Submission: IHACPA Work Program and Corporate Plan 2025–26 Draft for Public Consultation (February 2025)
AHPA reiterates our argument that the fundamental flaw in the present costing and pricing approach to allied health care is that it only addresses the substandard level of allied health care currently provided – not the allied health care people would be recognised as needing if assessment processes were clinically based and nationally consistent (for previous submissions see here and here).
As both the Royal Commission and the Inspector-General of Aged Care have recommended, reablement should be a core requirement of aged care. Allied health is a critical element to reablement being treated seriously in Australia’s aged care system, and costing and pricing of allied health must also facilitate multidisciplinary team care.
AHPA therefore recommends that the IHACPA Work Program:
model the impact on residential and home-based aged care costing and pricing if allied health services were to be provided on a needs basis
incorporate into aged care costing and pricing the impact on allied health service provision of proposed regulatory changes such as registration fees and audit requirements
collect and analyse data pertaining to the proposed ‘access only’ item for residential care and services
in partnership with the Department of Health and Aged Care, evaluate the impact on the provision of needs-based allied services in home and community aged care of the Pricing Framework for Support at Home together with the Support at Home pricing set by Government following IHACPA’s advice.