New Aged Care Act from 1 November

The new Act aims to improve the way services are delivered to older people in their homes, community settings and residential aged care homes.

Statement of Rights

Under the new Act, your rights matter. The Statement of Rights outlines the rights that you should expect when seeking or accessing Commonwealth Government-funded aged care services.

It gives you the right to:

• make your own decisions about your own life
• have your decisions not just accepted, but respected
• get information and support to help you make decisions
• communicate your wishes, needs and preferences
• feel safe and respected
• have your culture, identity and diversity respected
• stay connected with your community.

Understand your rights under the new Act.

Accessing aged care services

From 1 November 2025, to be eligible for an aged care needs assessment you must be:

• 65 years and over
• 50 years and over if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• 50 years and over if homeless or at risk of homelessness.

If you are a younger person already receiving aged care services, you can continue receiving care under the new Act from 1 November 2025.

If you are seeking Commonwealth Government-funded aged care services, you must have an aged care needs assessment to determine your care needs and the services you are eligible for.

If you already receiving aged care services on 1 November 2025, you will not need to be reassessed to continue to receive those services.

If your circumstances change significantly after 1 November 2025, you may need to be reassessed to ensure your aged care needs are being met.

Once eligible, the first step to accessing aged care services is registering with My Aged Care and applying for an assessment. The Single Assessment System will make it simpler and fairer for older people to access aged care services. It provides one streamlined process for assessing eligibility for all government-funded aged care services.

More information

Learn more about aged care reforms on the Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.