Louise Biti

Industry leader Aged Care Steps has launched a significant consultation project that explores how older Australians and their families access financial advice to support their aged care decisions.

Driven by a commitment to ensure that aged care advice is provided in the best interests of older Australians and their families, the project, centred on a discussion paper and stakeholder research, was launched after a worrying trend emerged.

Despite the strategic and financial complexity inherent in aged care advice, financial advice on aged care is increasingly provided to older Australians by unlicensed and unregulated businesses and services. The outcome is leading to a prevalence of superficial, often conflicted advice, no regulatory oversight, and a lack of essential consumer protections, which may place the client at substantial risk and lead to decisions that are not well-informed.

“The variety of care options, rush to make immediate decisions, cost of advice, complicated fee structures, conflicts of interest, and raw emotions are just a few of the challenges people face when accessing aged care advice,” said Louise Biti, Director of Aged Care Steps.

“Moreover, aged care legislation, choices and costs associated with aged care are constantly changing, enhancing the difficulties with planning and education.”

“This confusion complicates the objective set out by the government to increase the sustainability and funding mix of the aged care industry for the ultimate benefit of older Australians. We believe that the delivery of personal advice on aged care financial decisions needs to be examined and regulations need to be clarified and more consistently applied to protect older Australians and their families,” continued Biti.

Personal advice, which leads to investment into specific financial products, is clearly regulated under the Corporations Act 2001 as personal advice; however, a range of contrasting views exist about personal advice on aged care, which focuses on strategic outcomes, albeit strategic outcomes which include advice on financial products including basic deposit products.

The discussion paper explores whether individuals and organisations who provide aged care financial advice should be authorised under an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) and comply with financial advice laws, regulations and ethical codes.

Alongside the discussion paper, the consultation project will include research with key stakeholders within the financial services sector, aged care sector and other connected support areas as well as older Australians and their families.

Participation in this survey-based research is encouraged from the following groups/individuals:

• AFSLs and advice providers including financial planners, accountants, and lawyers.
• Aged care service providers including care providers, placement services, peak bodies, and social workers.
• People accessing care services including individuals, carers, families and consumer groups.
• Relevant industry individuals and groups such as Members of Parliament and regulators.

Stakeholders can read and review the discussion paper, and share their insights via the survey on the Aged Care Steps website. The consultation period will run until 5.00 pm (Sydney time) on 10^th of May, 2024.

Once the consultation has ended, Aged Care Steps will prepare a white paper as a basis for engagement with the relevant industry bodies and regulators to work towards meaningful changes in the regulation of aged care advice in the interest of protecting older Australians.

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