VincentCare is the latest provider to give up the in-home care market in Victoria. The ABC reports 25 Victorian councils also have exited in-home aged care and a further nine have decided to exit by 30 June.

The departures come ahead of major changes to the national in-home care sector, which will see the existing Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), Home Care Packages (HCP) program, and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) programs replaced by a new Support at Home Program.

The federal Health Department says the new program follows recommendations from the Aged Care Royal Commission and is due to start in July 2024.

The federal Health Department is continuing to talk to providers about the transition to the new program, but in Victoria at least, smaller providers are leaving the in-home care market to larger providers that have sufficient scale to implement wide-ranging national changes.

The department says no one will lose any in-home aged care services that are currently in place. 

Service providers say a major reason is the proposed change to funding. Currently, providers receive funds directly from the government but under the new system, the consumer will be directly funded and able to engage the provider and services they choose.

Municipal Association of Victoria president David Clark said this change was a factor in councils in Victoria exiting the system.

“To provide the in-home service, councils rely on permanent staff supported through the former block-funding model,” Mr Clark said.

“The changes to the funding remove council funding certainty, impacting their ability to effectively plan and deliver the service.”

He said larger state-wide and even national service providers will be better suited to providing in-home aged care services in the future.

VincentCare Interim Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Turton told ABC Radio Melbourne that, as a small-scale provider, it would have been difficult for his organisation to meet new government requirements.

“There are a number of mainstream specialist providers out there who do a terrific job, and because they’ve got the scale, they are in a much better position to continue to provide a high standard of care,” he said.

“We actually think this will deliver a better outcome, a better quality of care, for people who we’re currently supporting.”

Mr Turton said 150 people in north-west Melbourne, Gippsland and Shepparton would be affected by the decision.

“VincentCare is assisting clients to use the My Aged Care portal to identify potential providers that are best equipped to meet their needs in accordance with their packages, but we are unable to recommend specific providers,” a St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria spokesperson said.

“We urge people who have any concerns or questions to call our Home Care Packages Team in North Melbourne on (03) 8327 7000.”