benatas and asked questions about the gentleman’s concerns regarding the lack of help available.
A Benetas spokesperson, re funding for a hand rail, said: “There are two funding streams. 1. Under the Home Care Packages Program, the Department assesses and allocates funding to clients taking into account their health needs and requirements. 2. Under the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), the Department provides a funding allocation to the Hepburn region to deliver specific services to approved clients.
“The current requests for home modification services in the Hepburn (Shire)area are exceeding the federal funding that has been allocated to the area under the Commonwealth Home Support Program.
“As a provider, we are only able to take on clients into these services when others leave or move on to differently funded programs. Providers do not determine the amount of funding allocated to a region and operate within the constraints of the funding that has been allocated by the government.
“As current funding for the region for this type of service under the CHSP Program has been exhausted, we recommend clients who are not able to remain living independently without this service, contact the government’s My Aged Care phone line to be reassessed for a funded Home Care Package.”
The Local asked if there were 1000 people on the wait list for gardening help?
“As the funding allocation has been exhausted, in line with the guidance from the Department we are no longer able to accept referrals to the current list.
“In line with the broader aged care industry, we have been calling on the government to focus on addressing funding and waitlist challenges to enable older Victorians to receive appropriate support to remain at home for longer.
“It’s essential that the funding for a region reflects the current need for services in that region.”
The Local asked what programs were available to people who wanted to stay in their own homes.
“The Department would be best placed to provide some guidance about the range of services offered and its rationale regarding how it allocates funding per region. https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/help-at-home”

The Local sent questions to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
A spokesperson said: “To access the Home Care Packages program an older person undergoes an aged care assessment to ascertain what level of care they need. There are 4 levels of packages, at July 1, 2025, Home Care Package funding ranges from $10,931.75 (level 1) to $63,440.65 (level 4) annually. Depending on the level of package a person receives, they can get assistance with a range of different services.
“Together with their Home Care Package provider, the older person will work out if a care or service they need: is directly linked to their identified care needs and goals; will improve their health and wellbeing; is necessary for them to remain living safely and independently in their home; can be delivered within their Home Care Package budget; and would be considered an acceptable use of government funds.
The Home Care Packages program is currently operating at record levels. Package wait times fluctuate and are dependent on a number of factors such as the number of packages available, the number of people in the National Priority System and package take-up rates. Older people who are assessed as having a high priority need for in-home aged care services are being assigned a package within one month.
“There are other options available to people who are waiting to be assigned a Home Care Package. Older people can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for support in accessing CHSP.
” Older people are encouraged to research and compare providers by calling My Aged Care or using the ‘Find a Provider’ tool at www.myagedcare.gov.au/find-a-provider. The Government also funds the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) to deliver the National Aged Care Advocacy Program.

From the inside

The Local talked to a former health worker for both Hepburn Shire Council and Benetas asking her perspective.
“Overall, whether it’s CHSP funding or home care package funding, there’s not enough money in the story. There never will be. And that is what a lot of people don’t understand.
“I thought when I was with the shire and it had the CHSP funding, what they were doing was pretty f#@ked. But now I can see we did a pretty good job.
“What I would like explained is the workings of the admin fees coming out of a home care package. They equate to about 25 per cent to 30 per cent. Level 4 is $63,400, so 30 per cent is $19,032, that’s a whole bucket of money.
“I know that if you have a really full on package, your case manager will do a lot of work. You’d be looking well over $100 an hour for them and you’ll be charged travel.
“Your support worker might be $75 an hour. And you have to pay for travel. And then if you have to send out a personal care worker on a weekend, that’s double time.
“A nurse might be $250. I know of a woman in Hepburn who was sent an occupational therapist from Ballarat, for an hour, and that was $500.
“And when the money’s gone, it’s gone. I can’t believe that some case managers let their people run out of money.”
The woman also said people should watch their invoices.
“They shouldn’t have to. But they need someone, even if it’s not family, someone who they trust to go through those invoices. And if they’re not right, you question.
“What makes me more angry than anything is that it is the elderly who are so vulnerable. They don’t have a voice and the system rips them blind.”
The woman said volunteers for respite care were available from Ballarat Hospice and Shannon’s Bridge in Creswick but she said it might be time for the community to step in and help its elderly.
“When my husband was dying, and he wanted to die at home, the community gathered around me but for years after I didn’t have the energy, but now it is my time to give back. I am sure there will be good that comes from this, even if it starts with just a group of us. Let’s try and help these people in our community.
“Everyone has the right to die at home.”

Words: Donna Kelly | donna@tlnews.com.au | Opinion p23