Health officials in turmoil over 11th-hour backflip on aged care algorithm override powers, emails reveal
News Source
โขWed, 16 Sep 2026 15:00:24 GMT
๐ฐ What Happened
Health officials were in chaos just before a new computer system started deciding aged care funding. Emails show they found a serious problem very late. The rules were written so strictly that workers could not override the computer's decision. Ministers Sam Rae and Mark Butler were briefed in an emergency meeting only three days before the rollout.
The emails came out under freedom of information laws. Staff had promised assessors for years that they could change wrong decisions. But the Aged Care Rules 2025 gave them โno legal discretionโ to do that. The instruction manual had to be changed fast to tell assessors they must accept the result.
Within weeks, complaints poured in. Assessors said the tool kept giving older people less support than they needed.
๐ The Backstory
The system is called the Integrated Assessment Tool. An assessor asks an older person questions about their health and daily life. Then an algorithm decides how much home support they get. The person cannot argue with the result, even if the assessor thinks it is too low.
Guardian Australia has reported before that people already getting support were often offered less after a reassessment. Some families were warned to avoid home care in case funding was cut.
Staff also used a workaround. When an assessor clicked accept, the portal kept the old, higher amount running while quietly logging a lower score. The government had promised older Australians would be โno worse offโ.
๐ฏ Why It Matters
Older Australians could get less money for care at home because of a computer call no one can change. The emails show officials knew about the problem and told ministers days before it started.
Health officials were in chaos just before a new computer system started deciding aged care funding. Emails show they found a serious problem very late. The rules were written so strictly that workers could not override the computer's decision. Ministers Sam Rae and Mark Butler were briefed in an emergency meeting only three days before the rollout.
The emails came out under freedom of information laws. Staff had promised assessors for years that they could change wrong decisions. But the Aged Care Rules 2025 gave them โno legal discretionโ to do that. The instruction manual had to be changed fast to tell assessors they must accept the result.
Within weeks, complaints poured in. Assessors said the tool kept giving older people less support than they needed.
The system is called the Integrated Assessment Tool. An assessor asks an older person questions about their health and daily life. Then an algorithm decides how much home support they get. The person cannot argue with the result, even if the assessor thinks it is too low.
Guardian Australia has reported before that people already getting support were often offered less after a reassessment. Some families were warned to avoid home care in case funding was cut.
Staff also used a workaround. When an assessor clicked accept, the portal kept the old, higher amount running while quietly logging a lower score. The government had promised older Australians would be โno worse offโ.
Older Australians could get less money for care at home because of a computer call no one can change. The emails show officials knew about the problem and told ministers days before it started.