The complexity of the aged care system and challenges it poses to an individual senior and their carer navigating their way to the services they need was noted by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The Royal Commission recommended that access to services through My Aged Care, be enhanced through a face-to-face channel to supplement the existing digital and telephony channels.
The new My Aged Care face-to-face channel is delivered by 80 Aged Care Specialist Officers employed by Services Australia; it commenced operations in October 2021. HMA was appointed to undertake a formative evaluation of the new channel to assess its effectiveness, sustainability, scalability, and the scope for enhancing quality assurance arrangements to support continuous improvement. HMA also examined complementarity of the new service with the existing channels and newly introduced care navigation services.
The project commenced in June 2022 and was completed in February 2023.