Sydney's aged care sector undergoes transformation under federal reform program

Sydney is the primary implementation site for Australia's most significant aged care reforms since the sector was federalised, with approximately 420,000 Sydney residents aged 65 and over and the city's diverse aged care ecosystem — spanning for-profit, not-for-profit, and government providers across more than 280 residential facilities and 1,100 home care providers — undergoing a fundamental transformation in response to the Royal Commission's recommendations.

The most visible change for Sydney residents is the new Aged Care Quality Standards framework, which came into full effect this year and establishes enforceable requirements for staffing levels, dignity of care, nutrition, and social engagement that are meaningfully more detailed and prescriptive than the previous standards. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has increased its inspection frequency, with all Sydney residential facilities having received at least one unannounced inspection in the past 12 months.

Federal Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said the Sydney data was encouraging, with 81 per cent of residential facilities meeting the new staffing standards against a national average of 74 per cent. She attributed Sydney's above-average performance to the larger provider size in the Sydney market — which enabled the capital investment in staffing and systems that smaller providers found more challenging — and to the higher baseline wages in Sydney that attracted more nursing applicants despite the sector's known remuneration challenges.

The Support at Home program, which from July replaced the previous home care packages, has been met with cautious positivity from Sydney seniors' advocacy groups, who acknowledge the greater flexibility but have raised concerns about the transition period for existing package holders. The minister confirmed a 24-month transition guarantee preventing any reduction in services for current package holders.

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