Algorithm rollout looms with hidden legal problem

Just three days before launching an algorithm to determine aged care funding, Australian health officials discovered the legislation didn't actually allow assessors to override its decisions, despite months of reassurance they could.

What the algorithm does

The Integrated Assessment Tool asks older Australians questions about their physical, social and personal circumstances, then uses an algorithm to determine how much government-funded home support they're eligible to receive.

The promise that couldn't be kept

Department officials had repeatedly told assessors they would have the power to override incorrect algorithm decisions using their clinical judgment. But the Aged Care Rules 2025 legislation provided no legal discretion to do this.

“the department has regularly indicated that there will be an ability for assessors to override the classification algorithm recommendation”

Emergency briefing for ministers

On October 29, health minister Mark Butler and aged care minister Sam Rae received an urgent briefing warning that removing the override function carried significant risk, just 72 hours before the November 1 rollout.

Officials warned of credibility damage

Department staff flagged that assessors and state governments would likely criticize the position as inconsistent with previous government statements, potentially undermining working relationships at a critical time.

“Assessment organisations may criticise this position as being inconsistent with previous government statements”

The decision to remove override

Rather than change the legislation to allow override, the department chose to remove the override function from the instruction manual and tell assessors they couldn't override algorithm decisions.

Complaints flood in immediately

Within days of rollout, assessors were reporting that the algorithm routinely under-assessed vulnerable older Australians, leaving them without adequate support. State governments began logging hundreds of underassessment cases.

Assessors caught between ethics and law

Aged care assessors said approving classifications they disagreed with violated their professional ethics and raised possible legal concerns about their responsibility to clients.

“Approving classifications that they do not agree with does not align with their professional ethics”

The workaround that masked problems

When assessors clicked accept on downgraded recommendations, the system temporarily kept clients' old funding amounts active while secretly logging a lower clinical classification on their permanent record.

Pattern of under-assessment emerges

People already receiving support who needed reassessment due to increased needs were routinely recommended for lower support packages by the algorithm, contradicting government promises they'd be no worse off.

Opposition pushes for legislative fix

The Coalition introduced legislation to restore assessor override powers, which passed the Senate but Labor blocked from debate in the House of Representatives.

Bigger problems remain unsolved

Shadow aged care minister Anne Ruston said restoring override powers was necessary but nowhere near sufficient to fix what she called a broken aged care system.